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Rock music in Lithuania
Rock music has been performed and heard in Lithuania since the mid-1960s. At first, repression by the Soviet authorities meant that rock was performed only at illegal gatherings, while music from the West was available on Radio Luxembourg or smuggled records. As pressure eased somewhat, rock musicals began to be released, such as Velnio nuotaka (Devil's Bride) and Fire Hunt with Beaters (Ugnies medžioklė su varovais).
Leading bands of the 1980s included Foje and Antis, and this period also saw the emergence of punk rock. Rock became less popular during the 1990s, although bands in a variety of genres were showcased in the annual Blogiausių grupių festivalis (Worst Bands Festival). A revival began around 2005, and prominent bands include SKAMP, the gothic rock band Siela, and the folk metal band Žalvarinis. A number of rock music festivals take place each year, including Mėnuo Juodaragis and Kilkim žaibu.
During this period, the Communist government of the Lithuanian SSR confronted rock music, which was considered a decadent and corrupting cultural invasion from the West. The younger post-World War II Lithuanian generation under Soviet rule had few means to get acquainted with popular Western music. One was Radio Luxembourg, the only radio station available on Soviet frequencies that played current, popular rock. Another means was to smuggle LPs of popular Western bands into Lithuania and copy them onto magnetic tape.
The Beatles were one of the first influences on Lithuanian rock musicians. The first local rock bands started to emerge around 1965 and included Kertukai, Aitvarai and Nuogi ant slenksčio in Kaunas, and Kęstutis Antanėlis, Vienuoliai, and Gėlių Vaikai in Vilnius, among others. Most of these bands did nothing more than play covers of The Beatles and Rolling Stones, sometimes adapting Lithuanian lyrics to these songs.
The dominance of covers bands started to change around 1968, when local artists started to explore original songwriting.
Such bands were popular at student parties, known as sessions. These parties were deemed illegal by the communist establishment, which considered them a corrupting influence. The most famous session of the time took place in Vilnius in 1971, when major local and Latvian bands performed before a crowd of several hundred - a huge number of people to attend such an event at that time. After the concert, its organizers were persecuted by the KGB.
In addition, a distinct genre of song formed during this period. Musicians like Vytautas Kernagis and Vytautas Babravičius created intimate acoustic ballads featuring their own lyrics and those of other Lithuanian poets.
Due to conditions imposed by the totalitarian regime, almost no records from this period survive to this day.
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Rock music in Lithuania
Rock music has been performed and heard in Lithuania since the mid-1960s. At first, repression by the Soviet authorities meant that rock was performed only at illegal gatherings, while music from the West was available on Radio Luxembourg or smuggled records. As pressure eased somewhat, rock musicals began to be released, such as Velnio nuotaka (Devil's Bride) and Fire Hunt with Beaters (Ugnies medžioklė su varovais).
Leading bands of the 1980s included Foje and Antis, and this period also saw the emergence of punk rock. Rock became less popular during the 1990s, although bands in a variety of genres were showcased in the annual Blogiausių grupių festivalis (Worst Bands Festival). A revival began around 2005, and prominent bands include SKAMP, the gothic rock band Siela, and the folk metal band Žalvarinis. A number of rock music festivals take place each year, including Mėnuo Juodaragis and Kilkim žaibu.
During this period, the Communist government of the Lithuanian SSR confronted rock music, which was considered a decadent and corrupting cultural invasion from the West. The younger post-World War II Lithuanian generation under Soviet rule had few means to get acquainted with popular Western music. One was Radio Luxembourg, the only radio station available on Soviet frequencies that played current, popular rock. Another means was to smuggle LPs of popular Western bands into Lithuania and copy them onto magnetic tape.
The Beatles were one of the first influences on Lithuanian rock musicians. The first local rock bands started to emerge around 1965 and included Kertukai, Aitvarai and Nuogi ant slenksčio in Kaunas, and Kęstutis Antanėlis, Vienuoliai, and Gėlių Vaikai in Vilnius, among others. Most of these bands did nothing more than play covers of The Beatles and Rolling Stones, sometimes adapting Lithuanian lyrics to these songs.
The dominance of covers bands started to change around 1968, when local artists started to explore original songwriting.
Such bands were popular at student parties, known as sessions. These parties were deemed illegal by the communist establishment, which considered them a corrupting influence. The most famous session of the time took place in Vilnius in 1971, when major local and Latvian bands performed before a crowd of several hundred - a huge number of people to attend such an event at that time. After the concert, its organizers were persecuted by the KGB.
In addition, a distinct genre of song formed during this period. Musicians like Vytautas Kernagis and Vytautas Babravičius created intimate acoustic ballads featuring their own lyrics and those of other Lithuanian poets.
Due to conditions imposed by the totalitarian regime, almost no records from this period survive to this day.