The music played by Yagódy, scheduled for Wednesday, April 16, at the Palindrome at Eaglemount Winery and Cidery, is a blend of Ukrainian, Bulgarian and Serbian folk.

The Palindrome is presenting the “mesmerizing sounds” of the Ukrainian women’s folk band, offering its “primal percussion, hypnotic vocal harmonies and immersive ethno-drama performances” to North America for the first time this spring, said Laura Newman, events and marketing director of Eaglemount.

The women of Yagódy described themselves as being “on a mission” to preserve their culture, by both reviving and reinterpreting folk songs, while donning traditional clothing and costumes, such as the ornately embroidered vyshyvanka.

“Sometimes heartbreaking and often rebellious, Yagódy’s music is a testament to the land and spirit of the people of Ukraine,” Newman said.

The group has touted its own concerts as offering audiences “the songs of wild tribes” and “the voice of your ancestors,” adding, “This is live energy. It is a dance with voices. This is how our nature smells. This is how our blood sounds.”

The group’s self-titled debut album, Yagódy, was released in 2020, and introduced the world to their distinctive Eastern European cultural and musical milieu, featuring what Newman characterized as “powerful” renditions of Ukrainian, Bulgarian and Serbian folk songs.

In 2024, the group performed their original song “Tsunamia” for audiences at the Eurovision Songwriting Contest, and won over enough listeners to place fifth at the national selection finals.

Yagódy has performed at major festivals in Poland, Germany and across Europe, and its members hope to spread their lyrical history lessons throughout North America.

Founded in 2016 by actress and vocalist Zoriana Dybovska, Yagódy represented a continuation of her lifelong passion for preserving and evolving Ukrainian music.

Having left Donetsk in 2014 due to Russia’s military invasion, Dybovska settled in Lviv, where she gathered a group of musicians and fellow educators to create a project that she hoped would breathe new life into ancient Ukrainian sounds.

The group organically adopted their band name when a concert announcer called them “yagódy,” or “berries” in English.

Dybovska said that many in Ukraine have turned to traditional music, to express their pain and resilience in war.

“Traditional music and folk singing were historically passed down by grandparents, from village to village, from generation to generation,” Dybovska said. “Fortunately, we’re now experiencing a true cultural revival, returning to our roots.”

According to Dybovska, the band plays Ukrainian songs, but “we also add our vision, experiment with styles and we do it all with a great love for culture,” imbuing their music with “the power of tradition, multiplied by a modern sound and the incredible energy of the stage.”

Dybovska hopes people will take seriously that “Ukraine is more than just a headline. It is a country full of life, music and incredible people who are fighting not only for our freedom, but also for the values that the entire democratic world stands for. Supporting Ukraine is not only about politics, it is about supporting human dignity, resilience and the right to live without fear.”

Dybovska added that, at a Yagódy show, “You may sing, dance or even become part of the performance. Our concerts are not just about music. They are about communication, celebration and the feeling of something real.”

Dybovska takes pride in how a group that began as “a small collective of artists, searching for their voice,” has since grown into an internationally performing, “boundary-pushing” band.

Yagódy is made up of Dybovska on vocals and percussion instruments, Vasylyna Voloshyn on vocals, Nadiia Parashchuk on vocals and accordion, Vadym Voitovych on bass guitar, Teimyraz Gogitidze on drums, Vasyl Parashchuk on cymbals, and Tetiana Voitiv on vocals, Tibetan bowl, percussion instruments and drymba.

What to know

Tickets for the 7 p.m. concert on April 16 at 1893 S. Jacob Miller Road in Port Townsend are available at Humanitix online for $30 each for general admission, or $50 each for the front two rows.