The annual LatRock tour of the United Kingdom this year will feature Latvian rock group Dzelzs Vilks in March and country band Apvedceļš in April, concert promoter Pēteris Pētersons has announced.

Dzelzs Vilks will perform an acoustic set of rock and world music.

Formed in 1991, the band at first played heavy metal but eventually shifted to pop-rock and world music. Dzelzs Vilks today includes four artists: Armands Butkevičs (bass and vocals), Mārcis Judzis (percussion), Juris Kaukulis (vocals and guitar) and Kaspars Tobis (keyboards). The band has released eight albums, most recently last year’s Sārtā rītausma on the
Upe tuviem un tāliem label.

Three concerts, collectively called LatRock5, are planned in March. Dzelzs Vilks will perform:

• March 27 at the Latvian rest home Straumēni, Lilbourne Lane, Catthorpe. The concert begins at 19:30 hours. Tickets are GBP 8 at the door, or GBP 6 if reserved or purchased before the concert.
• March 28 in the Daugavas Vanagi House, 5 Clifton Villas, Bradford. The concert is scheduled at 20:00 hours. Tickets are GBP 10 at the door, or GBP 8 if reserved or purchased before the concert. Music by a disc jockey will follow the concert.
• March 29 in the Daugavas Vanagi House, 72 Queensborough Terrace, London. The concert begins at 19:30 hours. Tickets are GBP 8 at the door, or GBP 6 if reserved or purchased before the concert.

Country band Apvedceļš is relatively new, formed in 2001 in Smiltene, Latvia. Band members include Jānis Krūmiņš (vocals and accordeon), Armands Leimanis (bass), Andis Mincis (drums and vocals) and Juris Paleps (guitar). The group has released five albums, most recently Viss, kas bijis reiz… in 2007 on the Gailītis-G label. In addition, a limited edition album, Brokastu sarīkojums ar solistu, was released in 2006. Performances by Apvedceļš also have appeared on a number of country and schlager compilations.

Apvedceļš is scheduled to perform three concerts in April in LatRock6:

• April 18 in the Daugavas Vanagi House, 5 Clifton Villas, Bradford. The concert starts at 20:00 hours. Tickets are GBP 10 at the door, or GBP 8 if reserved or purchased before the concert.
• April 19 in St. Peter’s Church Hall, Love Lane, Wisbech. The concert is begins at 18:00 hours. Tickets are GBP 15 at the door, or GBP 10 if reserved or purchased before the concert.
• April 20 at the Straumēni rest home, Lilbourne Lane, Catthorpe. The concert begins at 16:00 hours. Tickets are GBP 8 at the door, or GBP 6 if reserved or purchased before the concert.

Tickets for both the Dzelzs Vilks and Apvedceļš concerts may be purchased online from www.wegottickets.com. Beginning Feb. 17, tickets for Dzelzs Vilks may also be purchased at the concert venues. Tickets for Apvedceļš will be available at concert venues starting March 9.

To reserve tickets or further information, telephone +44 (0)7796 080356 or e-mail latrock@googlemail.com.

The first LatRock took place in 2004 and featured Latvian-British bands Arvīds un Mūrsitēji and Cietie Rieksti, as well as Latvian band Logo. Later LatRock concerts have featured Dzelzs Vilks, Mielavs un Parcēlāji and Līvi, as well as Latvian-British bands Alva and Krona.

For more information on Dzelzs Vilks, visit www.dzelzsvilks.lv. For more on Apvedceļš, visit apvedcels.lv. Further information about the LatRock concert tour will be available from the Latvian-British portal labrit.co.uk