Tony Cetinski and Matija Cvek close the Arsana Festival on an open-air square in Ptuj
Tony Cetinski arrives in Ptuj for the finale of the 18th edition of the Arsana Festival, and the concert evening on the Main Square, or rather in the Mestna tržnica area, brings together two generations of Croatian pop. The program starts at 20:00, and alongside Cetinski, Matija Cvek has also been announced, one of the more prominent names on the newer regional pop scene. This means that the evening is not based solely on nostalgia and great ballads, but connects a repertoire built over decades with songs that have marked the past several seasons.
Over more than three decades, Cetinski has developed a recognizable style between pop, rock, soul and Mediterranean melodies. His concerts rely heavily on his vocals and choruses that the audience quickly turns into collective singing. "Blago onom tko te ima", "Umirem 100x dnevno", "Onaj ko te ljubi sretan je", "Kad žena zavoli", "Opet si pobijedila" and "Ja sam zaljubljen" are among the titles regularly associated with his performances.
At the same time, Ptuj is more than just a stop along the way. From June 13 to August 28, 2026, Arsana brings together performers of classical, jazz, world, vocal and instrumental music at locations throughout the old town center. Cetinski and Cvek perform on the final date of this summer program, giving the evening a clear role within the festival.
It is worth securing tickets in time.
The current phase of Cetinski's career is not just a look back
Although the main attraction is his catalog of major hits, Cetinski arrives in Ptuj during a period in which he continues to release new music. The single "Budi mi sreća" was released on February 10, 2026. In the preceding period, "Ti si ta", connected with the film "Taxi ljubav", and "Piši propalo" also appeared, while the songs "Bijela zastava", "Tebi sve dugujem" and "Sve ili ništa" were released in 2024.
This is important context because his current performances do not rely exclusively on the catalog from earlier decades. At the same time, his concert strength still comes from songs that the audience recognizes within just a few bars. Records from previous performances list "23. prosinac", "Blago onom tko te ima", "Čovjek od leda", "Kad bi dao Bog", "Lagala nas mala", "Onaj ko te ljubi sretan je", "Opet si pobijedila" and "Umirem 100x dnevno" among the frequently performed titles.
This is not an announcement of the exact set list for Ptuj. The order of the songs, the duration of Cetinski's part of the evening and any additional performances have not been published, so previous shows can serve only as an indication of the type of repertoire. It is precisely the combination of older ballads, pop-rock songs and newer singles that explains why his concerts attract both long-time fans and a broader audience that knows him from his biggest radio hits.
Matija Cvek brings more contemporary pop and a different energy
The most important addition to the basic event announcement is the fact that Cetinski is not performing alone in Ptuj. Matija Cvek will perform at the same closing evening of the Arsana Festival, and his songs "Ptice", "Visine" and "Nasloni se" are among the most recognizable tracks in his repertoire to date. Cvek is a winner of Porin awards for pop album and male vocal performance, and he has collaborated with performers including Marija Šerifović, Massimo, Nina Badrić and Tony Cetinski.
That combination also makes musical sense. Cetinski brings a catalog spanning several decades and a distinctly emotional vocal approach. Cvek is closer to contemporary pop and soul, with a band sound that moves easily between more intimate songs and more rhythmic sections of the program. The shared evening therefore brings together performers who belong to different generations of the same broad pop tradition.
For audiences coming primarily because of Cetinski, this is an opportunity to also hear a performer who has built a strong concert presence in recent years. For younger visitors who listen to Cvek more often, Cetinski's part of the evening opens up a much broader catalog of songs that have been present on radio and major stages for decades.
Full band format on the festival stage
The Arsana Festival program has also published the lineup of musicians accompanying both performers. This confirms that this will be a full-band concert format.
- Tony Cetinski - vocals
- Marko Vojvodić - guitar, Martin Petračić - bass, Mario Lepoglavec - drums
- Tomislav Mihaljević - keyboards, Tea Mudrovčić - backing vocals
- Matija Cvek - vocals, with The Funkensteins
- Tin Švegović - guitar, Darko Vlahović - bass, Marin Gregov - drums
- Martina Radić and Mihaela Karla Palameta - backing vocals, Filip Rušin - beatbox
Such a lineup points to an evening built around a live rhythm section, guitars, keyboards and backing vocals. For Cetinski's repertoire, this is particularly important in songs that move from quiet introductions into big choruses, while Cvek's band can emphasize the soul and funk elements of his sound.
What previous performances say about the audience experience
Cetinski performed in Maribor and Ljubljana in the spring of 2026. Reports from those concerts describe an almost two-hour journey through his greatest hits and very active audience sing-alongs. Performances in Celje, Koper, Bjelovar and Sarajevo were also recorded during 2026, so Ptuj comes in the middle of an active concert season.
However, Ptuj has a different character from an indoor arena. The Main Square is an open urban space in the historic center. The published materials for this event do not state the capacity or the technical parameters of the sound system, so there is no point in speculating about how individual positions on the square will sound.
The advantage of the open-air location is the feeling of an immediate connection with the city. The audience does not enter a separate concert complex, but directly into the heart of the old town, among historic façades and streets that become festival spaces during Arsana. For performers whose shows depend heavily on audience response, such a setting can particularly emphasize collective singing during the biggest choruses.
Ticket sales for this event are underway.
