We are 15 years old, in 2007 the Budapest Bar, which was only a temporary, one-off formation, recorded its first album in 2007. However, they burst onto the Hungarian music scene with such popularity at the disc presentation concerts that it became obvious to band leader Róbert Farkas and his wife, Andrea Gáncs, the band’s manager, that the special journey they embarked on was far from just one milestone.

We just wanted to make an album that could be played in coffee houses and contain Hungarian songs. When I brought the ten singers together, I didn’t think at all that we could be a concert band, since the singers were very active with their own band. We held the album launch at the Katona József Theater, and there was so much interest that we immediately opened with two full houses one night Róbert Farkas recalled the beginnings.

Since then, the band has been preparing for the release of their 12th LP, and they have already played more than a thousand concerts. In the beginning, they retuned dance songs and couplets reviving the atmosphere of the Budapest cafés of the 1920s and 1930s, but in recent years they have expanded their repertoire with contemporary foreign and Hungarian hits as well as their own songs.

Our show is now a hundred years old. I loved the turn of the last century. As a child, I saw almost all the films of the era, I really liked the world. There were almost a hundred coffee houses in Budapest, more than half of them had live music. The gypsy musicians in the restaurants played sheet music and charades, in the coffee houses couplets, chansons, songs written with French, German and American influences. This world captivated me. Many songs have already been forgotten, so I thought he would collect the emblematic ones in one album – said the band leader, who told our paper what he is most proud of in the past 15 years.

On the one hand, the fact that this great team is still together after a decade and a half and is still able to create, so that we still enjoy the concerts as if they were the very first ones. This is a big deal, as the line-up is eclectic, we have singers from rock, jazz and alternative genres. We became a real family. The greatest joy and pride is that our music connects generations, as we regularly see small children, parents and grandparents having fun together at our concerts. The Budapest Bar keeps friends and family together explained Róbert Farkas.
He emphasized that they are always happy to give concerts in the city of sunshine.

We have played a lot in Szeged, we love the city, and performing at outdoor games is a very classy and special experience – he said, then continued by saying that the Szeged audience can expect a wild party this time as well.

We are preparing a new album for the 15th anniversary, several of our songs have already been completed, which will be played in Újszeged. We are giving a very fast-paced, dancing, really fun concert with a summer atmosphere. In addition to the latest songs, we will also play our own songs and covers, as well as old favourites. The band comes with six singers, Dóri Behumi, Bori Rutkai, Frenk, György Ferenczi, András Lovasi and Misi Mező will be with us said the conductor.