Independence Day is a special holiday for us Ukrainians. It is on this day that we feel our unity most strongly. Today, we fully understand the value of every single day, the independence of our country, and the contribution each of us makes.
Every year on August 24, we celebrate our shared victories, remember those who pay the ultimate price for our freedom, and think about the future we are building together.
On this day, blue-and-yellow and red-and-black flags fly alongside traditional embroidered vyshyvankas. It resonates with songs that have accompanied us for decades. “Chervona Ruta,” “Ukraino,” “Pisnia Bude Pomizh Nas” — these are the songs we continue to sing as we fight for our future and preserve our culture, language, and memory.
We return to Ukrainian music of the 1960s–80s, draw inspiration from its meanings, and discover something new about ourselves in it every time. Let’s sing “Kyieve Mii” with MOVA, dance to “Vodohray,” get sentimental to “Zaprosy Mene U Sny,” and dream along to “Nich Nad Karpatamy.”
MOVA explores and performs songs from the golden era of Ukrainian pop music of the 1960s–80s. The band performs some compositions as close to the originals as possible (“Kazka,” “Mozhe Ya Tebe Vyhadav”), while giving others bold original arrangements — for example, “Chervona Ruta” as acid jazz in 5/8 time and “Kyieve Mii” in rhythm & blues. The name MOVA is an acronym formed from a combination of the band founders’ names. The band’s line-up has temporarily changed, as guitarist Vadym Koroliuk has joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
MOVA will perform with:
Olha Stetsenko — vocals
Marian Karpinskyi — bass guitar
Artem Ostroverkh — guitar
Yevhenii Dubovyk — keyboards
Andrii Yuskevych — drums
Also featuring:
Yevhenii Dubovyk — keyboards
Ihor Boichuk — trumpet
Nazar Vachevskyi — saxophone
Yevhenii Dubovyk (keyboards): Composer, pianist, and session musician. He writes music for his own jazz composition project, Yevhenii Dubovyk. He collaborates with numerous bands and artists, including Ziferblat, Jamala, Jerry Heil, Obiymy Doshchu, Stas Koroliov, VikaVishnya, Dno, Moann, Anton Sliepakoв, MUR, Maria Lui, MOVA, and others.
Ihor Boichuk (trumpet): Winner of national music competitions and a musician with the National Presidential Orchestra of Ukraine. He has collaborated with leading classical ensembles and orchestras and regularly performs in jazz, pop, rock, and Latin music projects.
Nazar Vachevskyi (saxophone): Collaborates with a wide range of artists and projects, including Special Kiss (The Hardkiss), The Maneken, Blooms Corda, Holos Krainy, and Aniko Dolidze Big Band. He also works as a session musician on various television projects.
