Friday Night 2026
7:30pm Dance Workshop to Live Music Featuring:
- Niva (North Macedonian)
- Dimitris Stefanidis (Greek Pontian)
- Zlatne Uste Balkan Brass Band
8:45pm Live Music Dance Party
- 8:45pm – Zlatne Uste Balkan Brass Band
- 9:30pm – Texas Tech University Balkan Ensemble (Bulgarian)
- 10:0pm – Niva (Macedonian Izvorno)
- 10:45pm – Dimitris Stefanidis (Greek Pontian Lyra)
- 11:30pm – Kavala with Lefteris Bournias (Northern Greek Brass)
Please be aware that the schedule may change, even at the last minute!
| Start | Venue | Group | Description | Performers @1/17 1pm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6:00 PM | Ballroom | Mlado Selo | Youth ensemble from EEFC camp play Balkan music | Raya Ferholt-Wirz, Penny Hess, Abby Hess, Percival Moran, Sarah Ferholt, Sylvan Schneiderman, Arah Erway, Heshel van Wormer, Magnolia Kondrat-Wilson, Stella Santos Hendricks, Dan Schleifer, Daniel Stern, Leonard Spitzer Barclay, Ruby Crimmins, Emily Geller |
| 6:30 PM | Ballroom | Romashka | Balkan / Gypsy / Eastern-European party band | Jeff Perlman, Jake Shulman-Ment, Ben Holmes, Jay Vilnai, Ilya Shneyveys, Ron Caswell, Aaron Alexander |
| 6:30 PM | Empire | Scott Wilson and Efendi | Greek, Turkish, Armenian Belly Dance music, folk dance music | Scott Wilson, Dorit Koenig, Despina Debbie Kartsos, Bob Godfried, George Stathos, George Vikos, Carmine Guida, Casey Bond, Umut Yasmut |
| 6:30 PM | Imperial | Young Bulgarian Voices NY & 101 Kaba Gaidi & Tupani NY | Bulgarian music with singing and Kaba Gaidi and Tupani for dancing | Lubomir Smilenov, Bonnie Silver, Ralph Knag, Yordan Kolev, Jeanne Clifford, Will Cope, Cathie Springer, Zora Boyadzhieva, Paul Olson, Kalin Kopachev, Niya Kalinova, Kalin Kresnitchki, Michelle Weller, Maria Berkova, Yana Kalinkova, Neda Kresnitchki, Ivanka Hadjiiska, Rositsa Boyadzhieva, Judy Kropf, Dalia Kropf, Rebecca Freed, Mariya Vasileva, Eleonora Vidolova, Thea Hambright, Matt Moran, Dinyo Yantchev, Iva Dimitrova, Dimitar Georgiev, Ohannes Murat Berin, Adam Loomis |
| 7:00 PM | Imperial | Harris Brothers Balkan Band | Traditional and Modern Balkan and Roma Folk Music, played in traditional life-event style - in the middle of the space, played to and with dancers | Drew Harris, Tamberlaine Harris, Ben Thomas, Helen Marx, Adam Matlock, Brian Slattery |
| 7:00 PM | Empire | Holdvilág | Traditional Csángó folk music from East of the Carpathian mountains. Music that keeps your feet dancing and gives the world a hug! | Melush (Melinda McCarthy), Péter Horváth, Gábor Balázsi, Jacquelyn Duran, Bence Kalán, Kaba Beke |
| 7:00 PM | Gold Rm | Wind of Anatolia | Turkish Folk Music | Ismail Siglam, Baris Sevinc, Evrim Cicek, Afsar Barlas, Gulce Duztaban, Paul Brown, Matt Sellier, Nezih Antakli, Tayyar Akdeniz, Songul Cicek |
| 7:05 PM | Ballroom | Mountain Lions | Dance music inspired by zourna/zurle groups of the Balkans and Turkey, played with alto saxophones and davul. | Peter Hess, Catherine Foster, Daro Behroozi, Matt Moran |
| 7:30 PM | Gold Rm | Amir Vahab Trio | A mix of Persian, Turkish & Azeri Folk Music | Amir Vahab, Gail Wiggin, Yvette Ghoughassian |
