Strada Armenească Festival returns August 1–3 in the “Dimitrie Brândză” Botanical Garden in Bucharest. Now in its 9th edition, the festival brings into focus the living heritage of the Armenian community in Romania and the diaspora. This year’s edition aims to strengthen the cultural axis Bucharest–Chișinău–Yerevan, through an artistic program that unites important names from the international music scene in Armenia, the Republic of Moldova, and Romania, along with a series of related events — exhibitions, workshops, gastronomy, and intergenerational dialogues, according to the organizers.

For three days, the Botanical Garden becomes an open space where Armenian traditions meet the contemporary energy of the city.

The festival maintains its polyphonic structure, where concerts blend with craftsmanship, memory with improvisation, and ritual with artistic experimentation. Audiences will hear voices that bring together past and present: from legendary brass bands to poetic voices of urban music, from soulful ballads to rhythms that transcend language.

Artists performing at the festival (August 1–3):

Zdob și Zdub (Republic of Moldova)
A musical phenomenon, Zdob și Zdub is more than a band — it’s a cultural statement. For over two decades, they’ve blended punk and Moldovan folklore in an explosive, raw, and irresistible mix. They’ve opened for Red Hot Chili Peppers and Emir Kusturica, performed at major European festivals — Sziget (Hungary), Roskilde (Denmark), Exit (Serbia), Eurosonic (Netherlands) — and represented Moldova three times at Eurovision. Their album “450 de oi” became a cult classic in Eastern Europe, while “Trenulețul”, their 2022 Eurovision entry, became a musical symbol of the connection between Chișinău and Bucharest. With playful lyrics, social satire, and an electric live show, they’ll take the Strada Armenească stage for the first time.

Fanfare Ciocârlia (Romania)
Born in the village of Zece Prăjini, Fanfare Ciocârlia is perhaps Romania’s most iconic musical export from the rural world — a Roma brass band that redefined “world music.” With dizzying tempos and a scorching sound, they’ve reached stages from Tokyo to New York, Paris to Sydney, in over 30 years of activity. Their debut album “Radio Pașcani” (1998) marked the beginning of a powerful discography, but what made them legends is their unforgettable, uncontainable live presence. Featured on the “Borat” soundtrack, remixed by Basement Jaxx, and collaborators of Goran Bregović and Taraf de Haïdouks, Fanfare Ciocârlia’s music is a manifesto of freedom, virtuosity, and joy.

Robin and the Backstabbers (Romania)
Robin and the Backstabbers are a living urban myth. Born in Romania’s underground and rising to the heights of major festivals (Electric Castle, Summer Well, ARTmania, Untold), the band led by Andrei Robin Proca blends post-rock, blues, and alternative rock with dense, literary lyrics — sometimes dreamlike, sometimes razor-sharp. Their “Bacovia Overdrive” album series became a cult favorite, and their live performances verge on performance art more than classic concerts. They capture the spirit of a generation that hasn’t lost its irony — even when the world around them burns.

The Bambir (Armenia)
The Bambir is a living legend of Armenian rock. Their story began in the 1970s — a time when playing rock in the USSR was an act of defiance. Founded by Jag Barseghyan and later passed down to his son Narek and fellow band members, The Bambir became one of the most resilient and fascinating intergenerational musical projects in the post-Soviet space. Their sound fuses progressive rock, Armenian ethno music, jazz, and poetry — influenced by Genesis, King Crimson, and the folk traditions of Gyumri, Armenia’s cultural hub. They’ve performed in the U.S., Europe, and Asia and were selected for SXSW in Austin. In Armenia, they’re beloved as cultural memory-keepers; abroad, they’re seen as mystics blending distortion with melancholy.

The Osoianu Sisters (Republic of Moldova)
A voice has no age — but it can carry centuries. The Osoianu Sisters are five voices from the heart of archaic Moldova, where song is not just art, but existence itself. With an impressive repertoire of doinas, ballads, carols, and incantations, they are more than performers — they are cultural custodians. They’ve sung at major intangible heritage festivals: Smithsonian Folklife Festival (Washington DC), Musicastrada (Italy), Womex (Spain), moving audiences with their sacred-sounding harmonies. Admired by Béla Bartók and Grigore Leșe alike, their music is more than sound — it’s an unwritten prayer passed from mother to daughter.

Corina Sîrghi & Taraf (Romania)
Old-world elegance with a healthy dose of modern playfulness — Corina sings tangos, drinking songs, and forgotten gems from interwar Bucharest with the flair of a past era. Together with her taraf, she brings old urban music back into the spotlight, performing in Paris, Vienna, Rome, and Berlin. She’s among the leading voices of a new generation breathing new life into Bucharest’s musical golden age — with no pastiche or kitsch, but with detail, rhythm, and genuine reverence.

Frate Gheorghe & his small orchestra (Republic of Moldova)
Frate Gheorghe isn’t fictional — though he feels like a Balkan Gellu Naum poem come to life. He’s an artist, performer, and sound demiurge who believes the best way to speak uncomfortable truths is with a brass band at your back. Making his debut on the Strada Armenească stage, his project blends horns, rhythms from the Danube South, Moldovan wedding chants, a dash of punk, and a wild thirst for improvisation. It’s a joyful delirium where folklore and poetic text dance through brass tubing. When Frate Gheorghe appears, it’s not a concert — it’s a ritual.

Gata Band (Armenia)
With a name that means either “Enough!” or “sweetbread,” depending on tone, Gata Band delivers a refined musical proposal from Armenia: ethnic jazz reinterpreted through the lens of classic Armenian poetry. Founded by musicians trained at Yerevan Conservatory, the band uses traditional instruments like duduk, kanon, dap, and dhol, blending them with sophisticated harmonic structures inspired by modal and progressive jazz. They’ve performed in France, Germany, Lebanon, Georgia, and UNESCO-curated events. Their music journeys between postmodern Yerevan and the foot of Mount Ararat — where suffering and beauty remain inseparable.

Written by Aura Marinescu | 13 iulie 2025, 10:47