Belarusian rock musician Liavon Volski has announced that his band will not perform at the large-scale OUT LOUD festival in Warsaw. The reason is the concert date, which coincides with a state holiday of the aggressor country.
As the musician сообщил on his social media, the performance had been scheduled for June 12 — the day when “Russia Day” is observed.
The OUT LOUD festival is a major initiative of the Russian anti-war эмиграция, set to take place in Warsaw on June 12–13 this year. The lineup features well-known artists who have openly opposed the war: “Mashina Vremeni” (Andrei Makarevich), “Aquarium” (Boris Grebenshchikov), Noize MC, Monetochka, “Bi-2,” “Kasta,” and others.
June 12 is a date that many representatives of the Russian opposition in exile are trying to “reclaim” from the Kremlin, transforming it from an official state holiday into a day of protest and new culture. However, for the Belarusian artist, participation in an event under such a symbolic “label” proved unacceptable.
Despite the festival’s anti-war message, Volski believes that a Belarusian performance on this specific date could be misinterpreted or used for manipulation.
“A VOLSKI performance on this day could be misunderstood and even used by hostile forces for their destructive interests. People who adhere to values different from ours will celebrate the so-called ‘Russia Day,’” Liavon Volski explained.
The musician stressed that he respects the other participants and supports their anti-totalitarian stance. However, for his team, the issue of national subjectivity proved more important.
Notably, VOLSKI is not the only Belarusian act in the OUT LOUD lineup. The band J:MORS is also scheduled to perform. However, the performance of Uladzimir Pugach’s group is set for June 13, thus avoiding the symbolic overlap with the Russian state holiday that became decisive for Volski.
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