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The Surakarta City Government held the Solo Keroncong Festival (SKF) 2025 at Fort Vastenburg in Surakarta City, Central Java Province in July 25-26, 2025.
The festival featured performances by renowned keroncong musicians such as Waldjinah, Endah Laras, Mus Mujiono, Didiek SSS, Elisha Orcarus Allasso, Niken Salindri, and others. Furthermore, various keroncong communities from within and outside the country will also participate.
"Their presence makes this event an inclusive and international cultural gathering," SKF 2025 Curator Erie Setiawan stated.
Erie said that this year's SKF has 'Keroncong Heritage: Digging for Heritage in Music' as its artistic concept, which is the bases for both the event's 'Keroncong Unlimited' theme and 'Hangudi Kuncaraning Keroncong' tagline.
"With this concept, this year's SKF is able to unite the diversity and preservation of keroncong music in synergy with Solo's tangible cultural heritage, thus impacting culture, tourism, and education," Erie told Tempo on July 24, 2025.
He explained that the artistic concept of 'Keroncong Heritage' was chosen to explore the diversity of historical sites, artifacts, and monuments in Solo as artistic opportunities, alongside being locations for various activities for the sites and monuments..
"This concept is expected to not only enrich the festival experience but also have a positive and strategic impact on the community and government by increasing tourism and educational value," he said.
SKF 2025 was also enlivened by exciting pre-events, such as the Road to Solo Keroncong Festival on June 20, 2025 at Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) Solo.
It was followed by similar events at the Twindu Market of the Solo Night Market on July 11, 2025, and at Lokananta Bloc on July 14, 2025. A Keroncong Singing Competition was also be held at Solo Paragon Mall on July 18, 2025.
"SKF 2025 is a platform for expression, education, and collaboration across sectors—from culture and tourism to the creative economy—aimed at fostering a new generation of keroncong musicians," he said.
SKF was first held in 2009. At that time, Solo was declared a Keroncong City during the Joko "Jokowi" Widodo administration. The festival has consistently become an annual national event.
The consistency has led to SKF's inclusion in the Tourism Ministry's Karisma Event Nusantara (KEN) calendar of cultural festivals for for four consecutive years from 2022 to 2025.
SKF 2025 is expected to be a crucial platform for helping the public comprehend the dynamics of the latest keroncong music scene and reaffirming Solo's position as the center of keroncong development in Indonesia.
