Tag Archives: Music

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Khamoro Festival

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Khamoro Festival

The already traditional international Khamoro festival presents the best of Roma culture from around the world. Visitors can look forward to concerts, an accompanying program and meetings with prominent figures of the Roma music and art scene.

The festival brings a diverse mix of genres from traditional Roma music to modern projects and offers a unique opportunity to experience the richness of Roma culture in the heart of Prague.

News Eastern Europe Serbia

Žarko Jovanović – musician and Roma activist

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Žarko Jovanović – musician and Roma activist

In the weekly Sveta Roma, they talk about Žarko Jovanović Jagdin – a Roma musician, composer and activist who left his mark on the history of the Roma.

May he rest in peace.

Europe News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Romani Gili Competition

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Romani Gili Competition

A competition celebratings Roma music and culture, Romani Gili 2026 is organised by the European Roma Institute for Art and Culture (ERIAC). The audience plays an important role. As much as 50 percent of the final result is represented by public support. The remaining 50 percent of the score is contributed by an expert jury appointed by ERIAC.

A young singer from Prekmurje, Nina Brasseur, is stepping onto the music stage again – this time with a great opportunity at an international competition. The 25-year-old singer, who was introduced to the general public in 2016 on the show Slovenija ima talent, is presenting herself today with her original song Sune (Dreams) and is competing to win the Romani Gili Contest 2026.

France News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Romania

French Chronicle …

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French Chronicle …

Lolita Cercel, the AI Romani Singer, managed to make it to the French press. So dit the Council of Europe. The rest is unfrotunately the usual, with Roma having been evicted near Nates in Western France, have nowhere to go. And in another place, Roma are being threatened with eviction.

News Eastern Europe Serbia

Tambura

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Tambura

In Slankame, Serbia, Bratislava Braco Nikolić created and leads his tambura orchestra, which has become the trademark of this place.

In just three years, Braca has managed to bring together children of different ages, and help them gain a beautiful experience of orchestral music making, which, he says, is an illustration of life – everyone strives for individual improvement, but when they combine knowledge and sensitivity, it becomes a new experience for everyone.

News Eastern Europe Poland

Adam Fedorowicz

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Adam Fedorowicz

He was one of the most important ambassadors of Roma culture in the region and in Poland. Through his artistic and social work, he promoted the richness of Roma music and customs. Adam Fedorowicz, president of the Hitano Roma Culture Association, musician, composer, and songwriter, has died.

Te javel I phuv lokhi.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Funky Brothers

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Funky Brothers

The band Funky Brothers became one of the most significant Roma music projects of its time. In the 147th episode of the Desetiminutovka program, musician, rapper and producer Ladislav Cirok talks about his first successes, the end of the group, the transformation of the music scene and why he helps young talents in his studio today, even though they sometimes don’t even have money to pay.

France Germany News Western Europe

Django Reinhardt Movie

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Django Reinhardt Movie

A movie from 2017 about Django Reinhardt. While other Sinti across Europe are persecuted, Django’s popularity allows him to feel safe – until the Nazis try to send him on tour to Germany. Django refuses. His Parisian lover helps him, his pregnant wife, and his mother go into hiding near the Swiss border. There he meets members of his extended family, who are also on the run. He plans to cross Lake Geneva into Switzerland, but the Nazis are hot on his heels.

Well, the Swiss denied him Entry …

News Eastern Europe Romania Serbia

Lolita Cercel

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Lolita Cercel

Lolita Cercel, created virtually with the help of artificial intelligence, is a star in Romania and beyond. Her genre, “Balkan trip-hop”, combines traditional Roma melodies with modern pop, dance and electronic rhythms and has long since become part of the mainstream music scene. But, in addition to fame, she is also the target of critics. “The instrumentalization of Roma culture”, someone called her. According to critics, while real Roma artists are often underestimated, a “virtual, racially charged and dehumanized Roma identity” is suddenly gaining ground.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Vera Bila

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Vera Bila

Věra Bílá, who was born on May 22, 1954 in Rokycany as one of Karol Gini’s six children, was a phenomenon of Romani music at the turn of the millennium. She sang for Bill Clinton at the White House, filled the Paris Olympia and was on her way to becoming the most famous Czech singer in the world. However, her career was later affected by the deaths of her husband, son and gambling. In March, we commemorate the seven-year anniversary of her death.

