Traditionally, on the first weekend of July, the only music festival of this genre in Lithuania will be happening in Varniai, which will welcome visitors for the 29th time this year! Today it is announced that the music star of the “Blues Nights” festival from Australia – Lachy Doley, the legendary Latvian blues band “Latvian Blues Band” and names well known to festival fans such as “Garbanots” or “Baltasis Kiras” will be joined by even more names of various styles. because blues is not only music, but a whole philosophy of life! This year at the “Blues Nights” festival you will also be able to hear: Arina & Veto Bank, Kamanius Šilelis, Aleksandr Belkin & The Road Band, Flash Voyage and Freestarz!
The festival, surrounded by legends and its unique traditions, is not breaking traditions this year either, so as every year on its main stage, the performers without whom this festival cannot be imagined. One of them is Arina & Veto Bank, who has the title of Lithuanian blues queen and has an exceptional voice. It is Arina who comes to the festival every year, not only to perform on the big stage of the festival, but also to spend the whole weekend peacefully and carefree on the shores of Lake Lūkstas. At the festival, you will find her free, walking barefoot or wearing “old school” sneakers, always surrounded by a group of friends and the kind that everyone is waiting for!
Even if you can’t hum a single song by Aleksandr Belkin & The Road Band, after a weekend of blues you can be sure that you’ll be going home belting out the lyrics to the Bliuzo Naktys festival anthem, written by Aleksandr himself! Alensandr Belkin prepares unexpected collaborations for the festival every year: sometimes he is unexpectedly on stage with Tautvydass Paulius Augustinas from the group “Baltasis Kiras”, sometimes he is in a duet with foreign bluesmen. This time, at the festival, Aleksandr will present a new “Latino Blues” program with the whole group, which celebrated the 30th anniversary of its stage activities in 2022!
Last summer, “Kamanių Šilelis”, which appeared for the first time in blues, will return to the festival again this year! The minimalist, rhythmic, mildly psychedelic, indie-folk duo was met with thunderous applause in Varniai, near Lūkstas lake, so we expect an equally impressive performance on the big stage of the “Bliuzo Naktys” festival this summer as well!
“Flash Voyage” expertly mixing rock music with retro and psychedelic spice, will return to the festival for the fourth time! The group “Flash Voyage” gathered the sympathy of its fans after releasing the mini-album “Šiluma, pamiršta”, in which, thanks to Lithuanian texts, they told about feelings and fantasies intertwining with reality. Watching their performances on stage, it is easy to move to a parallel reality or at least the Woodstock times, which they perfectly reflect in their stage image.
At the festival, rap freestylers – “Freestarz” – will create a mood full of improvisations, whose performances are based on spontaneous freestyle from the lips of Jama and Banginis, supported by some of the best Lithuanian DJs. In a completely improvised concert, you can expect texts about the prices of non-alcoholic beer at the festival, a storm cloud that has fallen, or the style of clothing of the festival visitors. You never know in which direction the show will “turn”, but one thing is certain – they will hit both rap gourmands and fans of live music and blues with raw adrenaline!
On 7-8th of July, in Varniai near Lūkstas lake, there will be several musical stages featuring famous foreign bluesmen, names of the Lithuanian scene and new discoveries of the festival! And you can become a discovery too! For several years, the festival “Bliuzo Naktys” has been inviting all young performers and creators interested in live music to register for the “One Man Stage” competition, where you can secure your place at the festival after the final of the competition held on June 1, at the “Line Up” club in Vilnius. You only need to fill out the form by May 25 – BliuzoNaktys2023OneManStage! And if not on stage, then in the crowd, we can definitely be seen belting out the lines of the blues anthem „Varniai, ežeras, bliuzo festivalis! Bliuzoooo naktyyys!“