Main Square and Mestna tržnica: a concert in the very heart of Ptuj
The location appears in different announcements as the Main Square and Mestna tržnica Ptuj. City announcements directly connect these two names and describe the Main Square as the area of the city market. It is a renovated urban surface in the center of Ptuj that, in addition to its everyday function as a square and market, also serves for performances and temporary event installations.
For visitors, the location is practical because it lies within the old town center. City landmarks, squares, cafés and promenades are all located within the same compact area, so attending the concert can easily be combined with spending several hours in the city.
Ptuj promotes itself as Slovenia's oldest city, with the Roman heritage of ancient Poetovio and a medieval center dominated by Ptuj Castle. The castle today houses the collections of the Ptuj-Ormož Regional Museum, and its location offers views over the rooftops of the old town and the area along the Drava River. For visitors arriving earlier, this is a natural addition to the concert day without the need for long transfers within the city.
Arrival by car, parking and the free city bus
Ptuj lies in northeastern Slovenia, close to the main road routes connecting the areas of Graz, Zagreb, Ljubljana and Budapest. Since the concert takes place in the old town center, it is more practical to park in a larger public parking area and walk the final part of the journey rather than trying to drive directly to the square.
The city's tourist information lists several public parking areas with different arrangements. The P&R at Zadružni trg is particularly useful, as it is connected to the city bus. Ptuj has a free city bus, and line 1 operates throughout the year between the bus station, the P&R parking lot at Zadružni trg and the old town area.
- If you are arriving by car, allow extra time for parking and walking to the Main Square.
- If you use the Zadružni trg P&R, check the current timetable for line 1 before departure.
- If you are arriving by train or intercity bus, the onward journey to the center can be arranged on foot or by local transport.
- The opening time of the entrances is not listed separately in the available program, so do not plan to arrive at the last minute.
- Since the location is outdoors, check the weather forecast and the rules regarding items allowed into the specific event before traveling.
For larger events, traffic arrangements in historic centers may change, so a safer strategy is to aim for larger parking areas outside the narrowest part of the square. This is particularly useful after the concert, when a large number of visitors leave the center at the same time.
Who will find this concert evening particularly appealing
For long-time Cetinski fans, the greatest value will be the catalog spanning several phases of his career. His ballads have sufficiently recognizable choruses for the concert to work even when the audience is not made up exclusively of fans who know every album. This is exactly why such a repertoire works well at festivals and on city squares, where some visitors come because of the performer and others because of the festival evening itself.
For fans of newer regional pop, Matija Cvek is an additional reason to attend. His performance broadens the profile of the evening toward a younger audience and brings a different rhythmic dynamic. Couples, groups of friends and families with different musical preferences therefore get a program that is neither exclusively nostalgic nor focused only on current pop.
The Arsana Festival also gives the event a broader cultural framework. The 2026 program includes numerous musical genres and performers throughout the summer, with Cetinski and Cvek appearing on the festival's final date. It can therefore be expected that the audience will come from Ptuj, other parts of Slovenia and neighboring countries, especially because the city has good road connections with the broader Central European region.
How to plan the evening without relying on unconfirmed details
The most important information for planning is that the program begins at 20:00 on the Main Square. No information has been published that would allow a reliable estimate of the duration of the entire evening, the separate duration of Cetinski's performance or the exact finishing time. The same applies to the detailed set list.
Therefore, return transportation should not be based on the assumption of an early finish. If you have a last train, bus or another strictly scheduled departure, allow time to get out of the crowd and walk from the old town. If you are staying overnight in Ptuj, accommodation near the center simplifies the plan and allows you to arrive earlier without having to move your car again.
For audience members who want to be closer to the stage, it is reasonable to arrive earlier, especially because the evening brings together two performers with their own audiences. For those who prefer a more relaxed evening, the central location makes it possible to arrive in the city earlier, have dinner or take a walk, and then head toward the concert area.
It is worth securing tickets in time.
Ptuj before the concert: a few hours in Slovenia's oldest city
If you are arriving in Ptuj from another city or country, the historic center is compact enough for the main points of interest to be connected on foot. Ptuj Castle, the city tower, Mestni trg and the Roman heritage provide enough content for several hours before the music program.
The city's Roman layer is particularly interesting. Present-day Ptuj developed on the site of ancient Poetovio, the largest Roman settlement in the territory of modern Slovenia. This gives the concert a setting in which Roman history, medieval architecture and a contemporary summer festival meet within a small area.
Since this is an open square, clothing and footwear should be adapted to the weather and to prolonged standing. Check your return transportation before entering the concert, and it is more practical to leave your car in a location from which you can depart after the event without passing through the narrowest part of the old town.
Sources:
- Arsana Festival - 2026 program, performers, confirmed musicians and the context of the closing evening.
- Visit Ptuj - festival dates, locations in the old town, information about the city, Ptuj Castle and Roman heritage.
- Municipality of Ptuj - date, time and location of the event and the connection between the names Main Square and Mestna tržnica.
- Apple Music - discography, release date of the single "Budi mi sreća" and Tony Cetinski's newer releases.
- setlist.fm - records of songs from previous performances and an overview of concerts during 2025 and 2026.
- Pro-music - report from the concerts in Maribor and Ljubljana in March 2026.
- Makro 5 gradnje - description of the renovation of Mestna tržnica and its use for city events.