A 10-hour musical journey takes audiences on a journey through Europe and the multicultural traditions of Poland of the past and present
Over a hundred musicians from all over Europe take the stage at Warsaw's New Town Square, combining distinct musical styles that come together to create a new, unique style of music. Cultures, instruments and modes of expression intermingle, combining tradition and contemporaneity. Guitars, trumpets, drums, violins, and upright basses are accompanied by unique instruments such as the hurdy-gurdy, the mandora, the Scandinavian Mora-harp, the karkabuz from Morocco, and the Biłgoraj suka along with the Płock fiddle - historic Polish instruments reconstructed from old illustrations and archaeological findings.
The folk song and dance group Teka performs traditional pieces from various Hungarian regions. DROM, a band inspired by Gypsy-swing roots, takes the stage with the outstanding Gypsy singer Adam Kozłowski. The Gypsies from the Bucharest-based ensemble Mahala Rai Banda will be accompanied by Polish highlanders - Tomasz Jabko Łapka (violin), and Stanisław Karpiel Bułecka (vocals), while Gooral (Mateusz Górny) spices up their traditional sound with an electronic twist.
The Warsaw Village Band will appear alongside the legendary Swedes from Hedningarna. Western Europe is represented by The Destroyers, a 15-member group from the United Kingdom offering a fusion of Balkan, Celtic, Greek, and Italian music in a punk-cabaret style. The energetic English lads will be joined by Czessband, whose musical program is inspired by Warsaw’s folk tradition. An appearance by the band Nefesh, led by Raphael Rogiński, will feature a joint performance by Greek and Turkish musicians, reconnecting two Mediterranean cultures that, up until recently, had lived in harmony. The group Cukunft, which employs modern means of expression to continue the tradition of Jewish music - mostly of the Eastern European Klezmer variety - will perform alongside Israeli musicians whom audiences may recognize from Balkan Beat Box and Boom Pam. The evening will end with a concert by a Spanish underground legend elbicho, known for their brave fusion of flamenco and progressive rock with Afro-Latin rhythms, reggae, and ska.
The cultural mix doesn’t end there. During concerts, audiences have a chance to try delicacies from all over the world: apart from traditional Polish pierogi, cheese from the Korycin region, and the oscypek (a sheep’s cheese made by Polish highlanders), they’ll find traditional dishes from Vietnam, Senegal, Chechnya, Armenia, Russia, and Hungary as well as Tatar and Jewish dishes.
Source: National Audiovisual Institute