Damir Halilić – Hal
A musician from Rijeka, initiator and artistic director of the Festival, has released four albums, which have been recognised by both domestic and foreign critics. He regularly has concerts in Croatia and abroad. He collaborates with the some of the biggest names in the world in finger-style guitars such as Tommy Emmanuel, Muriel Anderson, Woody Mann, Peter Finger, Franco Morone, Clive Carroll etc. Most of them have come to Croatia for the first time. So far, the greatest acknowledgement of his work was the Porin award for his instrumental album Mare Nostrum (Croatia Records), which was recorded in London by the legendary B. J. Cole.
The newly founded Jerry Ricks Blues Festival Damir Halilić Hal will be used for a live DVD recording, which will be released with his new album at the end of this year. Through the role of the art director, he runs the BIG festival (Baška International Guitar Festival). He organises the Jerry Ricks Blues Festival programme together with Riccardo Staraj. Apart from Klana, he will also perform in Kastav, where he lives.
