Goran Bare Pulled Off Stage in Makarska During First Song

Goran Bare couldn’t even get through the first song on Sunday night at the Modro i zeleno festival in Makarska. The band Majke was supposed to be one of the headline acts of the festival’s fourth edition, but the performance was stopped just minutes after he stepped on stage, Croatian outlets Klix and Tportal report, with the story also picked up by Serbian outlet Informer.rs.

Bare walked out onto the stage in Fra Jure Radic Park. In footage that soon began circulating on social media, he is seen sitting on a chair in the middle of the stage. Two men approached him, one took the microphone off its stand, and together they helped him off the stage, supporting him as he went. The crowd applauded as he left.

Accounts differ on exactly who walked him off. Both Klix and Tportal report that he was helped offstage by colleagues, meaning people from his band or entourage. Informer.rs, on the other hand, writes that he was taken off with the help of festival security. None of the sources cite an official confirmation of either version, and the footage itself doesn’t reveal who the two men were.

Why was the show stopped?

There is no official explanation so far. Neither the festival organizers nor Bare himself have commented on what happened on stage, so the reason for the interruption remains unknown. Klix reports that “so far there is no official information about why the performance was stopped,” while Tportal likewise notes that “it isn’t possible to say for certain what happened to him.”

The Modro i zeleno festival has been held in Makarska since 2023 and is dedicated to music and to the memory of Milan Mladenovic, frontman of Ekatarina Velika. Its name is taken from his song of the same title. Makarska held special meaning for Mladenovic, since his mother was from the town and he spent his childhood summers there. Bare and Majke were scheduled to perform on the festival’s second night. The program opened with the Makarska band BEG, and the evening closed with the Zagreb electronic collective ABOP.

The short set immediately drew reactions on Instagram, under a post from the Pod Biokovom page, which was the first to share the footage. “This is hard to watch,” one follower wrote, while another said, “Bare, legend.” One message of support read:

“Don’t give up, Bare. Sometimes you’re stronger, sometimes it’s the demons around you. That’s life. I hope there will be more chances to hear you play.”

Informer.rs carried the same message of support, citing Slobodna Dalmacija, where the comment was attributed to a user in the article’s comment section.

While some followers voiced disappointment over the cut short concert, others called for understanding and support for the musician. None of the reactions offer an explanation for the interruption itself, only comments on what was seen in the footage.

Bare and Majke have performed regularly at regional festivals in recent years, and Sunday’s concert in Makarska was expected to be one of the more anticipated sets at Modro i zeleno. Instead, the audience got only a few minutes on stage, a video that spread across social media within the hour, and a question that, for now, remains unanswered.

If the festival organizers, the band, or Bare himself comment, this story will be updated.