a couple of overdue tributes to Yaroslav and Cats on Mars:

picture 1 (gallery below): this is Yaroslav. he invited me to Ukraine, organized the shows, met me at the train station in Kyiv in the early morning of the 2.7 attack, vacated his apartment for me, entrusted me with his cat, Juno, lent me his guitar, (knowingly) suggested Cats on Mars as the charity to devote the shows to, handled the auction at Squat 17B, and more. he couldn’t make the Kharkiv concert, but we rode together to Odesa, where after the last show, he met me at 4 am on the street outside my borrowed apartment (thanks again, Dima @ More Music Club) to accompany me to the bus station.

this is him searching for a cab – there were none, so we ended up walking through the dark city, him insisting, much to my bemused irritation, on carrying my suitcase (a common theme; this time, i gave in). he then waited with me until my bus to Moldova left, giving me the only coffee we could coax out of the malfunctioning Blade Runner vending machine, both of us beyond exhaustion.

that’s Yaroslav. love you man. and thank you again.

pictures 2-6: a visit to Cats on Mars, which rehabilitates cats rescued from war-torn areas – i’d have preferred to share a picture of its amazing staff, but respect its anonymity clause. it’s pointless to try to share the emotions i felt during my visit to the shelter, but i left bursting with admiration for Eugene Kibets and for all that he and his staff are doing, and having also fallen in love with every single cat. thanks to K for taking the last picture, and for the tour of the space, and to everyone who donated, through coming to the shows, the Kyiv auction, and otherwise. also thank you to the cats for making me smile like that – i hope you’re all adopted soon.

those 10 days were impossibly intense; filled with movement, music, the warmest, most welcoming people, and astonishing beauty, but also air raid sirens and train evacuations and ballistic missile and drone attacks. and all of these things continue. you’re in my thoughts, Ukraine. and i’ll be back.

back home in Canada now. an update about new music soon, and the next months.
love,
eric.

shadow-eric on a lone swing, just down the coast from beautiful Dirhami, Estonia, the day after the concert at Dirhami Kalakohvik. camera wedged in a tree. notebook still clutched, for reasons unknown.

in Berlin, Germany now, missing too much about the past weeks, including many dear people and cats. more to share about Ukraine (your stories and messages from Kharkiv, Kyiv & Odesa have felt like much-needed hugs – thank you, and know that i hold you in my heart), but my mind’s still racing, and i’ve not caught up to it yet.

endless gratitude to Andres, Eve, Annely and Tõnu for bringing me to Estonia for a concert at the dreamily-situated Dirhami Kalakohvik, plus some unforgettable days; for every detail of arranging the concert, and the lovely company/hospitality (Annely, your food is exquisite) the night of the show. thank you to the wonderful Andres and Eve for their warm companionship and generosity from the moment they greeted a travel-shattered version of me, whisking me off to an oasis of peace in the countryside where i slept for a small eternity, and then throughout the next days, as we explored everything from a 600 year-old apothecary to the Song Festival grounds to an enormous, sunlit bog together, discovering berries 1, 2 and 3 on our way; i still hold your care and tenderness with me, and will see you again. thank you to the amazing Adeele for offering to join me on the first-ever live performance of “come back to haunt me”, after only having just met and an extremely brief rehearsal (let’s try again when i return?). to Erki Pärnoja for lending me his gorgeous telecaster; it was a real pleasure to meet you. to Karmo for his excellent sound and kindness. and to everyone who attended, for being so welcoming, and for sending aid and love to Ukraine, via Päästelit, through tickets and the mid-show auction.

there’s far too much gratitude to fit here, as usual but i hope that all of you can still feel my hugs. i’ll see you next year, Estonia, i hope. ❤️

as i’ve already shared, i’m in Berlin; it’s a ridiculously last-minute request, but if anyone needs an opener for a show tonight, and could lend me a guitar, please DM me.

love,
eric.

