On the third Saturday of May, May 18, as many as thirty-five Lithuanian cities and towns will celebrate the traditional Street Music Day (GMD). This is already the eighteenth music festival, which was initiated in 2007 by the legendary musician of the country Andrius Mamontovas.
The motto of the 2007th GMD is "Invite the city to dance". One of the organizers of the event, Jogaila Ivašauskas, says that the Day of Street Music since its inception in XNUMX was accompanied by dancing. Everyone who participated in it at least once - played, sang or simply moved according to the sounds of the music, in a way invited the people around them and the city itself to dance.
"I'm fascinated by the natural human reaction to stomp your feet, bob your head or dance with your whole body when you hear music. Street Music Day is one of those holidays that combines two elements: music and dance. This year we celebrate music with dance, and dance with music," said J. Ivašauskas.
In Vilnius, as every year, Street Music Day will start at noon - 12.00:22.00 p.m. and will last until XNUMX:XNUMX p.m. evening
Viktorija Mamontovaitė, the organizer of the street music day, does not hide her joy about the growing and flourishing event every year.
"We are very happy that this year's celebration has become as lively and rich as ever. We got in touch with many different artists, musicians and collectives, and as a result Street Music Day was filled with new events.
We are very grateful to the dancers who responded to our invitation this year and are also joining the music festival. Together with the team, we want to invite all residents of Lithuanian cities and towns to go out on the streets on May 18 and join the celebration with movement," said V. Mamontovaitė.
Vilnius will be danced not only by street musicians, but also by dance groups. Studio "African dances" invites all participants of the Street Music Day to an open dance class, which will take place at 15.00:13.00 p.m. A. Mickevičius in the courtyard of the library (registration for a free African dance lesson). At the daily festival "Bernardinai šoka", which will be held in "Bernardinų kieme", at 16.30:XNUMX p.m. salsa and bachata dances will be organized by the "Dance Academy", and at XNUMX:XNUMX p.m. dance and drawing performance "BEING" will be performed by dancer Stefanija Nosovaitė.
Kathedros aikštė flickering dance performances. 13.00:14.00 p.m. Flamenco dance group "Solea" will perform here, at 15.00:XNUMX the line dance school "Linedance LT" community will take over the baton, which will invite everyone who wants to join and dance together. XNUMX:XNUMX p.m. Dancers from the Vuelta Dance School will perform a spectacular dance performance on the Rueda de casino.
From 16.00:17.00 p.m. to 404:17.00 p.m. even two collectives will perform on different sides of the square: "Dance studio XNUMX" (street dance) and pair dance group "West Coast Swing". XNUMX:XNUMX p.m. line dance frenzy will return to the Cathedral Square - the Lithuanian Line Dance Federation will invite Vilnius to dance a program of as many as fifteen dances.
As the 100th "Festival of Songs" approaches, its participants - folklore ensembles and choirs - are joining the GMD program. in the town hall square from 14.00:19.30 to XNUMX:XNUMX there will be singing and dancing. The most famous songs will be sung together with Vilnius residents and guests of the city.Song festivals" songs, there will be lessons of new songs and dances.
According to Gintas Bungardas, the organizer of the "Bernardinai šoka" festival, while the Street Music Day invites cities to dance, the "Samanos" music festival takes to the dance floor together with the greenest area of the old town of Vilnius - the Bernardin garden. "We will start with a salsa and bachata dance session organized by the Dance Academy, after which we will take a breather watching an exceptional dance painting performance by choreographer and performer of contemporary and street dance - Stefanija Nosonovaitė."
After this performance, we will all climb together on the roof terrace of "Bernardinău kiemo", where we will look down on the blooming Bernardinău garden and dance to the rhythms of funk, disco, house and techno. The party won't end until dawn - at night we'll put on headphones and continue dancing in the open air at a silent disco. The event will feature a specially equipped recreation area with various games and activities, an exhibition of Stefanija Nosonovaitė's paintings, food, drinks and much more." G. Bungarda, the organizer of the "Bernardinai šoka" and "Samanos" festivals, shared the details of the event.
The procession of wind instruments and mass drum improvisation "Drum2gether" organized by the "Mood Sellers" group are traditions of the Street Music Day, without which this year will not be complete either. event. Accompanied by brass and drums, a pipe procession inspired by New Orleans culture by "Mood sellers" at 18.00:2 p.m. will move from the Dawn Gate towards the courtyard of the Downtown Forest Hostel & Camping in Paupia, and the closing performance of the Street Music Day will be the mass drum improvisation "DrumXNUMXgether" On the Cathedral Square will start to rumble at 20.00:XNUMX p.m.
A long-time friend and sponsor of the GMD event, the "Caffeine" coffee shop chain, invites you to taste the coffee of the week specially created for the Street Music Day. In addition, on the day of the event, the festival participants will be able to find special GMD QR codes in Caffeine cafes, which will enable them to have the GMD event program and map on their phone.
After a whole day of dancing, GMD organizers invite you not to stop and stop by the Halle market place, where the Street Music Days "Dūzgės" will take place. Justas Rutkauskas, the program manager and organizer of the western part, says that it will be the biggest GMD closing party ever.
The night program "Dūzgiu" will invite the entire GMD community inside the Hall, where Kristijonas Ribaitis, the human orchestra "Večera" will perform, "Patricia Kokett" known for her work not only in Lithuania, but also abroad, "Pališkis" the favorite of the local audience and a number of other performers . At night, there will be as many as three stages inside the Halle market place - everyone will find what they want," said J. Rutkauskas. A selected selection of artists will play at the party: "Smėlio Laikrodis", "Patricia Kokett", "Exoternal", "Večera", Kristijonas Ribaitis, "Eitutis", "Azdi", "Lione", Mattias, "Pališkis", "Art D ” and “Zigg Ellis,” .
Although the walls of GMD "Dūzgės" Hall will start shaking from 22.00:15.00, music will be played at the entrances of the market place and in the daytime GMD from XNUMX:XNUMX. Here will appear: "Kardamona", "Mono tres", "Red light", "Pale trust", "Nika Ganga" and "Shaltinis".
On May 18, at 22.00:XNUMX p.m., in Vilnius Town Hall Square, you will only hear feet stomping on the pavement - the Silent Disco will be held here. Shocking radio waves will be broadcast by the DJ duo "Guys from decent families", and the audience will be able to listen to their performance only through the headphones they brought by connecting to the live broadcast.
The day of street music goes into the night - in cooperation with "Vilnius Night Office", the music festival will move to the bars and clubs of Vilnius at night. GMD organizers offer a convenient map of the night program for those planning to celebrate the music festival until dawn.
This year, Street Music Day will be played in thirty-five cities and towns in Lithuania, as well as in the United States of America - in the town of Ann Arbor, Michigan, where the music festival is organized by Jonas Dainius Beržanskis for the second year in a row. In addition, the Day of Street Music returns to Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.
Street Music Day was born on the initiative of the legendary musician and social activist Andrias Mamontov. in 2007 A. Mamontovas sent an invitation to his fellow musicians by e-mail to go to the streets of the capital and play. Since then, every year the third Saturday of May sounds louder and louder not only in the streets of Vilnius, all of Lithuania, but also in foreign countries. During the whole period of the festival, GMD was independently organized JAV, in Norway, Belgium, in Ukraine, in Latvia, Holland, Georgia, Armenia, Iceland and Ireland.
