My final big gig of this trip was another huge favourite of mine, the neofolk band ROME. The creative outlet of Luxembourgian Jerome Reuter, ROME covers a wide range of philosophical and political subjects albeit whilst being unpretentious and not being preachy, something that is so rare of “political” and “protest” bands. On this tour the band were showcasing their latest album, Gates of Europe, which was created amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, conceived in Reuter’s own words, “as a helpless reaction to [the invasion of Ukraine] [which] became my way of coping with the situation.” What has made the situation in Ukraine more personal for Reuter is that he, in spite of travel advisories warning against travel to the country due to the Russian forces amassing on the border to prepare for invasion, had played in Kyiv a mere six days before the Russians began their invasion, and he has subsequently returned to play gigs in Lviv and Kyiv a year later, with the war still raging. Reuter sees standing with Ukraine “as his natural, democratic duty”, and on this tour proceeds are going to raise money for refugee shelters for Ukraine.
As well as their new album they also played many classics from previous albums, and this was yet another show I unequivocally give five stars for, in fact I don’t think I have ever been so happy when a band came back on for an encore! Their music is intelligent and addresses complicated themes with respect and without dumbing down for the masses. Yet another fantastic evening which has left me looking forward to the next tour.