rehearsing in Dirhami, Estonia, after travelling all day yesterday from Ukraine. overwhelmed with emotion. can’t write eloquently, just typing frantically as i tremble with too many unprocessed feelings, but needed to say something now. will share more soon about the past days, but before tonight’s show here wanted to say thank you to Odesa, and to More Music Club for having me, and to the intensely wonderful and generous people i met there and sang to. for your hospitality and open-heartedness, and for the surprise late-night tour of your city (amazing; the Odesa Opera Theatre pictured below). and so much more.

and: i miss and love you, Ukraine. and you’re here with me, in Estonia. yesterday there were endless fields of sunflowers in Moldova that accompanied me on an early morning bus ride to the airport in Chișinău, and then a mechanical massage chair in the airport in Latvia that i paid (three times) to hold me in its (frankly somewhat unsettling, but still comforting) embrace. and then the feeling of meeting Andres and Eve finally in Tallinn, my new dear Estonian friends, and being surrounded immediately by their care and warmth. i travelled for 16 hours. and it’s all so much. but it’s not too much. this feeling in my chest is everything that is beautiful about life and people and supporting each other and vulnerability and love and trust and heart, and i want it all.

tonight is devoted to Ukraine, thanks to the team here – all proceeds will be donated to direct aid, via Päästelit. and this has made the transition of leaving Ukraine easier, and i’m grateful, even as i worry terribly about the friends i’ve left there. but…i’m talking too much. it’s almost time to sing instead. see you tonight at the gorgeous Dirhami Kalakohvik, at 20:00, with a special guest for one song (more on this later).

lots of love,
eric.

last night’s ultra-cozy stage at Squat 17B, just after soundcheck.

missing you, Kyiv. arrived in Odesa early this morning via an overnight train, on 11.3 minutes of “sleep”; was far too charged up from the concert, and also from having my heart stolen by 46 cats (i think this is the current total? my point is all of them) during an afternoon visit to Eugene Kibets’ truly wonderful Cats on Mars shelter for cats rescued from war-affected areas (more on this visit in a separate post very soon, still processing a lot, but please check out the page if you’d like, and donate if you can, so much is needed there) and leaving my home for the past eight days in central Kyiv (including another cat, Juno, who became my dear friend, roommate and air raid partner) to slow my body and mind down for sleep. hated having to leave all of you only 30 minutes after i played my last song to sprint for the station, it felt all wrong, but you gave me so much love and energy to take with me that the abruptness didn’t hurt too much. thank for that. and: i know i’ll be back. Squat 17B is a magical place, and everyone who’s ever been there becomes a part of it; i could have stayed onstage all night, if the train hadn’t been calling.

tonight’s my last show in Ukraine on this little tour, at More Music Club at 19:00, here in Odesa, and i’m really excited to be here, though too briefly – in the early morning hours after the show, i’ll be on a bus to Moldova, on my way to Estonia, for a concert there at Dirhami Kalakohvik on the 12th.

see you next time, Kyiv. ❤️ thank you to the inimitable Yaroslav for everything (the list is too long now), to the amazing Kirill for the beautiful sound, lights and kindness, to all the staff at Squat 17B, and of course, to everyone who came out to listen, and who filled that room with such a staggering amount of life.

lots of love,
eric.

the concert in Estonia will happen on Sunday, July 12th, at a place called Dirhami Kalakohvik, in the midst of a slow-motion sunset, by the sea, less than two days after i leave Ukraine. tickets are available now.

it’s miraculous that this is happening, as the organizers only recently reached out for some basic details about my July 10th performance in Odesa, which they’ll be attending. shortly after i wrote back, they offered to host me in Estonia, in a small fishing village called Dirhami, and made all of the arrangements in what seemed like nanoseconds (though they swear they’re not concert organizers, i’m suspicious/vastly impressed). it was also their very kind suggestion that all proceeds from the show go to Päästelit, an organization that supports Ukrainian rescuers and provides vital assistance to those saving lives in war-affected areas.

thank you to Andres and the team for all of their hard work and generosity in arranging this, to Dirhami Kalakohvik for having me, and to the wonderful Erki Pärnoja, for allowing me to use one of his guitars – i’m humbled and honoured that Erki is willing to let me borrow one of his telecasters.

i’ve no idea where, when or how i’ll go after Estonia, or what resources i’ll have left, but we’ll see.

for now, sending hugs from Kyiv, and looking forward to tomorrow’s concert here at Squat 17B.
love,
eric.

