The Girl from the North Returns (2013)

Arhiv Arhiv Last updated 11 June 2026

Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik

Location: Ljubljana / SiTi Teater / Slovenia
Concert date: 13.03.2013
Attendance: 230

This time, Severa Gjurin was the one to »blame« for another sold-out SiTi Teater show. The time was ripe, and she decided to try building more seriously on her own name, which over the years has become respected and widely recognized on Slovenia’s music and entertainment scene. She kept her Olivija bandmates by her side, Dejan Lapanja (acoustic guitar) and Gašper Peršl (drums), while the seasoned veteran Žiga Golob jumped in on double bass to fill in for her brother Gal Gjurin.

In the packed SiTi Teater, Severa spoiled the crowd with the expected run of Olivija standards like »Najini gozdovi«, »Ledena«, »Kadar sva sama«, »Nimam več«, »Brez sramu in brez strahu« and »Kjer je toplo«. In these »stripped-down« versions, her charmingly caressing vocals came right up close to everyone in the room. The newer song »Mlini in vetrovi« kicked off an intimate, solemn yet far from restrained evening of »stripped-back« (organic-acoustic) musical exploration, and with a damn interesting repertoire Severa showed she’s an extremely confident and determined musical figure who simply enjoys her role, delivering and sharing a musical message with the people. One of the evening’s spices was her take on the Avtomobili classic »Obsedela sva sama«, and »Pesem za babice« came out almost eclectic, with Golob taking over the lead accompaniment melody on double bass while Severa held the vocal melody with simple humming.

The hearts in the room were especially touched by an excellent version of the Prapapir song »Ali je še kaj prostora tam na jugu?«, then by the recently set-to-music »Sej vame« by Mila Kačič, which hits you with the depth of its confession, and by the two newer ones, »Ti si moje srce« and »Kakor da se nič ni zgodilo«. It was precisely the newer adaptations, born in a spirit of genuine spontaneity at recent joint »jams« with the Slovenian music trailblazer and veteran Borut Činč and released on the album »Časovne skice«, that really lit up the stage.

Severa’s exceptional confidence also shows in her taking on some tougher standards by international artists, like Neil Young’s »Harvest Moon«, Bob Dylan’s »Not Dark Yet«, the R.E.M. cover »Oh My Heart« to close the main set, and Leonard Cohen’s »Hallelujah« in the encore. On the numbers where Severa held the acoustic guitar herself (with no band on stage), some flaws in the performance showed. Her fretting hand is simply too weak. She adapted the grips as much as she could, but a strum across some of the strings, especially when a barre chord comes up, still sounds »choked«. She also fumbled a few chord changes here and there. There’s still plenty of practice ahead. Severa made up for all these little guitar hiccups with excellent vocals, no doubt about that. Her voice stood front and center throughout the show, backed by the flexible and devoted accompaniment of the in-great-spirits trio Lapanja-Peršl-Golob. Still. On those numbers where it’s just acoustic guitar behind Severa’s vocals, it would be much better to have Dejan Lapanja cover the acoustic guitar backdrop entirely.

One thing is certain, though. Severa has a special voice. A voice that, through her unique character and her interpretation of a repertoire of covers, effectively flows into a completely new, unheard and unexplored adventure, close to a jazz cabaret experience. The mission was accomplished across the board. People wholeheartedly soaked up Severa’s sensuality, at times her bliss, but also her fragility and girlishness. No mimicry! All organic and natural!

Severa also salted the evening with a tribute to the diva of Slovenian jazz soul, Mia Žnidarič, in the song »Iskre«, and at the end of the concert she recalled her collaboration with Vlado Kreslin with a version of the musical setting of Prešeren’s poem »O, Vrba«.

Another magical night at SiTi Teater flew by in a flash, even though the show ran almost two hours. That says a lot about its tightness and the fascinating way Severa Gjurin paints a musical landscape, the way she sees it and serves it up. A girl of exceptional talent, charisma and remarkable musical range. There’s clearly something in the Gjurin family, strictly hardwired into the genes, that makes its members born for the stage and the cameras. So Severa Gjurin’s solo concert career starts out on solid foundations. Let’s hope original material joins the mix in the future, and that the adaptations ripen even further in arrangements tailored to the stage!