VLADIMÍR MERTA DUO “80”

Vladimír Merta, a cornerstone of Czech singer-songwriting, is celebrating his 80th birthday. On tour, he is supported by his loyal musical and personal companion, pianist and guitarist Ondřej Fencl, who is half his age. After their band adventures, the two gentlemen are returning to intimate duo performances.

The main figure is undoubtedly the veteran Merta, who delights audiences with his fresh album series *Nejisté jistoty* (the fourth installment was recently released). Time and again, he demonstrates that he is a seeker and guardian of a sharp mind; he is far from being past his prime and has something to say beyond his classic anthems. It is precisely these iconic songs from the 70s and 80s, however, that form the foundation of the setlist for the current tour, featuring, among others, “Astrolog,” “Harmonie,” “Chtít chytit vítr,” “Vzdálené výstřely,” “K pětadvaceti,” and “Začouzené sklíčko”… accompanied alternately by piano and a second guitar.

The Merta-Fencl collaboration crystallized from a musical encounter—actually, from a mistake. “Ondřej sent an email saying he’d like to send me an album by his band Hromosvod. I mistook him for someone else and replied: ‘Come to Kaštan tonight, I’m playing a gig there—join us,’” Merta recalls of that fateful moment in the spring of 2011. “We played for an hour without rehearsing. That could only happen to Dylan. Or to me.” The enthusiastically received performance then led to a collaboration lasting nearly fifteen years, with a good three hundred concerts so far.
 

Playing on Friday:

MICHAL PROKOP a FRAMUS FIVE, MICHAL PAVLÍČEK & HOSTÉ, KLÁRA VYTISKOVÁ, ​​​GARAGE & TONY DUCHÁČEK, VLADIMÍR MERTA DUO "80", ŽÁHA, STORY & MILAN KŇAŽKO, KALANDRA MEMORY BAND, JIRKA KÁRA & PAPÍR SKLO PLASTY
and others