Fragment, one of the most popular central European bluegrass bands ever, is celebrating their 30th anniversary by doing a reunion tour. Bass player and vocalist Jana Mougin is chronicling their tour for us at Bluegrass Today.
DAY 6: November 28, Zvolen, Slovakia
Probably the hardest day of our tour. After five hours of sleep we got up at 6:00 a.m. and enjoyed full European breakfast in our hotel in Kaufbeuren. The tables were nicely decorated with Christmas centerpieces and candles, even for breakfast. Great start of the day!
By 7:00 a.m. we were on the road. The beautiful winter scenery and sunrise made our 10-hour-long trip more enjoyable. We traveled from southern Germany, through Austria to central Slovakia. The concert was held in the historic Town Hall in Zvolen. It was nice to see our friends from bluegrass band Candy Floss (based in Zvolen), who opened for us tonight. They played all original material and they put on a great show!
Again, we saw a few familiar faces in the audience and overall it was another wonderful night. We stayed with Candy Floss’ bass player Anton Naroda and banjo player Simona Schmidtova in their beautiful house in the vicinity of Zvolen. They took a great care of us, treated us with special locally-made food and drinks. It’s been a long and exhausting day.
Thanksgiving day is my favorite American holiday and I thought of my family and friends across the ocean. Even though we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Slovakia, besides many other things in my life, I was extremely thankful for the opportunity to play music in my homeland again, surrounded by friends.
