Green Room Series, Week #5 - Lublin - City of Inspiration

Hey,

I hope you’re doing well! It’s currently around 9am on Monday morning as I’m starting to write this letter down! We left Lublin an hour ago following a very short night brilliantly lit up by our first passage in a festival deeply rooted in what highly moves me; freedom! 

I literally just started reading my book following the departure of our morning frenzy filled with fun moments and laughter, since the current vibe of the tour is now an absolute wonder! Alex’s playlist was playing and while I was struck by the story of a band I really like called Siouxsie and the Banshees, the song Love Can Heal by Peter Gabriel started to be heard in the van and it spoke to me in a very unique way. I’m not a Peter Gabriel fan at all, I never listened to his music at all, but for some reason, this morning, this song, following the communal intensity we reached last night during the concert, I had to quit reading and start writing…! 

It was our first time playing in Lublin, Poland and each time before we hit a new city, I always love to read about it and to discover its origin, its vibe and spirit since I’m a firm believer that every city has a thing of its own and it’s shown through distance between one another, street art, food, fashion and the way people celebrate, all of this at once in a single place and this is exactly what last night was about! 

Until the partitions at the end of the 18th century, Lublin was a royal city of the Crown Kingdom of Poland. Its delegates and nobles had the right to participate in the royal election. In 1578, Lublin was chosen as the seat of the Crown Tribunal, the highest appeal court in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and for centuries, the city has been flourishing as a center of culture and higher learning. The city has been selected as the 2023 European Youth Capital, and this is what fascinated me the most as soon as I set foot on the East of Culture festival site; youth! 

Located less than an hour away from the Ukrainian border, Poland has seen its main cities increasing, some even up to 50% more population since the start of the conflict, opening its beautiful doors to people desperately looking for what once was a no-questions-asked daily way of living! But l’Art de Vivre was at the rendez-vous last night where the Libliners truly inspired me in every imaginable way! It all started with the most noticeable thing; the art of dressing up where every piece of clothing and haircut are a way of expression and meaning, not shy of exposing one’s darkness, hopelessness, beauty and hopefulness. It’s around such people that Alex, myself and the long shadows feel at home, with whom we belong, sharing this love and passion for unity in difference and the courage to navigate against the current. 

Following what has been one of our best concerts in years, where screams, laughter, tears and pure let go were the national anthem of our 75-minute spiritual dance together, I walked in the crowd giving away free pins and talking with people, a moment I’ll never forget. Misfits, punks, rastas, gays, lesbians, non-binary, trans, straights, parents, cool, hippies, lovers, happy, sad, hopeful, frustrated, local, immigrants, religious, anti-religious from the old to the young all seeking for the unknown with open hands, to whom I’ve been so thankful for inspiring us on such a level and powerfully reminding us why we’re doing all of this...! 

Find your people and you’ll find your purpose, where the church and any political party failed miserably for centuries, East of Culture in Lublin, Poland outshines and resonates throughout the world as a true celebration of humanity, art, culture and music, welcoming everyone with open hands to a free event where if you give it a slight chance, you’ll leave different in a greater way than how you arrived!

See you again soon Lublin! Love can heal and truly inspire! 

Let’s keep being great to one another! 

Your host and friend, 
Jeff