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OBI is proud to announce our newest member of the band: Please welcome bassist Liz Draper! [cue applause] We've already had a chance to perform with her at Tapestry Folkdance Center in November, and she was awesome. We're now very excited to have her join our ensemble. A bit about our newest member: Liz Draper received a Bachelors of Music in Double Bass Performance from the University of Minnesota in 2004. It was there that she studied under St. Paul Chamber Orchestra's Chris Brown and Minnesota Orchestra's Peter Lloyd and James Clute. Her classical endeavors have found her performing both as a featured soloist and as an active section member in a number of orchestras and chamber ensembles. Liz has been a professional gigging jazz bassist since age 16. Her improvising has led her to The School For Improvised Music in Brooklyn, New York. Liz has performed...

By now many of our hardcore fans have heard that our bassist, Matt Miller, has decided to take a break and will be leaving OBI at the end of the year. We're sad to see him go, but we wish him all the very best as he begins a new chapter. We have some gigs between now and the end of the year, so you'll have a few chances to catch Matt before he makes his exit. His last gig with OBI will be for the Romanian Collinde Project on December 16. In the meantime, we want to give Matt a big hearty thanks for all his amazing bass-ness over the last eight years....

We've had quite a ride these last 6+ years curating the 3rd Thursday Balkan Party Night at the Black Dog Cafe in Lowertown St. Paul, and it's been fun to bring our music to new audiences every month through this series. Though OBI still has a healthy plate of upcoming gigs, June 15, 2017 marks our last regular 3rd Thursday at Black Dog. Be sure to keep track of us here or on Facebook to get info on other upcoming events. If you've been meaning to come to 3rd Thursday, this is your last chance! We hope you'll join us on the 15th to celebrate with some great music, dancing, and food. Free and family-friendly....

Last fall, our awesome fiddle player, Colleen, started a grand adventure, thanks to a Fullbright Grant that allowed her to do a year's worth of field study in Romania of Transylvanian string players. She kept up a blog of her own with thoughts on music and identity (check it out on StringMuse) while also playing with ensembles in the region. Though OBI continued on without her for the past year, we've certainly missed her. That's why we're so thrilled that she's now back Stateside and playing with us, beginning at the Minnesota State Fair this evening! Let's all buy her a drink, eh? Welcome home, Colleen!...

It's back, and it's in St. Paul for the first time ever! From our press release:   Bulgarian Martenitsa Show Comes To Bedlam Lowertown March 1 Orkestar Bez Ime and Mila Vocal Ensemble Celebrate Their Annual Balkan Spring Celebration In a New, Dance-Friendly Space Twin Cities, MN--It's been four years since Orkestar Bez Ime (OBI) and Mila Vocal Ensemble established Martenitsa, their annual celebration of spring--what Bulgarians call Baba Marta--and this year, it has a new home: Lowertown's beloved Bedlam Theatre. What started as a small underground gathering of Balkan music-obsessed fans and the local Bulgarian community has grown into a massive Balkan dance party featuring music from Bulgaria, Macedonia, and surrounding areas. "We've done a few Martenitsas on and off for the last 10 years with various groups joining in," says OBI...