Kazimieras Jakutis

Kazimieras Jakutis-Pagulbis' autumn concert tour

This autumn, I am bringing more than just songs to the stage. I am bringing my life.

My autobiographical book, "Veidrodin pažiūrėjus" (Looking in the Mirror), has seen the light of day. It is a 232-page story that begins not with me, but with my grandfather, Justinas. Like me, he was a bard. He wrote poems and would sing them while walking through the village. Apparently, something of him remained in me – I, too, cannot help but sing.

Only our lives turned out very differently.

My grandfather was tossed and turned by wars, the Bolshevik era, and nationalization. He did not manage to build a solid foundation under his feet and died in poverty at the age of 65.

I succeeded differently.

Why? Perhaps you will find the answer in the book. Or perhaps – in the songs.

This autumn's concert will be like a journey through my life. From my first love and the first songs written in my youth, my homeland, family, the Soviet era, and the times of land reclamation, to Anykščiai, the present day, and a song written using my grandfather Justinas' lyrics.

In the book, you will also find many valuable historical photographs, and with the help of QR codes, you will be able to immediately listen to the songs related to the text.

While preparing the book, writer Jurgita Lieponė forced me to reopen the diaries I have been writing since 1983.

I found everything there. Beautiful things and not-so-beautiful things. Love, disappointments, victories, foolishness, people, and events that I had almost forgotten.

It all came back.

From those memories, new songs were born, which you will hear live for the first time on this tour. After the concert, you will be able to take them home with you – as a gift in a modern digital format.

In the book, I told more about myself than I have ever told from the stage before. Perhaps even impermissibly much.

I wrote it thinking about my children and grandchildren. Today, I would give a lot for the opportunity to open my grandfather Justinas' diary and read what he loved, what he feared, what he believed in, and what paths he walked.

I do not have my grandfather's diary.

Therefore, I am leaving my own.

And since I have had you – my listeners – for so many years, I want to share this story with you as well.

Another important piece of news this autumn is that our group is once again becoming a full-lineup rock band. On stage – Aurimas Driukas (guitar, keyboards), Augustas Genutis (bass guitar), Kęstutis Didvalis (real drums), and, of course, the charming vocalist Vaida Jakutienė.

So this time, I invite you not just to a concert, but to a two-hour journey through one man's life, told through stories and songs.

From grandfather Justinas to me. From the first songs to those born this year. From who I was to what I see today... looking in the mirror.

See you at the autumn concerts.

Kazimieras Jakutis-Pagulbis