Arató Band

What distinguishes our band are the female first violinist, Luca Réka Tóth, and the tireless diligence with which we learn, research and play folk music. We set up our band in 2009 to play authentic Hungarian folk music, and try and capture the musical essence of each region. Village musicians, revival artists and our own drive guide us on the way. Apart from playing together, we teach music, organize events and make field recordings. Concerts at dancehouses, at MUPA – Palace of Arts, at parties, weddings and marches bear witness to the band’s skill. We are keen to show Hungarian folk music to audiences at home and abroad. You can find our music on Youtube and the recordings of the Dancehouse series. Our violinist received the Junior Prima award in 2018.

CONTACT: rekatolu@gmail.com

Bajkó

Ensemble Bajkó was founded in the spring of 2013, in Budapest, by three hearty, music lover youngsters from the countryside. The membership of the group was burnished constantly. Balázs Horváth joined the ensemble in 2016, Csaba Weingart in 2017. The most important cohesive force of the formation was friendship and the mutual demand for achieving musical excellence. Folk music is a dominant part of their lives. For them, collective music making is of most importance moreover, they strive to keep the treasures of folk music from the Carpathian Basin in their original form.

CONTACT: bajkozenekar@gmail.com // +36 30 569 39 38

Magos Folk Band

The Magos Folk Band from Budapest is a band playing authentic Hungarian folk music, first of all tunes from Transylvania (Kalotaszeg, Mezőség, Székelyföld) and present day Hungary (Szatmár, Dunántúl). It was founded in March 2008, the recent line-up, however, was formed in the summer of 2017.

The members of the band are:
ENYEDI Ágnes, Young Master of Folk Arts, Junior Prima Award – voice
SOÓS Csaba, Young Master of Folk Arts – violin
KOVÁCS Márton, Junior Prima Award – violin
ÉRI Márton – violas
ENYEDI Tamás – cimbalom/Hungarian dulcimer
PRIHODA István – double bass, cello
SALAMON Soma, Young Master of Folk Arts, Junior Prima Award – accordion, flutes

Our aim is to study and convey the traditions of folk music while preserving the original tone. Some of us work as teachers at several music schools.
Authentically performed folk music compilations can be heard at our performances, where the influence of the musicians and singers living in the actual region/village can also be observed.
We often take part in field work in Transylvania, and aim at including the acquired musical experiences in our music, then acquaint the listeners with the traditions of the given region.
Apart from accompanying dance ensembles we regularly organize concerts and dance house events both inland and abroad.
In 2011 we won FolkBEATS – an authentic folk-and world music talent show. Thanks to this success we participated in a 5-week 26-concert North-American tour in 2012, where we held concerts and dance houses for Hungarian communities in the US and Canada. In 2014 we got into the semifinals of the famous talent show ’Felszállott a Páva’, where we had the opportunity to perform in television programmes. In 2017 we managed to obtain the ’Halmos Béla’ grant, which enabled us to make our CD titled ’Forgatós’(Authentic Hungarian Folk Music from the river Sajó area to Székelyföld).
Our compilation ’Magosan….’ was awarded the ’Nagy Páva’ label in a competition launched by the Hungarian Heritage House in 2018.
We consider Csiszár Aladár, the lead violinist from Magyarpéterlaka to be one of our greatest masters, thus no wonder that there is no Magos concert without music from Péterlaka.

About the ‘Forgatós’

During the recent years we have devoted our attention to understanding, acquisition and
stylistically appropriate interpretation of music related to diverse regions of Székelyföld, as well as the villages along the rivers Sajó and Maros. We have compiled several line-ups that present the unique beauty of folk music belonging to these rural areas.
We  take our audience on a journey starting from the river Sajó area through Székely-Mezőség and Felső-Maros area to Udvarhelyszék and the area of the river Nyárád hoping that by the end of this ’roaming’ everybody will feel like dancing a ’Forgatós’.

CONTACT: enyeditom@gmail.com / +36 30 437 7540

Eszterlánc

Since its foundation, the musical band, Eszterlánc, has been playing the traditional folk music of the Transylvanian Heath (Mezőség). Eszterlánc has produced seven albums so far based on the musical traditions of three villages of the region. Császár Attila coordinates the work of the band, which is ultimately based on his tours of the Transylvanian Heath.

CONTACT: csaszi.eszterlanc@gmail.com / +36 30 619 3013

Dalinda

The common musical language of Dalinda is based on the traditions of authentic Hungarian folk-songs. The members of Dalinda studied at the folk-song branch of Franz Liszt Academy of Music and began to work together on a lot of authentic and world music productions. In the recent years, they shaped their program with collective efforts to show the polyphonic modern sound beside the authentic, harmonic folk songs.

CONTACT: dalindamusic@gmail.com / +36 30 246 2838

Romano Drom

Romano Drom is one of the most prominent representatives of the contemporary Gipsy culture in Hungary. Since it’s foundation in 1999, the band have travelled the world from Cairo to New York, South Korea to London, Peking to Oslo. The band toured in the Middle- and the Far East, made several successful tours overseas, and played almost all the countries of Europe.

CONTACT: marotidani@gmail.com / +36 30 474 0044

Meshi – Guessous Majda Mária

Hungarian-Moroccan Junior Prima Award winner singer, who has released three albums. She teaches at Liszt Academy of Music, since 2010. In her music, she explores the parallels in melodic tunes inherently existing in different musical traditions especially in Hungarian, Moroccan, Turkish and Indian folk music.

CONTACT: gyd.katalin@gmail.com / +36 70 941 9446

Parno Graszt

“They do not use sources of Gipsy music – they are the source itself” (Songlines)

Formed more than 20 years ago, Parno Graszt began to compose unreleased songs mixing music from Balkans, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Spain with a Gypsy attitude creating a new style. ​ Upbeat guitars, 4/4 persistent beats, and Balkans melodies are the ingredients for an euphoric and energetic show, which entertains and unites people of all ages. Parno Graszt sings their song in Romani and Hungarian language. ​ Every concert is an explosion of sound, colour, and joy. It seems that the audience becomes part of the show. The songs, dances, and language have transmitted the soul of the white horse (Parno Graszt) and gypsy folk.

CONTACT: slaszlo@pannonproductions.hu / +36 30 959 3039