Vaiva’s Blues Band
Vaiva’s Blues Band had its first concert two years ago at our pandemic-edition Bluesila 9 and ¾ . Many years of international experience of Lithuanian blues veterans and sensuality of Vaiva’s voice, representing the young generation of blues, join together in this project, making it truly interesting. It has the power to do both at the same time:bring the sound of modern blues and evoke memories of the older blues lovers as well. What is more, Vaiva is a blues dancer herself, therefore she truly understands what kind blues is magical to dance to and brings that understanding and energy to the stage.
Members of the group include: Vaiva Gudaitytė – voc, ukulele Aleksandr Belkin – voc, perc, harp Arvydas Meška – keys Gediminas Alekna – bass
THE BLUE DRAGS
The Blue Drags is a quartet playing a broad repertoire ranging from pre-war blues and jazz standards to Chicago blues infused with funk, soul, and even bossa nova. In their shows they try to revive the spirit of juke joints of the American South, where trance-like and frequently improvised music and dance helped people to forget about the hardships and worries of everyday life. They also seek inspiration in blues dance and live interaction with the dancers.
The band shares a deep fascination with blues, New Orleans jazz, swing, and old school soul music. The artists that inspire them the most are Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, John Lee Hooker as well as Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald, and Nina Simone. The band’s music is a return to the roots of blues, is rich in various musical influences and perfect for dancing yet it doesn’t shy away from more modern fruits of blues.:)
The Blue Drags were formed in November 2016 and since then has played in numerous blues dance and music festivals in Poland and abroad (Bluesila included!). In 2019 the band released their debut album called ‘Draggin’.
Band members:
Katarzyna Wilgos – vocals
Nathan Williams – trumpet
Witek Bielski – vocals, piano, guitar
Jan Lipert – drums
JOOK HOUSE BLUES
Jook House Blues – Lithuanian blues band that started as a one-time thing and evolved into a long-term project. Jook House Blues started as a gathering of blues dancers and musicians, so it is safe to say that it is a band that was born on a blues dance floor. Their shows are filled with Juke-joint motives and cabaret details, always playful and full of the unexpected. The band consists of three main players and constantly changing scene partners, yet the sound of blues vocals, acoustic guitar and harmonica are always dominant.
Key members:
Viktorija Raibužytė – vocals, guitar
Kipras Mikelis – harmonica
Laisvydas Giriūnas – double-bass
ALEKSANDR BELKIN & THE ROAD BAND
The Road Band started back in the summer of 1992. This band is quite well known both in Lithuania and abroad as being very active – up until today the band has performed more than 3000 concerts!
The Road Band plays both original songs and covers, you will see them playing within the genres of Blues, Rock’n‘Roll, Jazz and Country. The band has released 15 albums during its existence.
The musicians:
ALEKSANDR BELKIN – vocals, guitar, harmonica
OLEGAS SOCHINAS – guitar
SERGEJUS SOPELEVAS-VYSOCKI – bass
VITALIJUS KATYŠOVAS – drums
