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Aaron O’Hagan is a multi instrumentalist and renowned instrument maker from Co Antrim. Playing uilleann pipes and wooden flutes, he is joined by Belfast based bouzouki player, Luke Ward, on their first offering together entitled ‘From the Devil’s Punchbowl’ Aaron recorded, toured and performed for many years with the band Réalta. He continues to be a regular fixture on the Belfast traditional music scene as well as a highly sought after teacher. He is also a highly acclaimed Uilleann Pipe and wooden flute maker whose instruments are played all over the world. Luke Ward has been a busy and in-demand musician on the Irish music scene for many years, notably since the 2005 release of the album Clan Ranald with Donegal accordinist, Martin Tourish. Luke has toured the world over including the US, Canada, Australia and all over Europe. Melanie Houton is a fiddle player from the coastal townland of Glengad outside Malin in Co. Donegal. She has won numerous Fleadh competitions at county, provincial and national level and was recipient of the prestigious Senior Oireachtas Fiddle title in 2009. Melanie has performed all over the world including at Celtic Connections, Scoil Gheimhridh Frankie Kennedy, Earagail Arts Festival, Ennis Trad Fest, Belfast Trad Fest, the Semaines Irlandaises en Artois-Gohelle Irish music festival in France and the Fiddlers Farm weekend in the Netherlands. Melanie was a guest musician on the Luke & Aaron’s recent album, From the Devil’s Punchbowl and also performs as part of the live band. A song from From the Devil's Punchbowl's repertoire:

The women's group Babskyi Kozachok (eng. Women's Cossack), initiated in 2009 by Irina Klymenko and Olena Honcharenko, presents a wide range of Ukrainian women's musical tastes in the way folklore collectors recorded them at the end of the 20th century. These include ancient lyrical songs about unhappy love, an angry mother-in-law, an unfaithful husband, which have been relevant to women throughout history, and old ritual melodies (spring, rye harvest), which have been preserved miraculously in the living tradition until our times. The lyrical and archaic themes are contrasted with the mocking, humorous and even sarcastic themes typical for Ukrainian women, which reign supreme in the dance sing-alongs. The title of one such sing-along from Pohoryne, Babskyi Kozachok, gave its name to the ensemble. The core of the group is joined on various occasions by talented Ukrainian folk performers from other groups. Halina Pshenichkina, Tania Chuhno (from the ensemble Volodar), and Nadia Khanis (from the ensemble Viltse) came together to the festival "Skamba skamba kankliai". The ensemble's repertoire also includes works performed by male voices, such as recruits' songs, Cossack songs and traditional chants. In this festival, the Ukrainians are joined by the Lithuanian "Cossack" - Rytis Ambrazevičius has been asked to play this role. A song from the Babskyi Kozachok repertoire:

Nøringen is a fiddle duo from the west coast of Norway. Two young students of folk music Ingrin Sofie Midtbø Bruner(14) and Ida Mikkonen(13) play different styles of old dance music from the Norwegian fjords. Nøringen is forwarding the tradition of the old greats like Alexander Røysland, Håkon Høgemo and Finn Varbøe among the others. Their repertoire is played on Hardanger as well as common fiddles. Group participant‘s names Ingrid Sofie Midtbø Bruner (musical leader) Ida Mikkonen Mikko Mikkonen (tour leader and Ida`s father)

The ensemble plays ancient melodies such as mazurkas, obereks, kujawiaks, polkas, tangos and foxtrots, as well as Jewish melodies. This, they say, confirms that such music is still alive, existing here and now, immediately flooding the body and soul with the energy of dance. "We love this music very much, it is full of content, but in an economical form, you could say it's elegant," says Bartosz Pulinski, the band's leader. So far, DiaBuBu's main source of inspiration and repertoire has been folk musicians such as accordionists Sławomir Czekalski, Czesław Kocemba, violinist Jan Szymański and the Rochale brothers: accordionist Wiesław, violinist, clarinet player and drummer Janusz. The ensemble also uses recordings made by Professor Andrzej Bieńkowski between 1985 and 2000, archives of the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography in Łódź, recordings of Polish Radio and the Institute of Arts of the Polish Academy of Sciences, etc. DiaBuBu captures the hearts of listeners, their music inspires dancing, and the extraordinary temperament and talent of the performers leave no one indifferent. The group has played at the most famous folk festivals in Poland and abroad and has been awarded in numerous competitions. Members of the group: Bartosz Pulinski (accordion) - band leader Jakub Stefanowicz - violin Jakub Korona - drum Song from DiaBuBu repertoire:

The folklore group Banga was founded in 2016 by friends who grew up together in the families of participants of the Latvian neo-folklore movement, and who now represent the new generation of Latvian folklore culture. Over time, the group has grown and expanded its repertoire by studying traditional culture and creating conceptual concerts and performances based on the folklore of Latvia and neighboring nations. The members of Banga have mastered traditional singing techniques, especially polyphonic and drone singing, and play a variety of traditional instruments such as bagpipes, kokle (Latvian plucked string instrument), flutes, accordions and others. The group also has both ethnographic costumes and costumes made as reconstructions of archeological clothing that were partly handmade by themselves. Banga’s biggest projects have been the study of Latvian Jewish folk music, as well as a collective work called "Talka", which is the central theme of their new studio album (scheduled for release in 2022). A song from Banga's repertoire:

