Ljubljana - The largest street music festival in the Slovenian capital, starting on Thursday evening with a concert by Bakalina Velika in the Novi Trg square, will perk up the old centre of Ljubljana for three days, featuring 21 free-of-charge events in six venues.

The 34th Nights in Old Ljubljana festival, organised by Imago Sloveniae, will have an international touch also this year, featuring more than 90 musicians from nine countries.

The festival will be opened by Bakalina Velika, which the organisers say will take the audience on a "musical adventure ... in which the multitude of experimental, eclectic sounds and instruments meets intimate stories."

The other highlights include Caribbean voodoo blues rock band Moonlight Benjamin from France, and Spanish flamenco, jazz and electronica band Sentido Project, which will perform with Slovenian jazz saxophone player Jure Pukl.

Also featured will be an evening with Italian-Austrian duo of Luciano Biondini and Klaus Falschlunger, who combine the accordion and Indian sitar to "travel the vast galaxies of the western and eastern musical hemispheres."

Žigan Krajnčan will present a project that combines various genres, such as jazz, funk, hip-hop, reggae and classical music, while Folk Trio Lumi will play their own compositions that "combine tradition and frequently unexpected youthful audacity."

The festival will also feature Duo Sonoma, the Carinthian Slovenian sisters Mira and Sara Gregorič on the violin and guitar, the Brazilian duo Musical Manifesto, the world music band Autetno, the Italian Ecanes Quartet, the Zhlehtet Collective, the vocal jazz quartet Vox Arsana, the young collective WCKD Nation and the Hungarian band Zajnal.

In addition to musical events, a diverse accompanying programme is also scheduled, including an international multi-disciplinary symposium, a puppet show and salsa, bachata and swing dance evenings.