| 7:30 PM | Imperial | Krivo | Bulgarian dance grooves | Matthew Schreiber, James Maldonado, Luke Schneiders, Ben Russell |
| 7:30 PM | Empire | Mac Faves | Traditional Macedonian izvoren style music | Jeff Fine, Adam Good, Marjorie Selden, Jerry Kisslinger, Aaron Strelnikoff, Ella Fine, Carol Silverman |
| 7:40 PM | Ballroom | Bitova Grupa | Traditional Bulgarian dance music and songs. (Gadulkas, Kaval, Gaida, Tambura, Bass, Tupan, and Vocals) | Lubomir Smilenov, Noel Kropf, Nicole Johnson, Belle Birchfield, Mark Ettinger, Michael Ginsburg |
| 8:00 PM | Imperial | Dimitris Stefanidis | Greek dance music from the Black Sea Coast | Dimitris Stefanidis, Jerry Kisslinger |
| 8:00 PM | Gold Rm | Supruli | Traditional Georgian polyphonic singing | Carl Linich, Jay Laubscher, Leo Decristoforo, Rob Arbelo, Leo Miranda, Chase Wayne-Duffy, Sarah Kessler Wolven, Ada Cowan, Liz Ambrosia, Andrew Broaddus, Marina Decristoforo, Lucy Galyean, Havvah Keller, Timmy Morrow |
| 8:00 PM | Empire | Ta Pedia Tis Polis | Traditional Greek Music | Tommy Kavounidis, Dimitri Behrakis, Eleni Moniodi, George Vardaros, Erikos Vlesmas, David Chorowski, Ilya Shneyveys |
| 8:05 PM | Kafana | Souren Baronian's Taksim | Middle Eastern influenced Jazz | Souren Baronian, Adam Good, Paul Brown, Lee Baronian, Mal Stein |
| 8:15 PM | Ballroom | Lyuti Chushki and DC Friends | Bulgarian folk music | Valeri Georgiev, Boril Peychinov, Kathryn Mitchell, Don Godwin, Emily Geller |
| 8:30 PM | Imperial | Kolegi | Music from southeastern Europe, from Greece to Romania, points in between, and elsewhere. | Helen Marx, Adam Matlock, Brian Slattery, Ian MacMillen |
| 8:30 PM | Empire | Rembetiko Without Borders | Rebetiko - urban popular song of the Greeks, from the late 19th century to the 1950s | Alan Akrivos, Rodini Shiamilis, Tommy Kavounidis, Chris Papson, Michaella Shiamilis, George Nasis, David Chorowski |
| 8:30 PM | Gold Rm | Polechko | Mainly Ukrainian, Slavic folk music | Sylke Jackson, Roman Turovsky, Jim Geyer |
| 8:30 PM | Gold Rm | Yasna Voices CANCELLED | Village style and choral arrangements of Bulgarian folk songs | Vlada Tomova, Melinda Hunt, Annie Beliveau, Elise Barnes, Lyubitsa Gerasimova, Karen Matthews, Marissa Arciola Ali, Elena Yankova, Marika Soltys, Sylke Jackson, Emma Bauchner, Lucia Rondini, Daniela Ninov |
| 8:50 PM | Ballroom | Slavic Soul Party! | Balkan brass funk and Roma accordion fireworks! | Matt Moran, Peter Stan, John Carlson, Kenny Warren, Peter Hess, Alex Asher, Aani Kisslinger, Heather Ewer, Chris Stromquist |
| 8:55 PM | Kafana | The Rosen Sisters_ | Eclectic mix of international folk dance music | Amberly Rosen Hoins, Ariana Rosen, Alby René |
| 9:00 PM | Empire | Conical Cacophony | Brass Band Music from Serbia and Macedonia | Tyler Hauer, Ryan Vasios, Kathy Olson, Ariane Morin, Dean Laabs, Jason Rosenman, Morgan Liu-Packard, Erik James, Owen James, John Cushing |
