On June 10, the SPIEF organizers published the program of the St. Petersburg Seasons cultural festival, which is held as part of the economic forum. In addition to exhibitions, theatrical performances and fashion shows, a traditional concert on Palace Square was announced. The program of this event has been radically changed. On May 30, the organizers invited to a free concert, declaring the headliner of the “romantic rockers” – the group “Zveri”. “To be honest, we have seen more than once how the hall explodes, as soon as their soloist Roma just goes on stage,” the people responsible for the cultural program noted in the announcement. However, in the new version of the Petersburg Seasons festival, Chizh&Co and Django with Alexei Poddubny are announced as headliners. The group “Beasts” is no longer listed in the festival program.
However, the organizers do not talk about the replacement of artists. The city committee for culture informed the Fontanka publication that the contract with the Zveri group had not been concluded, and therefore it is wrong to talk about replacing artists at the main SPIEF concert.
Immediately after the announcement on May 30, several public figures spoke out against the performance of the Zveri group at SPIEF. Their main argument was the position of the musicians regarding the conduct of the NWO by Russia. The deputy of the St. Petersburg ZAKS from United Russia, Konstantin Chebykin, turned to the prosecutor’s office with a request “to consider the question of the advisability of inviting a musical group – the Zveri group – to the main stage of St. Petersburg.” From his point of view, this speech “can be characterized by the public as an insult to all those who today, risking their lives, ensure the security of the interests of Russia and its population.”
Roman Bilyk did not comment on the cancellation of his performance at SPIEF. In mid-May, the Zveri group released a new album, Blue Tram, and in honor of the 20th anniversary, the group gives concerts around the country. Performances are planned at large venues in Moscow (August 26) and St. Petersburg (September 1). In an interview with Afisha Daily on the occasion of the new album, Roman Bilyk said, talking about today: “We cannot accept the point of view of a neighbor, we are xenophobes: we are scared, because this is a different person and we consider him an enemy. Now it’s already hard for us to think about something, because the times are generally terrible: how many people have left, how the people have split. And he continues to split, and hatred continues to multiply, which in no case should be done. And at the same time, we must not forget that everyone wants to live. Here you can’t judge, and hatred can’t be propagated like that.”
It should be noted that the SPIEF 2023 cultural program will include not only traditional classical music concerts and exhibitions, but, for example, the Samizdat. Music that was not”, this event is called the most ambitious project about the musical underground of this summer.
