Václav Havelka + Alois Göbel

Václav Havelka released his solo album A Snake Crawling Up A Broken Ladder on Animal Music, distributed in the USA by Primordial Void. The album emerged during a years-long recovery from serious health complications and blends folk, Americana, psychedelia, and ambient. It has been covered by The Quietus, The Guardian, Aquarium Drunkard, and Raven Sings The Blues. The recording features Thor Harris, William Tyler, Ben Chasny, James Toth, David Boulter, Tony Crow, Matt Swanson, Radwan Ghazi Moumneh, Rebecca Vera, Munly Jay Munly, Marisa Anderson, Dana Janssen, Vojtěch Havel, Tomáš Niesner, Ondřej Krátký, Alois Zatloukal, and Dallas Acid - musicians connected to projects including Swans, Lambchop, Tindersticks, Six Organs of Admittance, Wooden Wand, Jerusalem In My Heart, Slim Cessna's Auto Club, and Silver Jews.

With the band Please The Trees, Havelka performed hundreds of concerts across Europe and North America over two decades, won Anděl and Apollo awards, and has long served as dramaturg of the international music programme at MeetFactory in Prague. Following the album's premiere at Atrium Žižkov, the project enters a new concert phase with a band of Czech alternative scene musicians who develop the songs into more open arrangements.

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Alois Göbel is the stage name of Uherské Hradiště violinist Alois Zatloukal, founder of the band Rusty Cowboys. He has performed on numerous domestic jazz and world music recordings - among others with Jablkoň, Slávek Janoušek, and Václav Havelka. His solo debut Musí se žít was released in autumn 2024, inspired by his sister's serious illness. His contemplative lyrics work with dark poetry while seeking hope within it. Alois Göbel's sound is built on violin, jazz piano, and guitar distortion.