“Touring musicians are accustomed to waking up early in overseas hotels, but being awoken at 3:30 a.m. by air raid sirens and the sound of anti-aircraft units shooting down drones is far from normal. However, for The Tiger Lillies, a British trio, this experience was almost unique, as they became one of the first international bands to perform in Ukraine since the Russian invasion in 2022. Their concerts in Lviv and Kyiv last week were considered exceptional and unforgettable. Martyn Jacques, the band’s leader, described the concerts as the most incredible they have ever given. The Tiger Lillies, known for their Brechtian punk cabaret style, have been popular in Eastern Europe since their inception in 1989. They last played in Ukraine in 2014, following the Maidan revolution and Russia’s annexation of Crimea. They were invited back by the same promoter, Yougin Kibets, who hopes that their successful performance will attract other foreign artists to perform in Ukraine. Despite feeling worried and anxious prior to their trip to Ukraine, the band members took the risk and performed their concerts, even though there were real dangers present. Just days before their arrival, there was a Russian cruise missile strike on an apartment building in Lviv, resulting in fatalities. The city of Kyiv also experienced multiple drone attacks during the band’s visit. Fortunately, their concert went on without any interruption. The band’s bassist, Adrian Stout, admitted that if an air raid had occurred during their performance, they would have had no idea how to handle the situation. However, some Ukrainians encouraged them to continue performing, while others suggested they should leave. Their concerts, along with other live music events, have provided Ukrainians with moments of distraction and pleasure amidst the ongoing conflict with Russia. The live music industry in Ukraine has faced numerous challenges, such as Covid-related restrictions and the invasion itself, which led to shows being canceled and emigration affecting audience numbers. Additionally, Ukrainian bands have suffered from membership losses, as many rock fans joined the army. Despite these challenges, the music industry is now experiencing a resurgence in activity, with artists motivated to perform and audiences eager to support them. The Ukrainian singer LAUD, currently on a solo tour, expressed his delight in performing for audiences hungry for positive vibes and Ukrainian music. Anastasiya Vaganova, program director of the Caribbean Club in Kyiv, where The Tiger Lillies performed, acknowledged that live concerts now serve a different purpose in Ukraine. While they were once focused on entertainment, they are now seen as a way to support the country and provide a moment of respite from the war. The music industry’s recovery is gradually gaining momentum, with occasional performances by international artists, such as Michal Kaščák and Stereo MC’s. The Tiger Lillies, in particular, have made a significant contribution by performing a full-scale concert and donating most of their profits to charity. Despite the logistical challenges involved in organizing concerts in Ukraine, the band believes that it is important to play for their audience, who have been deprived of live music for so long. The promoter, Yougin Kibets, also believes in paying for shows and selling tickets to support the music industry. Overall, the resumption of live music events in Ukraine signifies a growing sense of normalcy and a renewed spirit of resilience within the country.”
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Waking up at 3:30 a.m. in a hotel overseas is not unusual for touring musicians. However, being woken up at this time by air raid sirens and anti-aircraft units shooting down drones is not so normal. In fact, in the case of The Tiger Lillies, it could be considered almost unique – as the British trio are among the first international bands to perform in Ukraine since the Russian invasion last year.
Their concerts took place in Lviv and kyiv last week. “I think these are probably the most incredible concerts we’ve ever given”, says their leader Martyn Jacques. Active since 1989, the vaudevillian inventors of what is known as Brechtian punk cabaret are cults in Eastern Europe.
The last time they played against Ukraine was in 2014, after the Maidan revolution and the annexation of Crimea by Russia. They were invited back by the same promoter, Yougin Kibets. He hopes to use the group’s successful appearance to attract other foreign artists. “Tiger Lillies will be my breakthrough to write to many agents saying you can see we did our first live show,” he explains.
Jacques felt “worried and excited” before leaving for Ukraine.
“I had a lot of anxiety before going there,” says bassist Adrian Stout. “But I thought to myself that people take their children to school all the time. We don’t go to the front or somewhere that is bombarded with mortars quite regularly.
Members of The Tiger Lilies in Kyiv. . .
. . . and perform on stage at the Caribbean Club © Vasyl Osadchyi
Yet the risks were real. Less than a week before their arrival, a Russian cruise missile strike on an apartment building in Lviv killed 10 people. Their visit to kyiv took place during three successive nights of drone attacks. It was then that Stout woke with a start in the early morning before taking refuge in the underground garage which also served as his hotel’s bomb shelter. The group’s concert earlier had fortunately passed without interruption.
“If there had been an air raid in the middle of the gig, maybe we would have had to stop and we wouldn’t have known how to deal with it,” says Stout, speaking via video call from London, a double bass leaning against the wall behind him. “Some people were saying we could go on, others were saying we should probably leave.”
