Along with New Pathway newspaper, we had the chance to get some insight into TiK's upcoming visit to Toronto - a 7-piece folk-ska-rock outfit hailing from Vinnytsia!
You can meet TiK on September 13 at 3pm to get the band’s autographs and a special collector’s poster at the Ukrainian Credit Union Limited Wealth Strategies Building, 2265 Bloor Street West. More details here: https://www.facebook.com/
Their amped up party polka coupled with vocals sometimes reminiscent of Braty Hadiukiny, will ignite the 1-2-3 in your feet on both Friday and Saturday nights - and while some Babas will argue that this isn't a time to celebrate, we all know what a spin around the dance floor can do to lift the spirit and remind us of where we come from.
In an interview with Denys, the lead singer of the band in its 15th year, discussed his views on the situation in Ukraine and how it has forever changed and reignited the Ukrainian spirit and music scene. He hopes that soon, the recent songs of war that have emerged will become songs of freedom and victory.
The conversation first began on a sobering note - Denys told us about how he's seen first hand the convoys of young men leaving to fight, as well as the convoys of young men - dead and alive - returning home.
He spent some time discussing how this ordeal has reignited an all around appreciation for things that we tend to take for granted - sovereignty of our nation, friendship, trust, the value of human life. The meaning of a good deed, of sacrifice, of brother/sisterhood and the importance of identity.
In a loose translation, Denys noted, "you can feel how things have changed, it's palpable - the idea of being Ukrainian hardly existed before, but now it has been defined. In places like Dnipropetrovsk and Mariupol, the old soviet mindset has been shaken and people are beginning to identify with a new definition of what it means to be Ukrainian, and it's these new ideas that are uniting our nation."
Denys also discussed how TiK fully cancelled their Russian tour - he said it simply impossible to, in good faith, play a show in a nation that's been brainwashed to hate and kill his countrymen.
In any case, we are glad that TiK is able to join us and bring the spirit of the Kyiv Maidan to our own maidan, the few blocks of Bloor Street that as Torontonian Ukrainian Canadians, unite us annually and serve to remind us of who we are, where we come from, and what we stand for.
This year's festival will likely feel very different, with the meaning and significance of our community gatherings invariably changed. But one thing will be forever constant in the heart of every Ukrainian - the cathartic power of music and song to heal, to ignite, and bring a smile to one's face.
See you on Friday and Saturday, Main Stage and afterwards at our own Kryjivka!
You can keep partying with TiK into the night at one of two after parties brought to you by Ukrainian Credit Union Limited. The first is on Friday September 12 details here:https://www.facebook.com/
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