Last weekend I got tickets for a concert by the Ukrainian Kalush Orchestra and the rapper Skofka got hold of backstage in Munich. I’ve wanted to see the Kalush Orchestra live for a year, ever since the band won the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC). Back then, in May 2022, I was totally exhausted by the Russian attack on my homeland and the subsequent involuntary flight to Germany. To be honest, I slept through the final of the ESC. But I remember well the big surprise the next morning when I found out about the success of the Ukrainian band.
The war changed the world. It was clear to me from the start that peace for my people would only be possible again if our army sacrificed the lives of many soldiers and if our political partners supported us. And if we also hope for a miracle. Unfortunately, miracles don’t happen in real life, but the Kalush Orchestra’s victory at the ESC at least gave me the illusion that maybe everything is possible after all.
Now, a good year later, it is clear to me that musical success could not pave the way to peace. And yet the feeling has remained that the Kalush Orchestra is a symbol of victory. That’s why I was very happy to hear the band live in Munich. I went to the concert in my vyshyvanka, which is the Ukrainian national costume. Even far from home, it makes me feel connected to my people.
The pink kepi is the identifying mark of Kalush singer Oleg Psyuk. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the song “Stefania”, with which the band won ESC 2022, has become a hymn to the war-ravaged motherland.
(Photo: Antonio Calanni/dpa)
There were a lot of people in the audience wearing vyshyvanka or carrying the Ukrainian flag. I could also often see pink hats, a symbol of the Kalush Orchestra. I think the wearers were looking for the same sense of belonging that I was. By the way, the backstage was full, the queue at the entrance was very long, so many people wanted to see the band. However, I found it a bit of a shame that only a few people from Munich attended the concert. I would have liked to have met more Germans there who wanted to experience modern Ukrainian culture with us – after all, music and culture always reflect a country and its themes. It was the same with this concert.
Kalush Orchestra performed with Ukrainian rapper Skofka. The motives of war and loss were felt throughout the show. Right at the beginning, Skofka said he had to sing without his backing vocalist because he was defending Ukraine at the front. Skofka has shared other experiences with audiences that have also influenced his music.
I was particularly touched by a song by Skofka entitled “The Bad Russian Soldier”. In it, the rapper urges the Russian soldier to return to Russia. The meta level of this song was to be understood that there is no reason for Russian soldiers to come to Ukraine to kill peaceful citizens and even children. Not a new thought, but many concert-goers cried over this song.
The song “Nach Heimat”, performed jointly by the Kalush Orchestra and Skofka, also struck a chord. The text is about not forgetting your home, no matter where you are. And that you always find your way home. That’s exactly what thousands of us Ukrainians are feeling now, we’re looking for our way home. And we will find him, I’m sure of that.
Emiliia Dieniezhna, 34, fled from Kiev to Pullach near Munich with her then four-year-old daughter Ewa. She works voluntarily for the non-governmental organization NAKO, which aims to fight corruption in Ukraine. She also teaches German to Ukrainian refugee children. Once a week she writes a column for the SZ about her view from Munich on the events in her home country.