Ukrainian folk-punk band DakhaBrakha to perform in Ann Arbor
From across war-torn borders, the resilience of the people of Ukraine will be brought to life in Michigan on Friday, Nov. 3, when Ukrainian folk-punk quartet DakhaBrakha performs in Ann Arbor.
The 7:30 p.m. performance will feature songs of love, tradition and hope rooted in Ukrainian culture. The U.K.’s Hackney Citizen said of the 19-year-old troupe, “Musically, the whole experience is a riotous explosion of color and reinvention. The classic Eastern European folk base is there, with belting, complex and hypnotic harmonies.”
Band member Marko Halanevych said (through a translator), “We really hope that after the concert people become friends of our country, and can take away something light, something nice and some great emotions they can remember for a long time.”
The shadow of Russia’s Feb. 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and the ongoing occupation and war that has raged since, falls long over the band’s efforts these days. Halanevych said it is imperative that people understand the war must end.
“We can’t find any agreement with this country,” he said, referring to Russia, “so we need to find some process how to stop it and how to prevent this from happening again... To live in this situation is a nightmare for everybody, and people are frightened and don’t know what to do because they have no ways to escape from this.
“We don’t want to live in occupation... The simplest way to support us is to supply us with arms to defend our territory and return to parts of our country. We are very thankful for the support we’ve had and have now, but we still need more.”
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Halanevych said that while Ukraine as a country is rather young, its rich culture is many centuries old, and Ukrainians continue to fight for its survival.
“Of course, our history is tightly connected to the history of the Russian Empire and other empires for which Ukraine was part of their territories," he said. "It’s a miracle that we’ve been able to save our language, our traditions, our culture and our identity. And now, we can really share it with other people. For example, one of the most famous Christmas songs, ‘Carol of the Bells,’ was brought to us at the beginning of the 20th century and was written by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych, and nobody knows it’s based on a Ukrainian folk song.”
Halanevych said the band loves collaborating with artists of differing genres, and especially dreams of working with singer-songwriters Tom Waits and Billie Eilish. He also said he hopes people come away from the concert with renewed drive to assist Ukraine in maintaining its independence.
“The U.S. is the biggest friend of Ukraine,” he said. “It’s great support for us. Material donations are great, but we want people at our concerts to have some kind of personal and some spiritual connection to our culture and to our music, and maybe then it can influence them to vote for politicians who support our cause, and to pursuade their politicians to see this war from our side. It’s important to give people this personal connection so as not to forget about this war.”
DakhaBrakha will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 3 at the University of Michigan’s Hill Auditorium, 825 N. University Ave., Ann Arbor. Tickets start at $14 and can be purchased at www.ums.org.
Contact Free Press arts and culture reporter Duante Beddingfield at dbeddingfield@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ukrainian folk-punk band DakhaBrakha to perform in Ann Arbor
