Virgis Stakėnas

During the darkest days of the Cold War way back in the early 1970s, a group of like-minded Lithuanian students would get together and forget about their academic woes by playing, listening to and talking about music. One of these young reprobates, a young medical student in his early 20s by the name of Virgis Stakėnas would go on to become a household name in the unlikely incarnation as the country’s foremost cowboy. Now in his mid-50s, Šiauliai-based Stakėnas has been playing live, releasing albums, organising festivals and presenting his own national radio show for longer than he cares to remember. Turning professional during the early years of Perestroika, Virgis has developed his own unique style, fusing Country & Western and traditional Lithuanian folk music and finding inspiration in a wide range of individuals including Bob Dylan, the Soviet-era Russian underground figure Artiom Troitsky and the Icelandic diva Björk. One of Lithuania’s true eccentrics, Virgis Stakėnas may not be to everyone’s taste, but it’s certain the world would be a lesser place without him. See www.stakenas.com for more information, or search for his performances at www.youtube.com.