2007 News Archive
BIG HILLBILLY BLUEGRASS CHARMS MOLDOVANS
June 14, 2007
More than 2000 music fans throughout Moldova were enchanted with Bob Perilla’s Big Hillbilly Bluegrass Band, as it performed in five Moldovan cities from June 5th through the 9th, at the invitation of the U.S. Embassy in Chisinau. Moldova was the first leg of the band’s five-country tour of East Europe and Eurasia. The first concert, held in Bender, in the breakaway region of Transnistria, was received with standing ovations and dancing in the aisles. This enthusiastic reception was repeated as the band played in the cities of Cahul and Comrat in the south, Balti in the north, and finally in Chisinau, the capital. The Chisinau concert was held in an idyllic setting at the open air Summer Theater. At the end of the performance, the band held a long jamming session with students from the local state conservatory, to the great enchantment of the large audience. During its five-day tour, the band gave several television interviews, explaining bluegrass music to Moldovans.