Ukrainian folk group Kommuna Lux brings music, humanitarian mission to Pittsburgh

With their country under attack by Russia, the musicians in Ukrainian folk band Kommuna Lux have a two-fold mission.

First, they put on shows blending Balkan swing with klezmer music and traditional Ukrainian folk to help preserve the music and culture of their homeland. And second, those shows help raise funds for humanitarian relief at home.

“Our whole life is connected with our home and we feel that really every Ukrainian joined to help our people,” clarinetist Volodymyr “Vova” Gitin said in a recent call from the Netherlands. “So our reasons are the same: we can’t just watch. We feel that we should do what we can and we try to do that.”

Kommuna Lux’s monthlong U.S. tour kicks off Aug. 23 in Wellsboro, Pa., and runs through Sept. 21 in Devon, Pa., with an Aug. 24 stop at the Original Pittsburgh Winery in the Strip District.

The band’s nonprofit KMLX has raised more than $50,000 for those on the frontline, including funds for specialized hospital beds for burn victims.

Percussionist Mykola Shevelyov, a Ukraine native who moved to the U.S. when he was 20, will be on his first tour with Kommuna Lux.

“It’s going to be my first time playing with them. I’m looking forward to it very much,” he said. “I have played in other Ukrainian bands with also folk music but a different area of folk music, but it’s quite similar.”

In a recent video call, Gitin and Shevelyov discussed the band’s mission, their live shows and more:

(Interview slightly edited for clarity.)

Do you get back to Ukraine or is that hard to do?

Gitin: It is a good question because generally we were coming back all these years with all our charity tours. We had a possibility to go abroad, and the Ministry of Culture allowed us every time because it was our special mission that we have. From 2022 till 2024, we would go in Europe, then USA and Canada. Last year, we were on the USA tour in the East Coast, then we were planning to go to the West Coast, we understood that small part that we have to go back and then again to USA, we understood that there are some risks because some rules changed and we have a not-good situation, military situation, inside our country.

We decided that we will go forward and make everything happen because of our mission, because of our non-profit organization that we try to help more and more with the Rotary Club. And after we finished, so we stayed for this period, different guys in different places and in such a way, some of our previous musicians, they had even some problems in Ukraine, that their families had problems. It was not easy periods, some bombs came again to our city of Odessa. So we decided that we need to spend some time not in Ukraine.

A lot of people left Ukraine from the beginning of the war, but for us, even in this situation, we decided that the best would be to have these tours, but to come back to our families and to live our life and try our best there in Ukraine. But in 2024, some things became more harder, complicated, and we understood that it’s better to continue do what we can in this way to help our families, to help soldiers on the front line, because it is the only possibility that we can raise funds and help them.

So this version of our life was better. That’s why I’m calling from the Netherlands. Some guys went to other countries and even don’t have the possibility to be musicians. So it’s very hard for them, and we understood that even the journey of our group, Kommuna Lux, can be really not easy to continue, but we understood also that it is possible in a different way. … Now it is some new wave of our group, that there will be some new musicians, but very special professional musicians whom we know, also Ukrainians, and we think that this new part of our life and part of our group will be also very special for us, for people, and everything for that reason that we do these tours.

What should people expect out of the show?

Gitin: I would like to say that our music from this is truly unique. You can only hear it in our part of the world and really it is a unique chance to hear it. So we invite everybody to feel this energy of the Ukrainian city Odessa, from the coast of the Black Sea, with the special flavor of Odessa humor. So it will be a mix of Odessa songs, klezmer style and Ukrainian folk music, and it will be also song lyrics that will touch very close everybody to their hearts. But also, of course, it will be a special energy and every time we say, please don’t forget your dancing shoes. … People at our concerts need to understand that it is not the way to come and to sit and to listen.

Our concerts usually were in very different places like bars, churches, temples and big festivals so very different situations. But even in such places like churches or theaters, people cannot only sit and listen. They every time want to have some moves or dancing and because of that, this is not about feeling separate, that there are artists on the stage and them, so everybody will be involved in this process and everyone can feel that he or she is a part of our performance.

From what I’ve seen, it seems like a pretty fun show so is it easy for you to step right into that?

Shevelyov: I would say so. I mean, it’s always a new adjustment period for every band. If you’re a new person, you’re adjusting to new repertoire, to new people, but I know that music and I play various styles, so I’m kind of like a chameleon. I can adapt to situations and groove.

For people who don’t speak Ukrainian, does the music transcend language? Is music the universal language?

Gitin: Of course. First of all, I can say that usually people feel this music, like that atmosphere, and even if it is something new for them, like I said, it will be a unique style. What we’re singing, it’s not something that we created. It’s famous songs, it’s famous compositions. But in that way that we are performing, it will be unique and maybe something will be new for people. But even these new things, I think that they will feel very comfortable and without question of what are they singing about? But if they will have this question, they can, sometimes I say about some songs before we perform them. Also how I said, in the flavor of Odessa humor. But they also can feel something and ask after concert if they have some questions. But in that experience that we had two years performing in USA, everything was clear for everybody.

Shevelyov: I could really feel that’s because we get a really warm response from Ukrainian immigrants and from people who were born here but their parents are Ukrainian and they speak perfect Ukrainian. So of course those people react really warmly, but also I really felt like the American people, even though most of them did not understand what the songs were about, they really could resonate with what we bring to the stage, the energy. I’m looking forward to go on a tour again with new music, new band, and try to make it the best weekend and have some fun along the way.

Related

• Asleep At The Wheel's Ray Benson still celebrating Texas swing after 55 years
• Pittsburgh musician Bill Toms on writing a more personal album, playing a new venue
• 2025 Pittsburgh area concert calendar

When you played over here before, what’s been the reaction from Ukrainian-Americans or displaced Ukrainians after seeing the show?

Gitin: For all that experience that we had before in Europe, when we were performing, we had already a lot of people who knew us, or maybe it was something new, but with this situation that we have in Ukraine, people were very open and the reaction was the best. Ukrainian people were very happy to meet us and to feel and to hear this music that they love. The same happened in USA. … Every time people’s reaction was very special, very nice, very warm, and that’s why we had this feeling that we do something special in the right way and in the right moment.

What’s been your favorite part about this music?

Shevelyov: The favorite part is reconnecting with my roots with my fellow countrymen and also bringing that around the world, especially in this day and age where there’s not so many bands that are traveling all the time, because of all the expenses and all that stuff. It’s really an honor to bring that to the people because you can buy the records, but there’s nothing like a live performance that hits you in the gut. So that’s why we’re here to do that.

Have you guys ever been to Pittsburgh before? What do you know about the city?

Shevelyov: I have been there. I did a couple gigs, not with Ukrainian bands, but with American bands. It was a great experience. I know it’s a steel town, right? And I’m mostly a jazz musician, so I know it has a great, great history of all the jazz greats from the Pittsburgh area.