Kalush Orchestra gives UK’s first gig at Glastonbury Festival – with choreography written in just days | News about Ant-Man & Art

Eurovision winners Kalush Orchestra – who delivered victory to war-torn Ukraine in the competition last month – performed their first UK gig at the Glastonbury Festival.

The folk rap group kicked off their performance early Saturday morning, on Shangri-La’s Truth Stage, with a set of 13 songs – 12 of which were written in just 10 days, according to the group’s team. surname.

The crowd-pleasing Stephania – which has been the anthem of hope for their country since winning this year’s Eurovision Festival – was the second song on their list and was played again as the last. by popular demand.

It was a rapid change of fortune for the band, who were fighting as part of Ukraine’s resistance against Russia just weeks before their Eurovision victory in Turin.

On the morning of the show, the band shared a snap of themselves outside Big Ben in London, with the caption: “Yo, today we perform at one of the biggest festivals in the world @glastofest We’ll be performing at the same event as @bilieeilish and @kendricklamar Every day we visit a new city and a new country, but we always get the same response – “The boys from Ukraine gave the best performance.”

On stage, rapper Oleh Psiuk (wearing his signature pink bucket hat), multi-instrumentalist Ihor Didenchuk and dancer Vlad Kurochka led the group, who sang mostly in Ukrainian, with some English dialogue and rap. An interpreter was also present on stage.

Although there were about 3,000 avid spectators who knew only one of their songs (Stephania), they quickly picked up on catchy tunes, often singing along.

The call and answer part of the film was remarkably successful considering the language barrier, as recognized by Psiuk, who joked: “Who doesn’t know Ukrainian? Oh my…”

Before the song Love Train, Psiuk tells the audience, “Imagine this is the last party of your life,” a poignant thought for an act of performing as their countrymen fight for their lives.

An ear beetle named Stomba Womba was particularly amusing to festival-goers, who sang along as if it were a much-loved song rather than a foreign song they’d never heard before.

Another song, Oh Mamon, echoes the theme of Stephania, honoring the role of a mother in the family.

Of course, the Ukrainian muffler heard in Stephania makes regular (and not unwelcome) appearances, along with beatboxing, birdsong in tune and a mysterious Ukrainian instrument resembling a slim guitar long and placed on the shoulders of a musician.

Ahead of their performance, the band’s moderator Psiuk told Sky News: “We want to share our culture and our music. And Eurovision is a point where we show our Ukrainian music. and want to spread it all over the world.

“We are very happy to be here and we really want to impress everyone here.

“Right now, I feel great support from all over the world. It’s great that people from here also support Ukraine. And we are very grateful to everyone, every single person who has supported Ukraine.”

Their performance at Worthy Farm marked their first time on British soil, and the band became global stars after winning Eurovision with Stefania, a song dedicated to Psiuk’s mother.

The carnival crowds have certainly given them a warm welcome, although the majority may have never heard of them just a few months ago.

It was a quick rise to fame for the band, who signed to the record label Def Jam as part of Universal Music Group after its formation in 2019 and has released two albums to date.

Since their victory, the band has spent time in Ukraine and abroad in Germany promoting the release of a music video for Stefania.

They also auctioned the glass microphone trophy they won at Eurovision to raise money for the Ukrainian military.

Last week, it was revealed that the BBC was in talks with the European Broadcasting Union about hosting Eurovision, after the agency ruled that it could not continue in war-torn Ukraine next year in the tradition of the winning country to host.

Commenting on the decision, Psuik told Sky News: “Ukrainians are saddened by this news that Eurovision may not be in Ukraine, but we hope there are discussions going on right now. We hope hope that Eurovision will remain in Ukraine.”

In addition to the Kalush Orchestra, Glastonbury will also host a number of other Ukrainian acts this year, amid Russia’s invasion of their country.

Go_A will open the John Peel stage on Saturday with a performance of electronic folk music and soaring vocal melodies.

The group, formed in 2012, represented Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2021 with the dance anthem Shum, which came in fifth place.

Band member Ihor Didenchuk is also a member of the Kalush Orchestra.

The Kyiv DakhaBrakha folk quartet will perform on Sunday afternoon on the Pyramid Stage.

The group, which combines the musical styles of several local ethnic groups, has described themselves as “ambassadors of free Ukraine” and has long used their performances to speak out against the war and the wars. policy of Vladimir Putin.

Meanwhile, on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the world to “spread the truth” about Russia’s invasion of his country through a video message broadcast on a big screen at the Stage. Other.

Calling Glastonbury “the greatest gathering of freedom”, Mr Zelenskyy told a crowd of thousands: “The festival will resume this year after a two-year break, the pandemic has claimed millions of lives across the globe. world, but no. broken [us].

“We in Ukraine also want to live our lives like we used to and enjoy our freedom and this wonderful summer, but we can’t do it because the most terrible thing has happened – Russia has stolen our peace. our vase.”

He ended his message by saying “Slava Ukraini”, which means “glory to Ukraine”, which was answered by raucous cheers from festival goers.