Salme & Vaba Lava Season Opening Party

On September 11, Salme and Vaba Lava celebrate the start of the new season and invite everyone to join us for a shared opening party.

The evening’s headline act is Vaiko Eplik and Eliit, one of Estonia’s most distinctive bands. Their melodic songs, witty lyrics and infectious energy will give the new season the perfect start.

Schedule:

Doors open at 20:00

20:00–21:00 DJ Marta Aliide Jakovski

21:00–22:30 Vaiko Eplik and Eliit

22:30–00:00 DJ Sveta Grigorjeva

The discounted ticket price of €25 is available until the end of August. From September 1, the ticket price will be €30.

Vaiko Eplik and Eliit

Vaiko Eplik and Eliit are one of the most distinctive alternative pop and rock acts in Estonia, fronted by singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Vaiko Eplik. Their music combines Estonian-language lyrics with melodic pop, rock and electronic soundscapes. The Eliit lineup consists of Sten Šeripov, Kostja Tsõbulevski ja Kristjan Kallas. Eplik and Eliit have been making music together for more than a decade, and in 2024 they released their first album created as a collective work, Lähen müüjaks, featuring music based on the poetry of Estonian poet Betti Alver.

Marta Aliide Jakovski

Marta Aliide Jakovski is primarily a theatre director, but her creative background also extends into music. She studied rhythm music vocals at the Heino Eller Tartu Music College and jazz music at the University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy. In 2022, she graduated from the directing programme at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre’s School of Performing Arts. Jakovski’s work is characterized by a bold combination of genres and themes. Her productions include Fundamentalist, The Boy Who Saw in the Dark, Krum and The Last Livonian. In 2024, she received the Kristallkingake (Crystal Shoe) Award. In May 2026, her production of Tiina Tauraite’s play Bens või diisel (Petrol or Diesel) premiered at Vaba Lava’s black box theatre, characterized by its sharpness and dark humour.

Sveta Grigorjeva

Sveta Grigorjeva is an Estonian choreographer, dancer, poet and critic whose work is characterized by expressiveness, social sharpness, and a bold interplay of body and text. She has published three collections of poetry and created several acclaimed performances, including TEKHNE, FAKERZ and Tantsud, mille saatel uinuda, unistada, puhata ja vastupanu osutada (Dances to Fall Asleep, Dream, Rest and Resist To), which won the Estonian Theatre Awards for Best Dance Performance in 2023.

In November, Grigorjeva’s new production MASC, which she has written and directed, will premiere at Vaba Lava. The performance explores what forms of masculinity are needed in today’s world and what masculinity might mean when it does not restrict, but instead supports both those who embody it and those around them. MASC premieres on November 13, 2026, at Vaba Lava’s Narva Theatre Centre.