Balkan Sundays is back and it's every 4th Sunday at Ashkenaz in Berkeley. This next edition will be on October 26th and the core band will be the hard hitting Balkan Sundays veterans:

Joey Friedman – saxophone

Calvin Lai – clarinet

Jeff Giaquinto – sousaphone

Ivan Velev – percussion

They’ll lift your spirits and get you dancing with irresistible tunes from the Balkans and beyond.

Bring your friends, bring your instruments if you’d like to sit in, and bring your best self to Ashkenaz for a night of music, dancing, and community.

Make sure to come early for the dance lesson at 7:30. You are welcome to move however you like at Balkan Sundays but we like to give you the opportunity to learn some of the traditional dances. See you there!

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Kitka is thrilled to partner with The Freight and Center Stage to introduce Bay Area audiences to Kurbasy, direct from L'viv, Ukraine.

A captivating force in Ukraine’s contemporary arts scene, Kurbasy transforms centuries-old folk songs, lullabies, and legends into mesmerizing multimedia experiences. With haunting vocal harmonies, evocative instrumentation, and dreamlike visual imagery, Kurbasy's performances bridge the ancient and the urgent, the mythical and the modern. In their latest work, Songs of the Ukrainian Forest, Kurbasy conjures time-bending soundscapes that channel deep-rooted cultural memory into affirmations of resilience, love, and resistance in the face of violence and war.

Kitka will open the evening with a spellbinding set of Ukrainian polyphonic songs, showcasing their signature blend of precision, power, and emotional depth. Kurbasy will then take the stage with a dramatic song cycle drawing from Eastern, Central, and Western Ukrainian folk traditions, including rare Lemsky dialect songs from the Polish borderlands. “We want to affirm our loud and clear freedom, our love for our country and our people,” says Kurbasy vocalist Maria Oneschak.

“We want to show our independence and strength,” adds her singing partner Natalia Rybka-Parhomenko.

The evening will culminate in a moving joint performance by Kitka and Kurbasy—Ukrainian and American voices united in solidarity, singing out for democracy, peace, and justice.

ALSO NOTE:

UKRAINIAN FOLKSINGING WORKSHOP
with
Kurbasy's vocalist-directors
Maria Oneshchak and Natalia Rybka-Parhomenko

Wednesday, October 29 from 7:30-9:30pm
Lake Merritt United Methodist Church
1330 Lakeshore Avenue
Oakland, CA
Pre-registration required.
For more info and registration link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1712718540259?aff=oddtdtcreator

Singers of all ages, genders, backgrounds, and levels of experience are welcome to participate!

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Tickets

Berkeley Balkan Bacchanal at the Starry Plough is excited to welcome back Lars and In Charge and the bacchanal debut of AVRA with Ari Langer and friends playing Greek folk music to instantly transform the dance floor the into a glendi within a bacchanal!

Lars and In Charge
AVRA
Saturday, November 15, 8 pm
The Starry Plough Pub : 3101 Shattuck St. Berkeley, CA

Tickets: $20 general/$15 students; Doors open at 7 pm; All ages before 10 pm. 21+ after 10 pm. Beer and wine available at the bar. Kitchen closes at 10 pm.

LARS AND IN CHARGE performs high-energy original and traditional music of Turkey, Greece and beyond. Lars Tergis and Greg Jenkins lead the charge on violin and clarinet with driving, gritty interpretations of classic party tunes and original compositions. Chris Reid adds a touch of ‘West’ with percussive chordal accompaniment on steel-string guitar. Joe Rosato Jr. holds it down on upright bass while Faisal Zedan keeps the beat popping on derbekki, riqq and davul. Joined on stage with bellydancer Nicole Maria, Lars and In Charge guarantees a big sound and an even bigger party!
instagram.com/larsandinchargeband
facebook.com/larsandinchargeband

AVRA (8-10 pm) is a new project with familiar faces from the Bay Area Greek and Balkan music scene, performing traditional Greek music for dancers. Their repertoire comes from all corners of Greece, and beyond: the valley region of Thrace, the mountainous region of Epirus, the windy islands, the plains and rivers of Thessaly, the shores of the Black Sea and the Aegean. AVRA features, Ari Langer (violin), Gregory Masaki Jenkins (clarinet, vocals, percussion), Jenette Sellin (accordion and santouri) and Michael Garibaldi (percussion, vocals, laouto).

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