Oleksandr YARMOLA: “We see this concert as a highly important occasion”

The famous band held its concert on January 12 at the monument to Taras Shevchenko. More than 250 people attended the event, including parents with young children in tow, university students and retirees. Rain and malfunctioning equipment did nothing to Haidamaky’s singing and dancing drive.

 A few days before the concert, it turned out that it was 7,700 hryvnias short of funds. An organizer of the band’s visit Stanislav Fedorchuk commented: “We have spent a lot of money to send activists to Kyiv, to buy food for protesters etc., and Donetsk Euromaidan’s resources have become substantially exhausted. I appealed over social networks for people to top up the concert’s budget as much as they could afford. In four days, we received more than 10,000 hryvnias from all over Ukraine, people even donated tickets from Kyiv to Donetsk for Haidamaky. I have been touched by importance set by wider Ukrainian society on supporting Donetsk Euromaidan. Such a system of mutual aid is the best proof that Maidans are unstoppable.”

 Haidamaky performed before at Euromaidans in Kyiv and Kharkiv. The band’s frontman Oleksandr Yarmola admits: “It is our first visit to Donetsk in quite a while, so we see this concert as a highly important occasion. We do not care if our venue is in western or eastern Ukraine, but for some reason we perform more frequently in the former. We would love to visit eastern regions more. We perform at Euromaidans to fight the good fight, to defend our native land.”

Musicians cheered Donetsk audience up with a strong Cossack rock show, including songs from their latest album Awoke! During the performance, it started raining and the equipment began to malfunction, but it only added to the band’s and the audience’s perseverance. Donetsk Euromaidan activist Maria Voronchuk rejoiced: “The concert is wonderful, it has been my first chance to listen to Haidamaky performing live. I am impressed with attendance – it is cool to have so many fans of Ukrainian song in Donetsk. We need more such artists to come here.”

“On the eve of the Old New Year, Donetsk Euromaidan not only discussed political news, but staged a full-fledged holiday as well. We now have to keep up the good work. However, we now know that we can hold a great concert,” Fedorchuk stated.

Donetsk Euromaidan meets daily at noon and at 6 p.m. at the monument to Shevchenko. Local pro-European activists planned to stage St. Melanie’s Day show on January 13, based on old Ukrainian customs.