Saturday August 4, il Pigno h 21.00
’Pimasz album cuts a distinctive voice for the Kerekes Band: an irresistible groove of tumbling bass-lines, driving drums and wildly spiraling flute riffs. (…) They take their traditional instruments – the koboz (lute), a viola and the flute (played by virtuoso player and band leader Zsombor Feher) – on a fantastic musical voyage that skirts punk, funk and dance, with traditional Hungarian music and some fine drumming and production underpinning it. The band must absolutely rock live.’ Top of The World, Songlines ****
Outlaws. They were vilified by the authorities but the commonfolk respected them as unbridled freedom fighters. Although their valiant struggle was against power and oppression, they sang their songs about heartbreaking lonesomeness and captivity. “The shepherd raises the outlaw” – as the saying goes. Such is the shepherd heritage of the Fehér brothers who founded Kerekes Band. Their ancestors have been rounding up sheep for the Bishop of Eger since the 1700’s, and their great grandfather gave shelter to the most notorious outlaw whose life story inspired Mátrai képek, Zoltán Kodály’s symphonic masterpiece.
This rich heritage as well as the limitless drive for the neverending renewal of the Hungarian outlaw music is a source of inspiration for Kerekes Band. The shepherd’s flute, the Csángó koboz (lute) and the viola from Mezőség in perfect harmony gave birth to the distinctive sound of the band. The groove of tumbling basslines with driving drums provide a free flowing structure adding to a marked stage presence. True to the outlaw spirit, it is a tough, reckless yet uninhibited music. This formula proved to be successful: Songlines awarded them the Top of the World Album, multiple industry recognitions in Hungary and Europe-wide tours from Dun Laoghaire to the Sziget Festival.
For more than two decades, Kerekes Band’s colorful heritage is a fascinating world just waiting to be explored and listeners can discover how history can be seamlessly melt into the future.
Members:
Fehér Zsombor – flute, vocal
Námor Csaba – koboz
Csarnó Ákos – viola
Sohajda Péter – bass
Fehér Viktor – drums
Main concerts:
Palace of Arts, Budapest, Hungary (2007, 2013, 2014) Sziget Festival (2007 – 2017)
A38 Ship (2006 – 2018)
Pori Folk Festival, Finland (2005)
Rootin’ Aboot Fest – Aberdeen – Scotland (2007)
Pulse (Festival of Central and Eastern European Music) – London (2007) World EXPO, Zaragoza, Spain (2008)
Interceltico Festival, Sendim, Portugal (2008)
Ocho Rios Jazz Festival, Jamaica (2008)
Dun Laoghaire – Festival of World Cultures, Dublin, Ireland (2010) Klaipeda Jazz Festival, Lithuania (2011)
Eurosonic Festival, Groningen, Nederland (2012)
Rock For People Festival, Czech Republic (2012)
Open’er Festival, Poland (2012)
Wild Mint Festival, Russia (2017)
Pannonica Festival, Poland (2017)
Spirit of Astana, Kazakhstan (2018)