The polyphonic group Chaonia was founded in 1996. Its name is related to the country name Chaones, where the polyphonic songs of the Epirus region are preserved. These songs are the main focus of the ensemble, although they also sing other Greek or Greek-speaking polyphonic songs. The group has appeared in hundreds of concerts all over the country, from the biggest cities to the smallest border villages, as well as on television, cinema and theatre. The group has participated in numerous festivals and events in different countries (France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Bulgaria, Albania, and Spain) and has collaborated with a lot of famous artists. Members of the ensemble are regular teachers of polyphonic masterclasses in Greece and abroad. Chaonia has been awarded for its efforts to preserve polyphonic songs. Its members, Alexandros Lampridis and Aliki Gkana, are the leaders (“kiratzides”) of the Polyphonic Caravan, an institution that was recently inscribed on UNESCO’s Register of Good Safeguarding Practices in the field of the intangible cultural heritage (2020), It is the first Greek initiative in this Register and one of 29 activities in the world on this list. A song from the Chaonia repertoire:

Once again, the international folklore festival Skamba skamba kankliai will invite you to flood the Old Town of Vilnius with beautiful songs and traditional dances. The 51st Skamba skamba kankliai will take place on 23-26 May this year. As every year, the festival programme is packed with concerts by Lithuanian and foreign artists, traditional dances, activities for the little ones and cosy get-togethers. The detailed programme for this year's Skamba skamba kankliai will be announced as the festival approaches. As you wait for the 51st Skamba skamba kankliai to start, follow the festival's Facebook, Instagram and YouTube accounts for the latest information and memories from the previous year's events. The festival is organised by Vilnius Ethnic Culture Centre. The festival is funded by Vilnius City Municipality and the Lithuanian Council for Culture.

Vilce is a folk group made up of young women from Kyiv. The singers perform traditional music without interpretations, loving it truly as it is. To get as close to an authentic sound as possible, they learn songs from expedition recordings, travel to villages to record the songs, and learn singing and ancient knowledge from the old performers. The band’s repertoire covers a variety of genres, but it is dominated by ceremonial wedding songs. This choice is determined by the composition of the collective because in traditional culture it was women’s voices that accompanied many sacral moments. Higher sounds spread better in wide open spaces, and according to folk beliefs, such singing can awaken the forces of nature, and facilitate communication with the ancestors. All the spring, summer, and family ceremonies were celebrated by women and girls. The name of the group is also related to weddings. A “vilce” is a small tree decorated with ribbons, candy, and flowers during a wedding celebration. It becomes a symbol of fertility, plentitude, and continuous renewal of life. Currently, the ensemble consists of five members, of which three are professional folklore artists and researchers. The aim of the group is to introduce as many people as possible to traditional Ukrainian culture, to show how beautiful, rich, and relevant (especially!) it is right now. Vilce actively participates in charitable events and is open to proposals to collaborate with artists and projects in various fields.

The three founders of the group began playing together when they were given the opportunity to get acquainted with the musical tradition of the Moldovan Csángós ethnic group through András Hodorog, one of the region’s most prominent flute players. This significant meeting had a huge impact on the musicians and encouraged them to form Korinda Band. One of the most important goals of Korinda is the authentic interpretation of the music they perform. The group focuses on the folklore of ethnic groups living in the eastern part of the Hungarian-speaking territory. Perhaps the oldest cultural layer of this nation is represented by the dialect and traditions of the Csángós. Among the works performed by Korinda, the Moldovan Csángós folklore forms the dominant line, but an integral part of the repertoire is still the folk music of other regions of the country, as well as the Székely dialect and Romanian Hungarian folklore. Members of the group organise expeditions from time to time, in which they try to learn the living musical tradition and the old values and customs that still live on in daily rural life.

The children’s folklore and ethnography studio Amer-Imeri was founded in 1991 by the well-known ethnomusicologist, head of the Mtiebi ensemble, Edisher Garakanidze and his wife, the linguist Nino Baghaturia. Mtiebi in Georgia is considered the pioneer of authentic folk music, and Amer-Imeri features the young performers of this music. From 2001−2012, the ensemble was led by Gigi (Giorgi) Garakanidze and is currently headed by Magda Kevlishvili. The main creative principle of the studio is a syncretic approach to folklore: children learn traditional games, songs, dances, and circles, and they get acquainted with Georgian history, ethnography, mythology, and spoken folklore. They also perform ecclesiastical songs and participate in liturgical rites. The studio’s members often go on folklore expeditions in various areas of Georgia and learn songs, dances, dance circles, and instrumental works directly from the source. These students perform the programme in a freeform manner, just as their peers in ancient villages once did – by creating improvised song variants, games, dialectical stories, tongue twisters, and mocking poems. Amer-Imeri conveys all this on stage and off of it – the knowledge acquired in the studio often becomes an integral part of the young people’s lives and diversifies it with games, alilo, chona traditions, etc. In 1994, an international folklore festival in Germany recognised Amer-Imeri as the best folklore studio in Europe. At the invitation of the BBC in 2002, the band visited the United Kingdom, and their concerts, Sakartvelo songs, and a series teaching the songs were broadcast on BBC television and radio. In 2014 and 2018, they participated in the international children’s folklore festival Święto Dzieci Gór (Festival of the Children of Mountains) in the town of Nowy Sącz, Poland. For their sincere performance, the repertoire suitable for the age of participants, and masterful performance of the songs, performances, and dances, the studio earned the highest rating from the festival’s organisers and jury. Amer-Imeri is a participant in the 11th International Symposium of Sakartvelo and the winner of the 2022 National Folklore Festival.