Croatian singer Marko Purišic AKA Baby Lasagna made his breakthrough to Anglophone audiences at the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest when he reached second place, and now his Edinburgh fans had their first chance to see him as part of La Belle Angele’s Fringe programme.
With a debut album, Demons and Mosquitoes, that blends techno, metal, pop punk and house, there’s something for all tastes in his setlist. Marko takes aim at the obsession with social media in his first two singles IG Boy and Don’t Hate Yourself (But Don’t Love Yourself Too Much), while the Latin-tinged Baila is just over two minutes of pure fun. Anxiety is a common theme in Marko’s work, and Less Than Great and the title track demonstrate this; the younger audience members clearly resonated with Marko here, though the older crowd were also singing every word.
It’s a short and sweet set (for which Marko apologises) and inevitably the finale is his Eurovision hit, Rim Tim Tagi Dim, a tongue-in-cheek ode to an anxious young Croatian boy’s search for a bright future abroad. The small venue erupts with joy, and Marko and his band are visibly overcome, at this point dressed in kilts as a ‘wee tribute’ to Edinburgh.
Baby Lasagna is proof that real talent and artistry is alive and well at Eurovision, and its alumni can break out of the contest’s confines.
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