US Secretary Of State Antony Blinken hopped on stage at a bar in Kyiv, Ukraine this week to deliver a performance of Neil Young’s ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’. Find footage of the moment below.
The unexpected performance took place on Tuesday night (May 14), following the Secretary Of State being in the city for a number of high-level meetings and pronouncements promising US military aid for Ukraine.
Taking place at Barman Dictat – a well-known bar in central Kyiv – Blinken drew the night to an end by picking up a guitar and joining the Ukrainian band 19.99 on stage for a rendition of ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’.
“Your soldiers, your citizens – particularly in the north-east, in Kharkiv – are suffering tremendously,” Blinken said before playing (as per The Guardian). “But they need to know, you need to know, the United States is with you, so much of the world is with you and they’re fighting not just for a free Ukraine, but for the free world. And the free world is with you, too.”
According to various reports, the band 19.99 were told that they would be performing on the night with Neil Young himself as a special guest, and only found out it was actually the US Secretary Of State at the last minute.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken performs“Rocking to the Free World” in a bar in Kyiv. // video by @cspan pic.twitter.com/EgSrl3UKWh
— Ostap Yarysh (@OstapYarysh) May 14, 2024
“He was connecting with eyes, with our band leader, with me … It was our first performance on stage but it feels like we were a band for two years,” the guitarist Arsen Gorbach told BBC Radio 4. He also added that the choice of song was made by Blinken, and described the set as “a very important point of Ukrainian history and cultural history”.
Unsurprisingly, the impromptu Neil Young cover from the politician drew mixed reactions online, with some viewing it as a gesture of support, while others criticised Blinken for spending his time performing in a bar amid the turmoil the country is going through.
At time of writing, a Russian offensive around the Kharkiv region has seen intense fighting, and reports from the BBC revealed that Ukrainian troops are being forced to retreat from several villages.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, was also reportedly made to cancel a visit to Spain to deal with the increasing disarray in Ukraine.
“While hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians are dying … US Secretary of State Antony Blinken plays the guitar performing ‘Rocking to the Free World’ at a venue in Kyiv, Ukraine,” one user wrote on X/Twitter.
“So many people die every day because we don’t have enough weapons and enough support from our allies … Such concerts are simply tactless and inappropriate,” shared Oleh Symoroz, a Ukrainian veteran (via NBC). “I advise the secretary of state to visit a military cemetery, not a bar.”
JUST IN: While hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians are dying in the NATO proxy war in Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken plays the guitar performing ‘Rocking to the Free World’ at a venue in Kyiv, Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/3iR5PmSOdX
— Megatron (@Megatron_ron) May 15, 2024
Ukraine is such a war torn country that our Secretary of State can pretend to be a musician in a random bar in Kiev without a worry.
Where is the war coverage and more importantly where are our 100’s of billions in tax dollars?
Are we being punked?
pic.twitter.com/RyZr0mw6YI
— Glockford Files (@GlockfordFiles) May 14, 2024
How many 18-40 year old Ukrainian men with a bright feature ahead of them, were sent to their early deaths in a remote trench so this jerk off could perform Neil Young in a Ukrainian bar. This is spitting on all of their graves.
— Warren Wilhelm (@War_Wilhelm) May 14, 2024
The head of one Ukrainian NGO shared a similar sentiment on Facebook, writing (via The Guardian): “Kharkiv region is being wiped from the Earth, people are leaving their homes, Kharkiv is under strike from air bombs… and a US top official is singing songs in a Kyiv bar.”
Some saw a different perspective on the performance though, and the outlet drew attention to the viewpoint held by a business worker in Kyiv called Polina. “Russia wants us to stop living and stop having fun,” they said. “The war is everywhere, but it doesn’t mean you can’t go to a bar. I feel thankful he even came to Kyiv and I thought it was great.”
In other Neil Young news, earlier this year it was reported that the songwriter announced his return to Spotify for the first time since 2022. The decision came after he confirmed that he would be removing his music from Spotify after episodes of Joe Rogan’s controversial podcast spread misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccines. At the time, Rogan’s podcast was signed exclusively to Spotify.
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