Vera Farmiga’s The Yagas Just Dropped a Gogol Bordello Collab

If you’re just now finding out that Oscar and Emmy-nominated actress Vera Farmiga has a band, welcome to the fold!

The Conjuring star is the singer of goth-inspired rock band The Yagas, and they’ve recently teamed up with international punk band Gogol Bordello—led by Eugene Hütz—to cover the popular Ukrainian love song “Chervona Ruta,” which you can see below in video of their live performance earlier this month at Assembly in Kingston, NY.

Notably, both Farmiga and Hütz are of Ukrainian heritage, and this live performance is a way fro them to shed light on Ukrainian culture and language while also helping those in need by raising money for Support Action Ukraine, an organization launched at the start of the war to provide humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian population.

The Yagas and Gogol Bordello have also created a limited-edition t-shirt for “Chervona Ruta,” with all proceeds going to Support Action Ukraine.

Speaking about the collab, Farmiga said in a press release: “I’m a first-generation American. I was raised in the Ukrainian diaspora of New Jersey, instilled with an immense pride of my family’s heritage and culture. Ukrainian music and dance were a vital source of strength, identity, celebration and connection to Ukraine.”

“Music has galvanized Ukrainian morale since the Russian invasion began,” she continued. “I thought, what a great way to uplift our loved ones in Ukraine than to perform a bangin’ cover of the quintessential Ukrainian song ‘Chervona Ruta.’ I love this particular song, that my Baba Nadia taught me. I grew up singing it at Ukrainian Plast and Syzokryli summer camps, deep in the woods and wildflower fields of Novyi Sokil, Soyuzivka, and Verhovyna, in New York’s Catskill Mountains. I associate this song with summer romance and lifelong friendships I developed, immersed in Ukrainian scouting and dance culture.”

Vera Farmiga’s Band The Yagas Just Dropped a Gogol Bordello Collab

“‘Chervona Ruta’ is steeped in complex emotions of romance, resilience, pride, passion and national identity,” Farmiga went on to say. “It’s not just a love song about a girl finding a red flower that brings luck in love. It’s a love song to Ukraine itself, evoking patriotic feeling. I wanted to sing it as a duet with Eugene Hütz of Gogol Bordello.”

“Eugene himself is like a badass blooming mythological flower. He is magic on two feet. He explodes with ferocious love and joy of creativity, his energy pure and infectious. The song has been covered time and time again; we wanted to put our unique bluster and spin on it. Enjoy!”

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Hütz offered a statement as well, saying, “This is a particularly meaningful song for me to collaborate on with Vera and The Yagas, given that we are both of Ukrainian descent, even though we were born on different sides of the Atlantic Ocean.”

“We both know it from childhood and with all respect to the original version, we thought of a distinctly tougher spin on it, just like the times we live in,” he added. “What a natural way to connect and let that song do some inspirational as well as tangible fundraising work to support a trusted charity organization, Support Action Ukraine.”

The Yagas — who made their live debut at the Kingston show — and Hütz will next perform “Chervona Ruta” together at Bowery Ballroom in New York City on Saturday, April 5th at the Casa Gogol Records Presents: NEW NEW YORK event. Click here for tickets.