Balkan Shmalkan

Balkan Shmalkan is East Vancouver's sweet dance party orchestra; global music with local attitude. Their funky brass dance beats are rooted in the living aural traditions of the Roma and Klezmorim of Eastern Europe and blended with a mixture of pop, funk, and jazz. Members of the group sing in 6 languages including Serbian, Romani, and Italian. 

The group is a colourful, vibrant, and celebrative group of brass, drums, and vocals best enjoyed up close and personal. They are exceptionally versatile and mobile, playing on and off stage with nothing more than the power of their lungs and horns. Balkan Shmalkan can bring the party to any setting, because Balkan Shmalkan is a party.

Balkan Shmalkan’s membership is neurodiverse and represents a wide range of genders, sexualities, and nationalities. We work hard to provide a welcoming, joyous experience for everyone.

Balkan Shmalkan’s audience is similarly wide ranging. We are well received at children’s festivals, traditional Serbian dances, punk shows, folk festivals, and street festivals. We are fortunate to play a musical style that reaches everyone - from lifelong balkan brass fans to first-time listeners.

Formed in 2015, Balkan Shmalkan is the brainchild of a group of musicians with a long history of collaboration in traditional South Serbian Trubaci music.  This project is a way of blending that music with other vibrant traditions and bringing it to the general population of BC.

Balkan Shmalkan: Brassy dance beats for all occasions.

Previously Performed at:

Artswells Festival

Rocket from Russia Festival

Woodstove Festival

Heart of the City Festival

Accordion Noir Festival

Mission Folk Fest

Mission Children’s Festival

HonkBC!

Quadrapalooza

Koksilah Music Festival

Ignite the Arts Festival

Burnaby Blues and Roots