Only weeks before Eurovision, Kalush Orchestra was fighting as part of the Ukrainian resistance. They will now join a star-studded lineup that includes Billie Eilish, Sir Paul McCartney, and Kendrick Lamar.
This week, the Ukrainian Eurovision champions Kalush Orchestra will perform at the Glastonbury Festival.
The band won the annual singing competition in Turin with their catchy tune Stefania last month.
Now, on Friday, they will perform “Ukrainian folk music, rap, and hip-hop” on the Truth Stage at Shangri-La.
Kalush Orchestra was formed in 2019 by rapper and group founder Oleh Psiuk, multi-instrumentalist Ihor Didenchuk, and dancer Vlad Kurochka.
The lead singer of the band, Psiuk, stated, “We are ecstatic to be performing at the Glastonbury Festival with some of the biggest names in music in the world.
“This is the ideal venue for our first British concert, and we hope it will be the first of many in the United Kingdom.
“We are appreciative of the support we have received from the British people, both for ourselves and our nation, and we are arranging a special Ukrainian surprise for the fans at Glastonbury.
What is that? You’ll soon see. There you are!”
Their concert at Worthy Farm will be their first-ever in the United Kingdom, and their Eurovision victory with Stefania, which was dedicated to Psiuk’s mother, has made them global stars.
The band has spent time in Ukraine and Germany since their triumph to promote the release of the music video for Stefania.
To raise funds for the Ukrainian army, they also auctioned the glass microphone trophy they won at Eurovision.
Only weeks before Eurovision, Kalush Orchestra fought as part of the Ukrainian resistance and earned support from across Europe.
They defeated the United Kingdom’s entrant, Sam Ryder, who placed second, and it was announced last week that the BBC is in talks with the European Broadcasting Union about hosting Eurovision next year after the governing body declared it could not take place in war-torn Ukraine next year.
Despite the Russian invasion of their nation, several Ukrainian performers will perform at Glastonbury, with the Kyiv folk group DakhaBrakha performing on the Pyramid Stage on Sunday afternoon.
Saturday will begin with a performance of electronic folk music and soaring vocal melodies by Go-A on the John Peel Stage.
The group, which was created in 2012, represented Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2021 with the dance song Shum, placing fifth. Ihor Didenchuk is also a member of the Kalush Orchestra.
The dates for Glastonbury 2022 are 22 to 26 June, and tickets are sold out.
In addition to Pyramid Stage headliners Billie Eilish, Sir Paul McCartney, and Kendrick Lamar, Kalush Orchestra will join a star-studded lineup.
More than 80 performers are scheduled to perform, among them US pop singer Olivia Rodrigo, Lorde, and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.
