Lemon Bucket Orkestra

Lemon Bucket Orkestra

Lemon Bucket Orkestra is a Toronto, Canada-based group formed in 2010. It grows out of a meeting between a Breton accordionist and a Ukrainian fiddler in a Vietnamese restaurant on Yonge Street, where the idea of playing Eastern European folk music in Toronto takes shape.

Formation and early development

The project develops after Mark Marczyk spends two years in Ukraine performing with the urban folk band Ludy Dobri, while Tangi Ropars returns to Toronto after a lifetime of Celtic folk. The two find that other musicians in the city share an appetite for the energy of Eastern European folk music in clubs and on the street. They first perform as Worldly Savages, and Lemon Bucket Orkestra emerges from the band’s afterparties, where performances often continue until dawn.

In a short time the original quartet expands into a fourteen-piece ensemble. The group builds a reputation in Toronto for energetic performances and for playing in a wide range of settings.

Style and repertoire

The band plays klezmer and related forms of Eastern European folk music, with material drawn from Ukrainian, ex-Yugoslavian, Romani and other traditional songs. Its performances are associated with celebration, loud communal energy and a strong street-party atmosphere.

Activity

Based in Toronto, Lemon Bucket Orkestra remains active from 2010 to the present.