Gogol Bordello spent years framing themselves as nationless punks, with frontman Eugene Hütz singing in 2013, “Borders are scars on the face of the planet.” But after Russia‘s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, Hütz discovered something unexpected: patriotism. Now, his multinational band proudly touts his Ukrainian heritage, and as VICE reports, they recently traveled to his homeland to play a secret concert for Ukrainian soldiers.
“We had an opportunity to support our fighters, defenders, border guards and some refugees with our band — [to] support musically, morally, spiritually,” he told VICE. “Music remains to be a very serious force… a very serious weapon of defense for people for whom burning out and getting tired of war is not an option… People of Ukraine [are] standing their ground, protecting European values [and] democracy. Everything that you grew to enjoy is under attack right now in Ukraine.”
The gig went down at an “undisclosed location,” and footage of the event finds Hütz dancing like a madman and sharing the mic with excited young soldiers. Check out clips from the concert below.
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Last month, Gogol Bordello announced their new album, SOLIDARITINE, out September 16th. Pre-orders are ongoing. The band also laid out fall dates for a North American tour, and tickets are available here.
Earlier this year, Hütz teamed with Primus’ Les Claypool for the charity single “Zelensky: The Man with the Iron Balls.”
Exclusive: We watched @GogolBordello play a secret gig in Ukraine.
VICE World News was in attendance as the international punks and their Ukrainian-born frontman Eugene Hütz performed an exclusive set for soldiers at an undisclosed location. https://t.co/MefBXXzf9Z pic.twitter.com/q6EoBiEWVY
Advertisement— VICE World News (@VICEWorldNews) August 24, 2022
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