| 9:00 PM | Imperial | DOMAT Bah | Roots music of Macedonia and its surrounding regions. The ensemble features traditional instruments—(many) tamburas, kaval, and tapan—presenting both familiar and original compositions. | Adam Good, Jerry Kisslinger, Paul Brown, Kristina Vaskys |
| 9:00 PM | Gold Rm | Ruizn Rozas and Triandáfilla | Traditional unaccompanied Yiddish, Ladino, and Greek Ballads of the Ashkenazic, Sephardic, and Romaniote Jewish Communities of Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and Greece | Carol Freeman, Zachary Wager Scholl, Kei Matsuyama, Ilana Goldin, Quince Marcum, Joy Radish, Eric Heuberger |
| 9:25 PM | Ballroom | Raif Hyseni | Albanian orchestra and singers | Merita Halili, Raif Hyseni, Ozlem Rozanitis, Robert Levin, Scott Latzky, Edwin Vales, Charlie Hymowitz, Crystal Maoga, Jiana Mojica, Patrik Gelbart, Jake Morgan, Sarah Terwilliger, Damon Dellanno, Eva Salina |
| 9:30 PM | Empire | Balkan Fields | Pan-Balkan vocal and instrumental dance music | Dean Brown, Melinda Fields, Mel Fitzhugh, Henry Goldberg, Melinda Hunt, Ralph Iverson |
| 9:30 PM | Imperial | Bulgarian Racetrack | Bulgarian | Aaron Strelnikoff, Adam Good, Paul Brown, Mal Stein |
| 9:30 PM | Gold Rm | Yale Slavic Chorus | A diverse choral repertoire that spans the traditions of Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Georgia, among others | Nora Brown, Abi Tenenbaum, Kierstin Gehres-Furgeson, Islay Ross, Thisbe Wu, Natasha Khazzam, Isabela Snow, Iulia Teleuca, Marusya Bakhrameeva, Dori Ilosvai |
| 9:40 PM | Kafana | Turkish-Greek Trio | Greek and Turkish tunes interpreted on saxophone, accordion & percussion. | Ariane Morin, Ilya Shneyveys, Nezih Antakli |
| _10:00 pm | Imperial | Sofie Salonika | Traditional Sephardic music from the Balkans with original arrangements for multiple instruments and vocals, all sung in Ladino. | Jessica Lurie, Katie Down, Mark Ettinger, Shane Shanahan, Arthur Kell |
| _10:00 pm | Empire | Szikra | Traditional Hungarian dance music of the Csángó people from Moldva in Romania. Csángó dances are lively and easy to follow, and include both line and couple dances, many with syncopated rhythms | Emese Prandovszky O'Donnell, Chris O'Donnell, Valerie Matthews, Joseph Kroupa, Dalma Kalman, Balazs Naray |
| _10:00 pm | Ballroom | Zlatne Uste | Balkan Brass | Michael Ginsburg, Catherine Foster, Sarah Ferholt, Marian Eines, Daniel Stern, Benji Rifati, Belle Birchfield, Morgan Clark, Matt Smith, Dean Olsher, Raya Ferholt-Wirz, Don Godwin, Aani Kisslinger, Emily Geller, Jerry Kisslinger, Seido Salifoski, Helen Marx, Emerson Hawley, Danijela Veselinovic |
| _10:00 pm | Gold Rm | Zhenya Lopatnik Band | Yiddish-Ukrainian performance that weaves together original compositions with traditional Ukrainian folk songs and poetry by prominent Ukrainian Yiddish poets. | Zhenya Lopatnik, Gilad Ephrat, Oren Neiman, Nadav Snir-Zelniker, Ivan Barenboim |
| _10:15 pm | Kafana | Yale Slavic Chorus_ | A diverse choral repertoire that spans the traditions of Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Georgia, among others | Nora Brown, Abi Tenenbaum, Kierstin Gehres-Furgeson, Islay Ross, Thisbe Wu, Natasha Khazzam, Isabela Snow, Iulia Teleuca, Marusya Bakhrameeva, Dori Ilosvai |