“Yougin said that most Ukrainian bands continue to play,” adds Jacques, speaking from Berlin, where he lives. “That’s what I would have done.”
The show must go on – except when it can’t. After struggling to come back to life after Covid, Ukraine’s live music industry was shut down again in the first months of the full invasion of Russia last year. The first sprouts of renewed activity came with charity concerts in the spring of 2022.
Pop singer LAUD, real name Vladyslav Karashchuk, performed one in Lviv in May. He is currently on a solo tour, which began in April. The tour is called I am Ukrainian. “Now everyone is working and our music industry is really very active. Ukrainian artists are very motivated and people are very motivated to listen to them and support them,” he said, speaking via video call from a cafe in central Kyiv.
The 25-year-old first appeared as a TV talent show runner-up in 2016. He has released two albums and released a new single, a synth-pop number that evokes a Ukrainian version of The Weeknd.
He’s playing in Kyiv next week in the sister venue to where The Tiger Lillies appeared. “I really like performing these days because people are really hungry for positive vibes, new Ukrainian music and Ukrainian artists,” says Karashchuk. “They are really fed up with bombs and sirens etc. They want this moment of pleasure and relaxation.
His tour took him across the country, including towns close to the front line. In April he gave what he describes as the first major concert in Mykolaiv since the invasion. Recently he performed a concert in Zaporizhzhia, close to some of the fiercest fighting of the war.
LAUD on stage in Lviv during his “I Am Ukrainian” tour © Eugene Vovkodav
Live music concert
“It was a really nervous situation,” he says. “They have six or seven sirens a day, whenever there’s a chance of rockets or shelling. We had a siren during the concert. But no one reacts now. They try to live in the moment.
Live music could offer Ukrainians a momentary opportunity to forget about the war. But concerts cannot escape what Anastasiya Vaganova calls “the new reality”. She is the program director of the Caribbean Club, the kyiv venue where The Tiger Lillies appeared. Based in the Netherlands with her daughter, she designs her program of events remotely.
“Everyone understands that now we have to defend our land against the Russian invasion, we have to support our country,” she said. “As promoters, artists and musicians, we can do that by putting on shows, but the goal is different.”
A midnight curfew in most parts of the country means concerts usually end at 10:30 p.m. Emigration has upset the number of spectators and donors. The armed service too. Members of Antytila, a popular rock band due to begin a US tour in September, enlisted last year as frontline medics in Kharkiv.
“I can’t do heavy rock now because all the live rock audiences have joined the army, it’s like their credo,” says Kibets, promoter of the Tiger Lillies. He speaks via video call from an animal shelter in kyiv. He is home to many abandoned cats, rescued from conflict zones in Ukraine by the charity he started after the 2022 invasion.
He used to promote around 70 shows a year, specializing in non-Ukrainian acts. This traffic has almost completely dried up, including of course Russian stars who were once popular in Ukraine. Boris Grebenshchikov, a founding father of Russian rock, was a frequent visitor.
In May last year, Bono and The Edge of U2 played a surprise set at a kyiv metro station. They were joined by members of Antytila in battle dress. A concert in kyiv planned for March by Slovenian band Laibach has been billed as the first real gig by a non-Ukrainian band. But the date was canceled after art-rock veterans remarked on a “cynical proxy war” between “superpowers”, interpreted in Ukraine as belittling the national struggle against Russia.
Since then, a scattering of international acts have appeared. In May, Slovak musician Michal Kaščák performed at the Caribbean Club. A fortnight before The Tiger Lillies shows, Kigets hosted an orchestral concert by American video game composer Paul Romero. In June, British hip-hop stalwarts Stereo MC’s played a DJ set in Kyiv. Dance music DJs from Europe and the United States also made club appearances.
The Tiger Lillies are one of the first bands outside of Ukraine to play a full-scale concert. Their new album Ukraine was inspired by the war. But they kept his songs off the setlist on the grounds that Ukrainians didn’t need to be serenaded about their war. One exception was a new track about Vladimir Putin with a catchy chorus of “We’re gonna be so happy when you die”. This met a great singalong.
Their return journey from kyiv to the Polish city of Rzeszów took 20 hours, including seven hours of queuing at the border. “The logistics are quite complicated,” says Stout. “You need a driver who knows the roads, you have to organize the hotels. People obviously don’t do it thinking they’re going to make a lot of money. But if you have an audience there and they haven’t seen you play in a long time, then I think people should go.
The group will donate most of the profits from their concerts in Ukraine to charity. Their Kyiv booker does the same with half his share. But Kibets is keen to project an air of commercial normality. “I’m not against paying for shows. I sell tickets. I can pay,” he insists. “It depends on the fees.”
For a moment, Kibets looks like he could be a promoter from anywhere. The live music circuit in Ukraine will be truly revived when “the show must go on” is replaced by its close cousin: the status quo.
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