Article Contributed by Gratefulweb
Published on 2026-04-01
Some performances arrive as concerts, and some arrive carrying the weight of history, culture, and resistance. On Wednesday, July 22, 2026, DakhaBrakha will bring all of that and more to Chautauqua Auditorium in Boulder for an evening that promises to be as visually arresting as it is musically powerful. Presented by Z2 Entertainment, 88.5 KGNU, and Sunflower Seeds Ukraine, the all-ages show begins at 7:30 pm, with doors opening at 6:30 pm. Tickets go on sale Friday, April 3 at 10 am here.
Formed in 2004 at Kyiv’s Center of Contemporary Art “DAKH” by avant-garde theatre director Vladyslav Troitskyi, DakhaBrakha has become one of Ukraine’s most distinctive and internationally celebrated musical groups. The quartet describes its sound as “ethno chaos,” a rich and rhythmic collision of traditional Ukrainian polyphony with musical influences from India, Arabia, Africa, and Australia, layered with percussive drive, thumping bass, distorted electric guitar, and touches of jazz, spoken word, rap, and punk. The result is music that feels deeply rooted and radically open at the same time.
That spirit of exchange is central to the band’s identity. DakhaBrakha’s name means “give/take” in the old language, and their work reflects that philosophy: honoring Ukrainian tradition while engaging a broader global conversation through sound, performance, and imagery. Their theatrical background remains integral to the live experience, with visual projections and staging that reflect the complexity, beauty, sorrow, and resilience of contemporary Ukrainian life.
Since breaking onto the international scene after being discovered by Australia’s Womadelaide in 2011, DakhaBrakha has performed at major festivals including Big Ears, Bonnaroo, WOMAD, Roskilde, and Glastonbury. Along the way, the group has earned some of the highest honors in its field, including Ukraine’s Shevchenko National Prize for Musical Arts in 2020, globalFEST’s Artist Award in the United States in 2023, and designation as Chevaliers of the Order of Arts in France. The band is currently recording its first album since 2020 in Kyiv, drawing together material created before and during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Beyond their own concert work, DakhaBrakha also performs an original live soundtrack to Earth, the landmark 1930 film by Aleksandr Dovzhenko. The band has described creating music for the film as both a profound honor and a difficult creative challenge, one that required them to engage not only with a masterpiece of world cinema but also with the historical and political shadows surrounding it. That same ability to hold beauty and tension in the same frame runs throughout DakhaBrakha’s art.
The quartet is made up of Marko Halanevych, Iryna Kovalenko, Olena Tsybulska, and Nina Garenetska, each bringing a deep relationship to Ukrainian folk traditions along with a broad, adventurous musical sensibility. Together, they have built a body of work that feels both ancient and immediate, intimate and immense.
In Boulder’s historic Chautauqua setting, DakhaBrakha’s performance should make for a rare and unforgettable night—one where music becomes not just entertainment, but testimony, ritual, and a living bridge between cultures.
