Toronto Ukrainian Festival Announces Zabava Dance Bands

The Toronto Ukrainian Festival has announced three terrific dance  bands that will be featured in performance at the 13^th annual Festival, held in Bloor West Village, September 18 to 21,2009.

From the Toronto Area, Zirka is a band of six musicians who love to play their instruments and have a good time. Peter and Morris Hucal started the band when they were 12 years old playing guitar and accordion. Five years later, their brother Johnny joined in on trumpet, then a couple years later their sister Katherine on sax. Bill Hawryschuk joined the band three years ago, bringing with him the experiences of playing drums with Solovey, Burya and Dunai. Karen Aniol joined the band two years ago on violin.   Zirka has performed at countless zabavas, weddings and festivals over the years. See zirkamusic.com for more information. They are back by popular demand and will be the featured Saturday night zabava band on the main stage at Jane and Bloor Streets, starting at 10:30 pm. (Sept. 20).

 Formed in 2005, Winnipeg's Zrada has been forging unforgettable music ever since.  The members of the band set out with the goal to take their Ukrainian roots into the modern world by fusing them with the music they grew up with in Winnipeg.  Inspired by Slavic melodies, sultry gypsy dances, So-Cal punk rock, reggae and ska, Zrada's sound is a tight maelstrom of intricate melodies, unyielding grooves, and passionate, emotional beauty. While Zrada's live show includes modern interpretations of several traditional folk songs, the bulk of the material is original. Written in a folk style, the compositions strive to project the same emotion and imagery as traditional Ukrainian songs. See them on the main stage at Jane and Bloor Streets on Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the Festival. See www.ukrainianfestival.com in September for timing of their performances. See myspace.com for more information about the band.

 From New York City, Hrim is a Ukrainian band consisting of 5 members all of Ukrainian descent. They are Roman Palylyk (vocals, bass guitar), Peter Kolinsky (vocals), Peter Drobenko (accordion/keyboard, vocals), Roman Kozicky (guitar), and John Drobenko (drums).  Since the band’s inception in the summer of 2004, Hrim has performed at weddings, festivals, zabavas, and all kinds of events throughout North America. Hrim’s sound is unique in the sense that it combines a traditional and modern style of music. The result is a sound that relates to all ages and that everyone can party to. The band is extremely excited to be in the process of recording their first album. Keep up with Hrim news, pictures, music, videos, blogs, merchandise and more at www.hrimband.com and www.myspace.com/hrimband or http://twitter.com/hrimband  Hrim will be featured Friday night Sept. 18^th at the evening zabava by the main stage at Jane and Bloor Streets, starting at        10:00 pm.

Please note that the deadline for Festival performance applications is June 30, 2009. For more information, visit www.ukrainianfestival.com or call and leave a message at 416.410.9965.