After Stadthagen Gen Verde continued its tour in Germany, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Here is a recap of this month!
Immediately after the first stage of the tour, in Stadthagen, it was time to go to Vechta, where they performed a special concert for about 70 inmates, young and older women who are there for a few months, years or for life.
“When I heard that we were going to do a concert in a prison I thought how nice it would be to be able to bring some joy to these women”, says Christina Wang (Malaysia), drummer of Gen Verde, “however, at the end of the concert I found myself helped by them. They gave me a reason to go on. They gave me courage, tenacity and hope. I felt that there were no longer barriers between us and them, but that we were one”.
This was, in fact, one of the most special moments of the tour… because as soon as the concert started there was a strong connection, so much empathy and emotion. For both the women there and the Gen Verde members, it was a unique moment that will remain forever.
Watch the video to hear more impressions of the band and the women after the concert (in Italian – with subtitles available in English, German, Spanish and Portuguese):
And there’s more…
Germany still had in store so many good moments: both at Garrel’s acoustic concert and the full-band concert in Schwerte, there was a lot of excitement, for example when, to the sound of ‘We Choose Peace‘, everyone stood up to sing and clap.
In fact, this song continues to resonate in a special way at every concert, especially in the countries closest to Ukraine… as in Krakow, where Gen Verde was part of the international meeting of ‘socioMovens‘, a social network of young people from Central and Eastern Europe. There, too, the international band did the ‘Start Now Workshop Project‘ together with around 100 young people from Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Poland, Romania, Croatia and Hungary.
But that was still not all. The trip had two more stops: the first in Prešov, in the east of Slovakia– only 122 km from the border with Ukraine. In this beautiful and welcoming town, the band once again did the ‘Start Now Workshop Project‘ together with around 160 young people, 50 of them from Kyiv, Ukraine.
“Before we came, we didn’t really know what we were getting into. At first, we didn’t even want to come out of ourselves… then in the workshops we discovered that we all had so much in common, even though we didn’t know each other or couldn’t easily understand each other because of the different languages. We discovered that each of us has a little light within us, even though we also carry our own darkness. This experience is unforgettable: I will carry it with me for the rest of my life“, said Alžbetka and Elishka (Slovakia), two young girls who participated in the workshops.
The European tour ended in the Czech Republic, with ‘Meet Gen Verde’, in the setting of the‘National Youth Meeting 2022’ in Hradec Králové (CSM 2022 HK), where on 10 and 11 August the band met young people of different nationalities where they performed different activities and artistic workshops, as well as playing, singing and sharing their life experiences.
Here is a summary of this 42-day tour. 4 countries, 8 cities, 4600 km travelled, 3 “Start Now Workshop Project”, 4 “Gen Verde in Concert”, 2 “Gen Verde Acoustic”, 4 “Meet Gen Verde”, more workshops with young people and an infinite number of moments that will remain in the hearts of all Gen Verde: building a world of peace, having the courage to believe in it, still hoping, peace is possible. During these weeks on the streets of Europe, the band met many, many people who live and fight for a fairer world for all.
Before making a short summer stop, the band will again travel to Sardinia, Italy, for two acoustic concerts, on 17 August in Tortolì and on 18 August in La Caletta.
Click here for all upcoming Gen Verde dates.
Click here to contact Gen Verde if you are interested in a concert or workshop in your city.
