Ukraine is a rare tour destination for the world’s musicians: the country is at war, while people’s mostly low income doesn’t leave much for entertainment.
However, Ukrainian event agencies and festivals do the impossible by bringing top foreign acts from all over the globe to perform for the local audience. And 2020 will be no exception.
The year’s schedule is packed with promising music shows and the Kyiv Post has picked some of the best from the list.
Jacob Banks
His hypnotizing deep baritone is one that is easily recognized and impossible to forget. Nigerian-born English singer Jacob Banks rose to fame due to deeply personal lyrics, social context, mesmerizing vocals and experiments with sound. His R’n’B music is often mixed with soul and hip hop.
Although he’s been in the industry for eight years, Banks has released just one long play so far. Prior to that, the singer made three mini-albums grinding on his style. In 2018, however, Banks presented “Village,” a release that symbolizes his formation as a singer: Nigerian roots, music influences and personal stories. Largely praised by critics, the album put the singer on the world’s radar as an up-and-coming star.
Banks is coming to Kyiv for the first time. He believes that time is the most precious currency and those who choose to spend it at his show will be rewarded with a good one.
Jacob Banks. Atlas (37-41 Sichovykh Striltsiv St.) Jan. 22. 7 p.m. Hr 890
Woodkid
French singer Yoann Lemoine, known by his stage name Woodkid, is often called one of the most prominent creators of modern time. Before his music career took off, he was a successful director and graphic designer. In 2013, his debut and breakthrough release, mini-album “Iron” shook the world with its beautiful celebration of sadness carved in the neofolk and ambient genres. In his debut long play “The Golden Age”, released the same year, Woodkid explored the transition from childhood to adulthood in a similar, melancholic tone. The fantasy visuals of his dark music videos, combined with epic hits such as “Iron” and “Run Boy Run” drew enormous attention to Woodkid reaching over 70 million views each. Since then, the singer hit the stages of the world’s best festivals including Coachella and kept surprising the globe with massive live shows involving orchestras and breathtaking visuals.
Critics consider Woodkid’s music some of the best created in the last decade, but the visionary singer hasn’t given much since 2013 releases. In 2016, he composed an original score for Mexican-French thriller “Desierto” and presented a two-track mini-album. However, 2020 is promising to be his year. The singer announced a tour in Europe with a mysterious video, which triggered rumors about a new upcoming album.
Woodkid. Stereo Plaza (119 Valeria Lobanovskoho Ave.) May 26. 8 p.m. Hr 950-2,450
Lenny Kravitz
The stylish tunesmith and guitarist who rediscovered the fun and grit of rock music in the 1990s, Lenny Kravitz will perform in Kyiv’s largest Palace of Sports concert hall on June 13, 12 years after his last show in Ukraine.
During his almost 40-year career in music, Kravitz has combined good old-fashioned rock & roll with glam, soul, funk and psychedelia, winning Grammy Awards for the Best Male Rock Vocal Performance four years in a row from 1999 to 2002.
But Kravitz keeps reinventing. His 11th album “Raise Vibration” came out in 2018, full of roc experiments with instrumental breaks and sax solos, Native American drums and chants. But most importantly, in his new songs, Kravitz reflects lyrically on the global worries of modernity.
It is this album that Kravitz will present in Kyiv on his “Here to Love” world tour. The setlist of the rock star will also include some of his greatest hits like “Fly Away,” “Low”, The Guess Who cover “American Woman” and, most wonderfully, Bob Marley and the Wailer’s “Get Up, Stand Up.”
Lenny Kravitz. Palace of Sports (1 Sportyvna Sq.) June 13. 7 p.m. Hr 1,790-9,999
Nigerian-born English singer Jacob Banks (L) performs onstage during the fourth Annual Tidal X: Brooklyn benefit concert at Barclays Center on Oct. 23, 2018, in New York. Banks will give his first show in Kyiv on Jan. 22. (AFP)
ASAP Rocky
ASAP Rocky is one of the few rappers who have stirred international scandals, after he got arrested in Sweden on July 3, 2019, for assaulting a man on a street with his group, while claiming it was for self-defence. The arrest caused him to cancel a show in Kyiv that was scheduled for July 13.
ASAP Rocky was then found guilty and spent nearly a month in custody, despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s demands to release him. The rapper was given a suspended sentence, meaning that he will avoid prison if he will not commit further crimes during a two-year probation period.
Having been released, ASAP Rocky will uphold his commitment to perform in Kyiv on of the days of the Atlas Weekend music festival that will be held on July 7-12, 2020, a full year after the Swedish incident.
As talented as he is scandalous, ASAP Rocky gained critical acclaim for his swagger and rapping style that reflects influences from all over the world. His fashion icon status and ambitious vision of modern hip-hop make him the leading voice for the young generations of rappers.
ASAP Rocky. VDNH (1 Akademika Hlushkova Ave.) Atlas Weekend Festival, July 7-12. Hr 2,900-7,250 for a five-day pass
The Neighbourhood
This boys band from the U.S. West Coast is a big hit in Ukraine. Their first music show in Kyiv in 2016 was sold out immediately – the venue was packed and their admirers brought all kinds of fan art to show their love. So four years later, The Neighbourhood are coming back to present their new upcoming release, preparing to attract a bigger venue, Palace of Sports, that can fit in up to 10,000 people.
The band came to prominence with their 2012 breakthrough hit “Sweater Weather” that topped charts and won the Internet. Starting as an alternative band, The Neighbourhood experimented through their career mixing indie, R’n’B and pop. In their recent releases, such as 2018 “Hard To Imagine The Neighbourhood Ever Changing,” the band went further adding occasional rap verses under the global hip-hop fever.
The five-piece group was supposed to start the European tour this winter, while the Kyiv show was scheduled for February. However, the whole tour was shifted to fall so that the band could finish their upcoming album. Their recent singles, “Middle of Nowhere” and “Yellow Box” suggest that as The Neighbourhood maintain their feature sound, their lyrics get more mature weighing people’s eternal philosophical struggles.
The Neighbourhood. Palace of Sports (1 Sportyvna Sq.) Dec. 2. 7 p.m. Hr 1,390-1,790