Kharkiv metro, Tsentralnyi Rynok station, (very) early morning, yesterday.

sending so much love and gratitude, Kharkiv. thank you for your powerful, open-armed welcome on Saturday night; for showing me what drives your strong and vibrant city, where air raid sirens rarely catch their breath (i lost count), and where each moment is held and felt as the precious thing that it is. even as you are all so tired. it was lovely to sing to all of you, and to feel your hearts, and to meet some of you afterwards.

thank you Kazka Family and Symposiy Bar for hosting and helping, to Yaroslav for organizing and lending me his guitar, to Fail Try for opening the night, and to the beyond-wonderful and generous staff and locals for closing it; it was an honour to be invited to drink and talk with you. arrived back at my hotel in a rainstorm literally one minute before nightly curfew began, my GPS severely malfunctioning again due to the city-wide jamming, my veins humming with whatever those shots were, but my memory of the route somehow clear enough, even in the pouring darkness. i felt like i’d left friends.

the train back here to Kyiv yesterday was evacuated three times; first in the sunny countryside, then at a rainy platform i didn’t know the name of, and then Hrebinka station, and each time it happened, i walked to the end of the train, looked back down the tracks towards Kharkiv, and sent more love.

next concert is here in beautiful Kyiv at Squat 17B; please note that due to the Day of Mourning tomorrow, it has been moved to Thursday, July 9th.

after that, it’s Odesa at More Music Club on Friday the 10th (see earlier post for details), and then Dirhami, Estonia on Sunday the 12th. all Ukranian concerts are in support of the wonderful Cats on Mars. ❤️

just beginning the midnight train ride (two hours delayed) from Kyiv-Passazhyrskiy railway station (pictured) to Kharkiv. lying in my little bunk snuggled up with a borrowed guitar (thank you Yaroslav), and looking forward to singing to you tomorrow (Saturday evening), Kharkiv, @druk.kharkiv . ❤️ (Бар “Симпосій”, Korolenka 3) details and ticket link for the Estonian concert (Dirhami) coming within the next 17 hours.

posting this from a sweltering train somewhere close to the Poland/Ukraine border, a couple of hours into the 12-hour overnight ride from Chelm to Kyiv.

information about the upcoming shows in Kharkiv, Kyiv and Odesa can be found under “tour” on this website. and more from Kyiv soon. ❤️

also, i’m happy to share that i’ve been invited to perform in Estonia; a gloriously generous and organized team of people has arranged it all already, to my delight and surprise. this will happen on July 12th, a couple of nights after the final show in Odesa. more details over the coming days.

love,
eric.
p.s. happy Canada Day to friends back home.

dear Ukraine,

i’ll be coming to sing to you in July. 

a warm thank you to Yaroslav at Feral Angst for his kind invitation back in early February, and for his ongoing support and determination to continue setting things up, even as he was drafted into the army.

here are the dates so far:

04.07 Kharkiv / DRUK – organized by Kazka family
07.07 Kyiv / Squat 17B
10.07 Odesa / More Music Club

the shows will help raise money for a wonderful charity called Cats on Mars, an organization devoted to rescuing cats from war-torn areas across the country, and sheltering them in Kyiv.

more details over the next weeks, including ticket information, and possibly another show announcement or two as well, but lately, the focus has been on arranging all of this, and continuing work on album number six in various places, including São Jorge, where i contemplated staying forever, wrapped in sea spray and azaleas, with the little orange cat dozing on my shoulders, and my guitar in my arms.

but: i can hardly wait to perform again, and also to finish my newest songs, and the album as a whole. returning to the House of Miracles here in Canada today, for a couple of intensive days of recording – my rental car awaits as i type this.

see you in a month and a half, Ukraine.

love,
eric.