Music of Lithuania refers to all forms of music associated with Lithuania, which has a long history of the folk, popular and classical musical development. Music was an important part of polytheistic, pre-Christian Lithuania – rituals were accompanied by music instruments and singing, deeds of the heroes and those who didn't return from the war were celebrated in songs.
Foje was one of the most successful and best known rock bands in Lithuania.
Arcturus is a Norwegian avant-garde metal band formed in 1991. Their name, which means "Bear Guardian", references the Behenian fixed star Arcturus.
Antis is a Lithuanian postmodernist rock band.
Rock music has been performed and heard in Lithuania since the mid-1960s. At first, repression by the Soviet authorities meant that rock was performed only at illegal gatherings, while music from the West was available on Radio Luxembourg or smuggled records. As pressure eased somewhat, rock musicals began to be released, such as Velnio nuotaka and Ugnies medžioklė su varovais.
Žalvarinis is a folk rock band from Vilnius, Lithuania. They were formed in 2001 as a collaboration between the pagan metal group Ugnėlakis and the pagan folk group Kūlgrinda. This was reflected in the title of their debut album in 2002, Ugnėlakis su Kūlgrinda.
Audrey Horne are a hard rock band from Bergen, Norway. The band took its name from Sherilyn Fenn's character in the cult TV series Twin Peaks. Although some of the band's members play or have previously played in black metal bands like Enslaved and Gorgoroth, Audrey Horne's music is far removed from the black metal genre, and can be described as heavy and melodic classic rock, similar to bands like Van Halen, Kiss, Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy, Ozzy Osbourne, Iron Maiden, Faith No More and Alice In Chains.
Oskaras Koršunovas is a Lithuanian theatre director.
In the 1970s Soviet Lithuania, there were many groups resisting official Soviet ideology. One of the most notable was hippies.
Herkus Monte was the most famous leader of the Great Prussian Uprising against the Teutonic Knights and Northern Crusaders. The uprising began in September 1260, following the Knights' defeat at the Battle of Durbe, and lasted for the next fourteen years.
Vytautas Kernagis was a Lithuanian singer-songwriter, bard, actor, director, and television announcer. He is considered a pioneer of Lithuanian sung poetry.
Atalyja is a Lithuanian folk-rock music band. It focuses on the popularization of archaic Lithuanian folklore and bringing ancient songs closer to contemporary audiences. The band has produced songs of a big variety of musical styles, a broad tonal palette and unique arrangements. The ancient melodies are enriched with elements of rock, jazz, funk, blues rock, metal and Indian music. Atalyja regularly participates in music festivals and fests. The band has released 4 CD albums and has given performances in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Germany, Turkey, Czechia Belarus and Russia.
SKYLĖ (Hole/Chasm) is a band formed in Vilnius in 1991. The main principles of the band is the spread of alternative music and poetic thoughts based on philosophy, mythology and history. To date, band released 14 albums.
Povilas Meškėla is a Lithuanian rock musician and a leading singer of a rock band Rojaus tūzai and formerly Katedra.
Pavasarininkai was the informal name for members of Pavasaris, a Lithuanian Catholic youth organization. It was active from 1912 to the Soviet occupation in 1940. It grew from various informal groups established around the Pavasaris magazine first published in May 1912. It was based in Kaunas, but most members were active in various rural location across Lithuania. With more than 90,000 members and 1,200 groups in 1940, it was one of the largest and most popular organizations in interwar Lithuania. Its motto was "For God and Fatherland" and it organized various events to educate the youth in the Catholic spirit and develop their national pride. Pavasarininkai were supported by local clergy and the Catholic hierarchy, but were frowned upon by the authoritarian regime of President Antanas Smetona. It was similar to and closely cooperated with the Catholic Youth Federation Ateitis.
Petras Vyšniauskas is a Lithuania multi-instrumentalist of Modern Creative Jazz and a university teacher as a music teacher at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre in Vilnius.
Vilkduja is a dark music band from Lithuania, started by Povilas Vaitkevičius, who is also the creator of the band's music and lyrics.
Hiperbolė were a Lithuanian rock band formed in 1974 in Vilnius by Viktoras Prapras and Ričardas Bartusevičius. The most successful incarnation of the group included Michailas Garberis, Viktoras Prapras, Igoris Berinas, Ričardas Bartuševičius, Arvydas Šnaras. Hiperbolė literally means Hyberbola.
The Lithuanian Sanitary Aid Society was a Lithuanian society established in 1918 to provide medical care to refugees during World War I. First established in Minsk, the society purchased hospital equipment of a war hospital and relocated to Vilnius in July 1918. There it opened a hospital and continued to operate it until around 1941. Over the years, the hospital treated a total of about 300,000 patients. It was a charitable society, thus many of its treatments were provided at low cost or for free. After Vilnius incorporation into the Second Polish Republic, the society and the hospital were one of a few Lithuanian institutions active in Vilnius Region. The society and the hospital were headed by Danielius Alseika and, after his death, by Vytautas Legeika.