| _10:30 pm | Imperial | Dolunay | Songs from the Turkish people living across Rumeli, the former region of the Ottoman Balkans. A sound at once earthy and celestial. | Jenny Luna, Adam Good, Paul Brown, Polly Ferber, Eylem Basaldi |
| _10:30 pm | Empire | The Lesvians | Greek island music from Lesvos and Asia Minor, featuring sandouri (hammered dulcimer), fiddle, and tuba (helicon) | Dean Lampros, Rafe Wolman, Jason Rosenman, Jesse Bay, Chloe Athanasopoulos, Daphne Athanasopoulos |
| _10:30 pm | Gold Rm | YiYi Folk Trio | Traditional Ukrainian songs through unconventional arrangements and a diverse mix of instruments, including the bandura, violin, banjo, hutsul drum, cello and accordion. Their performances are characterized by three-part polyphony, creating rich sonic tapestries | Zoya Shepko, Caroline Kuhn, Katie Pawluk |
| _10:45 pm | Ballroom | Chris Tiktapanidis | Greek Pontian Lyra | Chris Tiktapanidis, Jerry Kisslinger |
| _11:00 pm | Empire | Sarma Brass Band | 10-piece Balkan Brass Band that evokes the energetic grooves and soaring melodies of the Balkan Roma. Original material as well as a variety of traditional music from Macedonia, Serbia, Greece, and Albania. | Tano Brock, Benji Rifati, Tyler Hauer, Tree Palmedo, John Cushing, Aani Kisslinger, Joe Ricard, Alber Baseel, Matt Moran, Carol Silverman |
| _11:00 pm | Gold Rm | Songs of the Valley | Fuses world folk traditions drawn from musical sources around the Jewish world, from Eastern Europe to the Balkans to North Africa | Oren Neiman, Gilad Ephrat, Joyce Hammann, Nadav Snir-Zelniker, Enav Ephrat |
| _11:00 pm | Imperial | The Rosen Sisters | Eclectic mix of international folk dance music | Amberly Rosen Hoins, Ariana Rosen, Nicole Johnson, Will Cope, Alby René, Emily Geller |
| _11:10 pm | Kafana | YiYi Folk Trio_ | Traditional Ukrainian songs through unconventional arrangements and a diverse mix of instruments, including the bandura, violin, banjo, hutsul drum, cello and accordion. Their performances are characterized by three-part polyphony, creating rich sonic tapestries | Zoya Shepko, Caroline Kuhn, Katie Pawluk |
| _11:20 pm | Ballroom | West Philadelphia Orchestra | Brass band with big energy. We draw on brass band traditions from Serbia, Macedonia and Bulgaria, but also draw in elements from Brazil, songs from Turkey, the spirit of Philly jazz and more. | Gregg Mervine, Elliott Beck, Chad Brown, Dawn Webster, Daniel Stern, Hayley Varhol, Frank Rein, Evan White, Harry Forlenza, Larry Goldfinger, Elliott Levin |
| _11:30 pm | Empire | Elski | From explosive klezmer dance music to meditative melodies, old and new music | Eléonore Biezunski, Sarah Myerson, Ilya Shneyveys |
| _11:30 pm | Gold Rm | KaMar | Balkan and Eastern European songs from Ukraine, Greece, Bulgaria, Georgia | Kazuki Kozuru-Salifoska, Marta Jaremko |
| _11:30 pm | Imperial | Pontic Firebird | Traditional Greek dance music of the Black Sea, especially Western Pontos | Beth Bahia Cohen, Adam Good, Paul Brown, Jerry Kisslinger, Dimitris Stefanidis |
