Kalush Orchestra spoke to NME ahead of their first live UK performance at Glastonbury 2022 last night (June 24) – you can watch our interview with front man Oleh Psiuk above and watch footage from the show below.
The Ukrainian band, who were awarded Eurovision Champions earlier this year, played an hour-long show after midnight to a packed house on Shangri-La’s Truth Stage.
The Kalush Orchestra’s 13-song series included two performances of their Eurovision-winning theme “Stefania,” as well as a dozen other songs sung by the band’s staff written within 10 days.
Imagine this being the last party of your life, “Psiuk said poignantly to the audience halfway through the concert before” Love Train “performed.
Speaking to NME ahead of his performance, Psiuk said it was a great honor for him and the Kalush Orchestra to be invited to Glastonbury: “We are fortunate to be here so we have tried to prepare our performance . [en Glastonbury]. We are very happy to be here. ”
He added: “It’s really nice to be here – there are so many people, so many different people, and it’s great to get our music played here at Glastonbury.”
Although Psiuk did not see a recorded video message of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that was projected around Worthy Farm earlier that day, the rapper praised Zelensky as a “smart man.”
Asked about the possible withdrawal of Eurovision 2023 from Ukraine due to the war with Russia, Psiuk said: “It is unfortunate that Eurovision cannot be in Ukraine, but now there is a lot of discussion going on and everyone is expecting Eurovision to be inside. Ukraine. “
Psiuk also spoke of the band’s new music: “Each song is unique, but they all have the same goal together. But all the songs are different compared to the previous ones.”
Visit NME here again for the weekend for the latest Glastonbury 2022 news, reviews, interviews, photos and more.
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