- January 10, 2026
- 8:30 pm
- Israel
In January 2026, a series of concerts by one of the most recognizable Ukrainian bards, Viktor Bayrak, will take place in Israel. Poet, artist, satirist, volunteer, intellectual — his songs combine Odessa irony, deep humanity, and inner strength capable of supporting the listener even in the toughest times.
Three cities, three stages, three different moods — and one voice that’s hard to confuse. These are not just musical evenings but meetings with a person who can turn a serious conversation into a kind and precise joke, and life’s pain into a warm song that touches the heart.
What and where will take place: dates, cities, time
Be’er Sheva — January 16, 2026, starting at 19:00.
This evening is announced as a meeting with a person who “can start with a serious conversation and end with everyone in tears — but from laughter.”
The descriptions include a lot of everyday Odessa “kitchen”: stories about a train that left a minute early, about a cat-impostor “apartment owner,” about people who are too sure of their own rightness — and at this moment, as the organizers promise, the funniest part begins.
The meaning of the presentation is clear: this is not just a “concert of songs,” but an evening of observations where the sad becomes lighter because it is spoken in human language.
Details from the organizers here.
Haifa — Monday, January 19, 2026, 19:30–22:30.
The posters indicate a duration of about 3 hours and a location in Haifa (Ben-Gurion Street area).
The Haifa announcement adds a second layer to Bayrak’s image: “he was and is considered one of their own by archaeologists and electricians, KVN players and ChGK participants, footballers and tourists…” — an artist with a very wide audience, not tied to one circle. It also emphasizes: “he is everyone’s and no one’s at the same time. He is Viktor Bayrak, that’s his profession.”
This sounds like a promise of an evening-event: not “came, listened, and left,” but came to meet.
Details from the organizers here.
Petah Tikva — January 24, 2026, starting at 18:00.
The final meeting will take place in the intimate theater hall LaBama.
The announcement separately emphasizes: “the home concert is moving to a new venue,” but the format remains intimate — “a space where the atmosphere of close communication is preserved.”
The description of the evening includes many words about “soulful and warm,” about community, about the desire to maintain a home intonation even in a theater hall.
Details from the organizers here.
Who is Viktor Bayrak
Viktor Bayrak is a Ukrainian Odessa singer-songwriter (bard), poet-satirist, and artist, known in the author’s song community as a “living classic.” He is known not only for his concerts: Bayrak is a multifaceted person, a “festival man,” whose humor always coexists with precise life observation and inner honesty.
Biography — briefly and to the point
Viktor Bayrak was born on November 30, 1957, in Odessa. His biography includes a long period of life outside Ukraine (including in Russia), after which he returned in 2014 and publicly declared his civic position. In recent years, he is called a person who confidently holds both on stage and in volunteer reality — without dividing into “creativity” and “life.”
What he is known for
Bayrak has a rare feature: he works in several cultural “languages” at once — and combines them in one evening.
- Author’s song (bard stage). His concerts are not a set of songs, but a story where each piece sounds like a separate story: with a beginning, pause, unexpected remark, and very Odessa intonation.
- Satire and intellectual humor. He is often presented as a person who “can start seriously and end with everyone in tears — but from laughter.” This humor is not “for decoration,” but a way to talk about complex things without hysteria and without lies.
- Cultural environment of KVN / intellectual games. Materials about him regularly mention the connection with KVN and intellectual communities (“What? Where? When?”, “Brain-ring”) — as a sign that this is an author with a strong school of precise words and audience reaction.
- Artist. Bayrak not only sings: he is engaged in visual arts and often combines concerts with artistic formats — exhibitions, auctions, charity sales of works.
Achievements and recognition
Bayrak’s main achievement is not one “hit song,” but the reputation of an author who is considered their own by very different people and professions. His work is simultaneously Odessa in intonation and universal in content: a household story easily turns into a small parable, and the funny into an accurate diagnosis of the time.
And one more thing: Bayrak has long been perceived not as an “artist by schedule,” but as a person next to whom the audience feels a sense of normal human closeness. This explains why his evenings are often called not concerts, but meetings.
How organizers describe Bayrak: more live formulations
In various announcements, the same portrait is repeated — but in different words:
- Odessa precision + humor without embellishments. He speaks as if he is not telling a story, but “frying” it — adding sarcasm and kindness, and necessarily a signature Odessa smirk.
