‘Genuine fake Russian choir’ Dustyesky makes comeback

Australia’s only ‘genuine fake Russian choir’ Dustyesky is returning to the local stage in collaboration with the Bangalow Film Festival.

The group of 28 men will perform music to the screening of the 1930s Soviet film Earth at the town’s A&I Hall on September 26.

The choir formed 10 years ago when Mullumbimby Music Festival director Glenn Wright was trying to find a way to incorporate his love of Eastern European music into the event.

“We were at a party one night and he was saying he’d love to get a Russian choir to perform at the festival, but where do you get a Russian choir?” retired builder and choirmaster Andrew Swain said.

“I said, ‘well, we could make our own’.”

They expected to be booed off stage when they performed in between other acts at the festival, but instead they got a standing ovation.

The group was noticed by the Russian media after they sang at the Russian Club in Brisbane and were invited by Russia’s Ministry of Culture to perform in Red Square.

But then COVID hit and they had to cancel the trip.

The choir gained notoriety in their homeland after featuring in an episode of Australian Story and sang at the Sydney Opera House in 2021.

But things took a backseat again when Russia invaded Ukraine early the following year.

The group wasn’t sure if they’d ever perform publicly again, but when Bangalow Film Festival director Christian Pazzaglia asked the choir to sing alongside a screening of Earth for the 2024 event, they thought it fit perfectly with their repertoire.

“We thought with that kind of appropriateness we could do this without offending anyone’s sensibilities,” Swain said.

“It’s a piece of art; it’s not a political statement.

“We’re just singing traditional folk songs from a period in Soviet history 100 years ago, albeit one of great turmoil and significance.”

The group is also performing three concerts in Melbourne this week that were also postponed during COVID.

“The boys are so keen and so excited to get back on stage,” Swain said.

“We have been singing for ten years now and you can really hear it.

“It’s strong and it’s got a lot behind it.”

For more information and tickets, visit https://events.humanitix.com/dustyesky-performs-music-to-the-screening-of-earth