El’dorado Festival, Kamensk-Shakhtinsky. Photographer Natalia Mershina

From June 19 to 21, 2026, a new music festival — EL’DORADO — rocked the shore of the picturesque canyon‑lake El’dorado in the city of Kamensk‑Shakhtinsky, Rostov Region. The organizers were the team behind the Taman festival and the Krop Arena concert venue network. The venue was the Melekhov tourist base in the village of Chistoozerny.

This year, 18 bands took the stage. Among them were both legends of the Russian scene and bright representatives of the new generation. For example,

Мастер (Master) — a Soviet and Russian rock band formed in 1987. The permanent leader of the group is Alik Granovsky. The band was one of the first in the USSR to play thrash metal and is rightfully considered one of the most successful acts on the Russian metal scene. Master’s discography includes 9 studio albums, including 2 records in English.

Amalgama — a Russian heavy metal band from Saint Petersburg, founded in 2001 by Vlad “Graf” and Oleg “Helgi”. Over the years, the band has played over 450 concerts, completed their first European tour (10 shows in 5 countries), took part in U.D.O.'s world tour “Steelfactory tour”, performed at festivals such as Master of Rocks, Rock Castle, Ostrava v Plamenech, MetalFest OpenAir, and also in Bulgaria with Europe and Helloween. The band has shared the stage with world legends such as Judas Priest, Scorpions, Lordi, Steel Panther, Sonata Arctica, and many others.

Эпидемия (Epidemia) — a power metal band founded by guitarist Yuri Melisov. Their first concert took place back in 1995. Over their long history (more than 30 years), the band became known for their grand metal operas in the high‑fantasy spirit, such as Elven Manuscript. In 2002, the band was among the five nominees for the MTV Europe Music Awards from Russia, and the song “Proydi svoy put'” (Find Your Own Way) stayed at the top of the Chartova Dyuzhina (Chart Dozen) for a whole month. In 2022, Epidemia won the national music award Chartova Dyuzhina in the category “Band”.

СЛОТ (SLOT) — one of the brightest alternative metal bands in the country, playing nu‑metal and rapcore. Founded in 2002, the band quickly gained popularity: their first tour covered more than 40 cities, and the hits “Klon” and “Tolko by prikalyvalo” were featured on the soundtrack to the cult film Bumer. Just before the festival, the band scored a major victory in an international cover contest held by Metallica themselves — their version of the track “Carpe Diem Baby” was recognized as the best among all submissions.

Мегамозг (Megamozg) — a daring nu‑metal band formed around 2020. The guys take the stage in masks and are known for their insane live energy — their performances often end with injuries to themselves. In their music, the band boldly combines rap motifs, metal, clean choruses, glitches, and electronics, setting new standards for the genre.

АРИЯ (ARIYA), RADIO TAPOK, PLAMENEV, АНГЕЛ‑ХРАНИТЕЛЬ (ANGEL‑KHRANITEL), СЕКТОР ГАЗА (SEKTOR GAZA), NAGART, ЙОРШ (YORSH), СПЕКТАКЛЬ ДЖО (SPEKTAKL DZHO), ЕРМАК! (YERMAK!), AI MORI, ILLIDIANCE, SHOKRAN and GroTTesque.

For me, this was my first rock festival working as a photographer. The organizers have posted many more photos on their page [vk.com/taman_fest], both from me and from other photographers. Here, I’ve selected 60 shots that passed the approval of my inner critic.

The experience was absolutely explosive!  

Diary

El’dorado Festival, Kamensk-Shakhtinsky. Photographer Natalia Mershina

“Yuzhny Dvizh” (Southern Drive): Arkany (Arcana), Crocodile Spears, Donera, Gabarit (Dimensions) at Diesel Hall, Voronezh

The Voronezh leg of the “Yuzhny Dvizh” (Southern Drive) tour, where bands from the “Davai INC” label performed across...
El’dorado Festival, Kamensk-Shakhtinsky. Photographer Natalia Mershina

“Intonatsiya” at the Palazzo Concert Hall, Voronezh

Over 20 songs for “Molodyozhka” (The Youth Squad — a Russian TV series about hockey players), the “Zolotoy Grammofon”...
El’dorado Festival, Kamensk-Shakhtinsky. Photographer Natalia Mershina

“Bumazhny Zmey” at the “Balagan” Art Restaurant, Voronezh

On the festive evening of March 8th, Bumazhny Zmey treated the guests of “Balagan” to an amazing concert.
El’dorado Festival, Kamensk-Shakhtinsky. Photographer Natalia Mershina

Celebrating Maslenitsa in Voronezh

On February 22, 2026, the village of Chertovitsy marked the end of winter with a traditional Maslenitsa celebration.
El’dorado Festival, Kamensk-Shakhtinsky. Photographer Natalia Mershina

“Men’she Tryopa!” at Club “12”, Voronezh

New concert photos!
El’dorado Festival, Kamensk-Shakhtinsky. Photographer Natalia Mershina

“Arkany” & “Arteriya” at Club “12”, Voronezh

My first club shoot!
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