- Man-performance. Any everyday case with him turns into a mini-scene: with a twist, pause, punchline — and a very recognizable intonation.
- Warm truth. Even heavy topics, according to the organizers, are “always wrapped in a blanket of humor” — not to devalue, but to endure.
- Silence does not survive. This is a direct organizer’s metaphor: with him, the “home” gathers around the voice, and it becomes easier for people to talk to each other.
- “He is ours — and no one’s.” The Haifa description includes this formula: a person considered “their own” by people of completely different professions and habits — from archaeologists to actors, from teachers to volunteers.
If you put this in one line: people go to Bayrak not “for perfect vocals,” but for the feeling that someone smart and alive nearby voiced what many have inside.
How Viktor Bayrak supports Ukraine before and after 2022
For Bayrak, helping Ukraine is not a beautiful word in his biography. In his public history, the connection has long been noticeable: song → meeting → collection → specific action.
Before 2022: position and practice of help
Even in the years after 2014, he publicly declared his civic position and performed where people were especially struggling. In 2015, Bayrak performed in a military hospital in front of the wounded and gave a concert for the National Guard fighters (Gepard regiment).
At the same time, his political satire was a noticeable part of the repertoire: in March 2015, Bayrak recorded and posted the song “Is he dead or not…” — a reaction to the wave of rumors about Putin’s “disappearance” in March 2015. The same publication noted that he lived in Voronezh for a long time and returned to Ukraine, not accepting Russian “imperial” policy.
This is an important background: his “military” performances and civic songs did not start in 2022 — they continued and expanded.
After February 24, 2022: full-scale involvement
In the new phase of the war since February 2022, Bayrak continues this tradition — from performances on the front line to targeted assistance to units. His songs and volunteer enthusiasm became part of a broad movement to support the Ukrainian army by cultural figures.
On April 5, 2022, a charitable organization “Lviv Way” was registered in Lviv, where Bayrak is listed among the founders. This shows that he got involved not only as an artist but also as a person of volunteer infrastructure — in the first weeks/months of the war, when everything relied on quick connections and trust.
On July 1, 2023, he gave a charity concert in Vinnytsia (art space “Pan Zavarkin”) and, according to local press reports, raised funds for the needs of the Ukrainian army. It was also noted that he uses creative formats for fundraising — including auctions of art works.
During the same period, he participated in major city events. At the Field Kitchen Festival in memory of Taras Sych (Vinnytsia), it was reported that over 100,000 hryvnias were raised to support Vinnytsia military, and part of the funds was planned to be directed to practical things: car, generator, Starlink for mobile work of a unit related to drones. Importantly, this is not an “abstract collection,” but donations with a specific purpose.
There is also an international line of assistance, where Bayrak participates as a regular online concert participant of the “Medicines for Ukraine” project. The project started on March 26, 2022, conducts weekly concerts, and collects donations for medicines for vulnerable people. The project’s open materials indicate accumulated figures: 154 concerts, $38,115 in donations, 678 shipments of aid, and 100+ recipients (data recorded as of September 5, 2025).
There is a separate record where Bayrak is listed as a guest of a specific episode: No. 164, December 20, 2025.
This connection is important for understanding his role: he not only “supports with words.” He makes sure that the word turns into action — into collection, into help, into medicines, into equipment, into support for people who are holding on by their last strength.
These facts form a single picture: after February 2022, Viktor Bayrak dedicated his creativity and efforts to charitable goals — supporting the army, helping hospitals and clinics, participating in concerts and volunteer initiatives for the sake of bringing Ukraine’s victory closer.
Support for Israel
Separately, organizers and posters note that Bayrak participates not only in Ukrainian charitable initiatives. On October 21, 2023, he was a participant in the international charity bard marathon in support of Israel, which was held online and streamed as a live broadcast. In the description of the broadcast, he is listed as “Viktor Bayrak (Lviv)” — among the marathon artists.
Why these concerts in Israel are more than tours
Israeli announcements emphasize intimacy and warmth. But when the facts of recent years are placed side by side — dates, collections, participation in a charitable foundation, and regular projects — the January evenings are read differently: as a continuation of one big conversation, in which the song is needed not only for mood but to maintain a connection between people and not lose a sense of reality.
And yes — there is a special meaning in this for the Israeli audience: the concert becomes a point where memory, humor, support for Ukraine, and normal human closeness, which everyone lacks, meet.
NAnews — News of Israel | Nikk.Agency
