Touring is tough enough for the average indie band. Which makes the idea
of a DIY group from Ukraine being on the road while their homeland is under attack almost inconceivable. But you can’t keep the music down. And, as the world has
learned since February 2022, nor can you keep the Ukrainian people down. As if
to illustrate both of these points, the Odesa-based septet Kommuna Lux will
bring their lively, danceable, neo-traditional sounds to the Falcon on September
14.
Calling their style “Odesa gangsta folk,” Kommuna Lux formed in 2021 and
made their name via a run of riotous shows at the city’s hipper restaurants.
The seven-piece band’s music reflects the members’ seaport city home’s rich and
diverse culture, bringing together Jewish folk music, Balkan rhythms, and “local
bandit folklore” in an ebullient blend.
“This bohemian and nostalgic temper from the Ukrainian Black Sea coast is
now set to a timeless level by the vibrant performances of the lovely singer
Bagrat Tsurkan and his charming musicians, playing these joyful songs and
melodies from Odesa and all Eastern Europe in spiced-up arrangements,” reads
the group’s bio. “Years ago, the gangsters making music performed noisy flash
mobs at the famous city fish market called Privoz, in the old wooden tram line
number 5, on the Primorsky Boulevard promenade, and on rusty rocking boats on
the popular Lustdorf beach, causing perplexed masses of Odessites.”
Kommuna Lux will perform at the Falcon in Marlboro on September 14 at
7:30pm. Donation requested (dinner reservations recommended).
This article appears in September 2023.
