New Acts Join Familiar Faces in Stellar Capital Ukrainian Festival Line-up!

You better have a good pair of dancing shoes ready to wear out this summer because if you’ve been to a Capital Ukrainian Festival concert in the past you know the music is quickly going to make your seat fairly unnecessary. 

As the 19th century came to a close, a large number of Ukrainians began to immigrate to Canadian bringing with them music rich in tradition. Many may be surprised to learn that Ukraine was the musical heartland of Eastern Europe and was known for its world-famous musical academy. Early songs broke away from traditional Western European harmony to form unique rhymes that gave Ukrainians their own indistinguishable sound that now carries through to modern bands keeping this traditional spices flavouring pop and rock songs. All of this will be showcased at the fest!

Take the Mad Heads, for example. Formed 25 years ago in Kyiv, these legendary Ukrainian rockers love bringing an edge to traditional folk songs. They’ll twist ‘em and turn ‘em inside out and roll it all in jumping ska beats. If you want some spirit raising tunes be ready to have those spirits boosted through whatever ceiling this band is playing under. With 8 studio albums, 27 videos and over 1000 shows, they are considered one of the busiest touring bands of Ukraine. Get caught up in their wild live show at the Friday, July 20th Korchma!

New to the fest, Burdon will be taking the stage all three days. Lucky us! Blasting onto the scene in 2002, these young musicians quickly developed a following due to their take on the traditional tunes, ritual songs and old ballads stirred in with more upbeat dances. If you want to hear songs from the old country as well as the mysterious Carpathian region, this is an act you are going to want to see as they bust out power female vocals, fiddles, nickelharpa, bouzouki, gardon, double bass and crazy percussions.

Also new is the Polky Village Band. They play Polish folk music the multicultural way. Hailing from Toronto, this group moves from uproarious dance tunes (polkas, anyone?) to haunting vocal melodies that will be sure to move you internally when you need a break from all that external bopping. You can hear them Friday and Saturday (July 21st).

The new acts don’t stop there. Blisk is a beautiful blend of Balkan song and dance alongside polyphonic Eastern European melodies. When you toss in hypnotic percussion you have a sound that will make you feel as though you have actually journeyed through the musical heritage of Ukraine, Poland, Macedonia, and Serbia. Also based out of Toronto, this group came together to bring the ancient songs to the modern world. Be transfixed by them Friday and Saturday night.

What happens when Ukrainian tunes ask a Canadian to dance? You get Euphoria, a fusion of both musical worlds heading to the Nation’s Capital after entertaining crowds in the prairies for a decade. With the launch of their debut album, their first ever performances in Ontario (Saturday and Sunday nights) are ones you will not want to miss.

Attendees wanted more classic music and the Capital Ukrainian Festival delivers with the Classical Concert Crossover Series. Exclusive to this is the klezmer clash of Kleztory! Influenced by jazz, gypsy, folk and the blues, these Opus Prize winners have wowed crowds in their native Montreal as well as worldwide performances across Canada, USA, China, Mexico and Germany. One of the stamps on their passport they are most proud of was being asked to be the only Canadian act to compete in Amsterdam’s 3rd International Jewish Festival. If you miss them at the Museum of History on Saturday you can swing by the festival grounds to hear them Sunday.

Much to the delight of his fans, festival favourite and classically trained violinist Vasyl Popadiuk is back this year. He’ll be joined by with his dynamic Papa Duke Band for more of that amazing fusing of Eastern European melodies in an energetic style that mixes in classic pop, rock, jazz and traditional Slavic and gypsy music. 5-member folk group Korinya are also returning for another round after adding more to their adoring fan base at last year’s festival.

Then, of course, there’s Zirka! They’ve been staples of the fest every year and, trust us, one of the best Zabava bands in Canada have no intention of missing the gig this summer. With them comes an instant party! Remember those dancing shoes we mentioned? Yeah, you might need a second set!

This is all just scratching the surface of what the festival has offer with loads more musicians on a loaded line-up. Come on out and experience both the modern and traditional, when Ukrainian music takes centre stage July 20-22 at the Capital Ukrainian Festival!