Italy News Western Europe

Fenice, Venice

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Fenice, Venice

On Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at 10:30 a.m., Romani music will be presented in the Gran Teatro La Fenice in Venice, with a stunning concert in the Sale Apollinee. The event is held to mark International Roma and Sinti Day, celebrated on April 8, and the third Romani Culture Week (Romani Week).

The concert will feature Gennaro Spinelli, violin soloist, and Santino Spinelli, accordion soloist, who have performed on some of the world’s most important stages for years.

Croatia News Eastern Europe Serbia

Jovan Živadinović

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Jovan Živadinović

Jovan Živadinović, a Roma singer and songwriter from Serbia, debuted with the single Sve je isto in July 2021. A year after his first album, he participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 with the song Greh, which led him to the final of the competition.

The second album brings a sonic blend of modern electro pop, club aesthetics and the discreet sensibility of soul and rhythm and blues. Through 19 tracks, the album follows a path of self-exploration, emotional conflicts and attempts to understand one’s own identity, from a short introductory confession by Džipsii’s mother to the final track “Kuda”.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Romano Vod’i

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Romano Vod’i

Rehearsals for the Romano voďi (Roma Soul) singing group take place regularly every Tuesday. For the children, it is a fixed point in the week that they look forward to. “We rehearse in the facilities of the Mutual Coexistence organization on Bieblová Street in Ostrava,” says Milan Giovanni Bindatsch. However, it is not just about “singing”. According to him, the key is to work systematically and sensitively. “It’s not just about singing itself, but mainly about working with the voice and listening to others so that the children sing in harmony with each other and don’t shout at each other,” says Bindatsch.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Halgata

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Halgata

Long and sad Roma songs that sing about losses, poverty and injustices – the so-called halgáta. This musical tradition, which is passed down from generation to generation among the Roma, could gain official recognition. Dozens of people, including researchers and members of the Roma community, are trying to register halgáta on the national cultural heritage list.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Ida Kelarova

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Ida Kelarova

At the end of last year, a new children’s choir was created in Ostrava, which arose from the efforts of singer and choirmaster Ida Kelarová to find new talents for her ensemble known as Čhavorenge (Romani for “Child”). The children who did not succeed in the audition wanted to continue singing together, and so, thanks to cooperation with local organizations Vzájemné soužití, Ostravská nota, Velká náruč and with Milan Bindatsch from the Ibsenova Elementary School, a new ensemble was born. Its creation brought with it an unexpected effect among the residents of excluded localities – a strong emancipatory and activating effect.

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe

Artist Workshop in Bulgaria

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Artist Workshop in Bulgaria

The Bulgarian artist Rada Tsankova, who has lived and worked in Paris for 30 years, arrives in Bulgaria to open two retrospective exhibitions – today, February 17 in Sofia at the new space “Monument” and on February 23 at the “Papillon” gallery in Varna.

As part of her tour of her natve country, she will hold several workshops. One of them with Roma on February 20th. The artist will hold a creative workshop with the Music Instead of the Street Association, which helps children of Roma origin or in difficult financial situations to have access to classical music. The association was founded by the world-famous Sliven violinist of Roma origin Georgi Kalaidzhiev. The focus of Tsankova and the children’s joint work is “How to Present Music Through Visual Art”.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Halgato

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Halgato

The specific Romani musical genre halgató, characterized by long and sad songs, could receive official recognition and be included on the list of intangible cultural heritage. Now, the bearers of the tradition are striving for this together with experts, according to whom it is an important living part of the Roma identity, which is passed down between generations, and should also have its place on the UNESCO list.

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