| _11:55 pm | Ballroom | Noga Group | Music around the world | Avram Pengas, Nick Mandoukos, Elysa Sunshine, Renos Efthimiou |
| Sun _12:00 am | Imperial | MacNCheez Balkan PowerTrio | Upbeat urban/village dance music from the Balkans. | Matthew 'Max' Fass, Tim Allen, Johanna Dun Jones, Katy Kondrat, Kazuki Kozuru-Salifoska |
| Sun _12:00 am | Empire | Michael Winograd & Ira Khonen Temple | Klezmer and Yiddish songs | Michael Winograd, Ira Khonen Temple |
| Sun _12:00 am | Gold Rm | Ukrainian Village Voices | Traditional polyphonic folk music from Ukraine’s villages | Yuriy Lehki, Larysa Tyshkevych, Ben Batchelder, Laryssa Czebiniak, Veronica Tchernychouk, Julia Alekseyeva, Jordan Sucher, Hanna King, Benjamin Abrams, Maria Kennedy, Jennifer Stepanyk, Jonas Tarm, David Guzman, Caroline Kuhn, Katie Pawluk, Zoya Shepko |
| Sun _12:30 am | Ballroom | Niva | Macedonian roots music featuring rich vocal harmonies alingside the kaval (shepherd’s flute), tambura (long-necked lute), tapan (bass drum), and powerful group singing. | Kristina Vaskys, Bridget Robbins, Abi Tenenbaum, Ella Fine, Helen Marx, Emily Geller |
| Sun _12:30 am | Empire | Orkestar Banitsa | Dance music of Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Greece | Becky Ashenden, Gawain Thomas, Addie Rose Holland, Joe Blumenthal, Barbara Blumenthal |
| Sun _12:30 am | Imperial | Raya Brass Band | Original Balkan brass dance music | Matthew 'Max' Fass, Greg Squared, Nezih Antakli, Steve Duffy, Ben Holmes, Rich Stein |
| Sun _12:35 am | Kafana | Avram Pengas | Music from around the world | Avram Pengas and Friends |
| Sun_1:00 am | Empire | Lubomir Smilenov & Texas Tech University Balkan Ensemble | Traditional music of the Balkans and nearby regions. The ensemble encompasses students of traditional instruments and classical orchestral instruments, along with vocals. | Lubomir Smilenov, Roger Landes, Ford Brehmer, Patrick Fuentes, Nina Hammond, Anthony Horne, Amy Jackson, Alexus Lambert, Kris Olson, Rose Ou, Alan Rice, Analyssa Vazquez, Morgan White |
| Sun_1:00 am | Ballroom | Novi Hitovi Brass Band | Flaming-hot Romani and Jewish party brass bangers from the Balkans and beyond | Aani Kisslinger, Benji Rifati, Daniel Stern, Ella Fine, Alber Baseel, Peter Hess, Dan Schleifer, Felicia Goldberg, Chris Erway, Deidra Montgomery, Nat Ranson, Matt Moran, Don Godwin |
| Sun_1:00 am | Imperial | Synkratics | An electrifying farrago of popular Balkan dances. | Greg Squared, Adam Good, Paul Brown, Chris Stromquist |
| Sun_1:30 am | Empire | Kavala | Brass band music from Northern Greece | Michael Ginsburg, Catherine Foster, Morgan Clark, Belle Birchfield, Paul Brown, Jerry Kisslinger, Matt Moran |
| Sun_1:30 am | Ballroom | Undertow Brass Band | Energetic party band taking inspiration from various musical styles, most notably Balkan music | Jori Ketten, William Cassidy, Ryan Guillette, Dan Schleifer, Shaunalynn Duffy, Chris Erway, Deidra Montgomery, Hannah Zoll, Sean Hickey, Marie Ghitman, Jones Mann, Kaleb Abebe, Larry Mauk, Sean Collins, Shamus Durac, Emelia Wilkinson, Addy Schuetz |