User:CharlieSofia/Lilly Drumeva

Lilly Drumeva
Background information: Birth name: Liliana Hristova Drumeva

Born: 17 May 1970, Sofia, Bulgaria

Occupation: Singer, songwriter, guitarist, radio & TV presenter

Instruments: Guitar, fiddle

Genres: Bluegrass, country, Celtic, Bulgarian folk

Years active: 1996 to present

Labels: Polysound

Website: www.lillydrumeva.net

Biography
Lilly Drumeva heads the popular band known as “Lilly of the West”. Born in Bulgaria, she was raised and educated in a number of European countries including Germany, France, Austria and the Czech Republic. She was exposed to country and bluegrass music in Vienna in the early 1990s and upon her return to Bulgaria in 1996, formed her own group. Her first album was released not long afterwards and personal appearances were soon held in a number of countries: Czech Republic, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Estonia, and Poland. An early carrier highlight was her appearance in the 1998 European World of Bluegrass festival in The Netherlands. Significantly, her band won the “best European group of the year” award. Later that same year, she performed at the IBMA World of Bluegrass events in Louisville, Kentucky and was a presenter on the organization’s awards show. For several years she resided in London, she worked for the BBC World Service and organized a group with British bluegrass musicians Rick Townend and Rosie Davis. Since 2003 Lilly has been back in Bulgaria where she is part owner of a radio station and hosts a weekly country music show on Bulgarian national radio and TV. She continues to perform and record and is a well known figure in the European bluegrass and country music scene.

Career highlights
Lilly Drumeva (bandleader, lead vocalist) was born in Bulgaria but was raised and educated in several European countries: Germany, France, Austria, Czech Republic where her parents worked with the diplomatic service. It was in Vienna, 1992, where she first started to sing country and bluegrass. She returned to Bulgaria in 1996 and formed her own band “Lilly of the West”. A debut album was released, followed by appearances at major festivals in the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, the Netherlands and in the UK. In May 1998 Lilly of the West performed at the first EUROPEAN WORLD OF BLUEGRASS Convention in The Netherlands and won first place. In October 1998 they performed at the International Bluegrass Music Awards in Louisville, Kentucky, sharing the spotlight with Alison Krauss, Rhonda Vincent, Ricky Skaggs and many others. Lilly was also a presenter during the award ceremony gala and appeared on Fox Television. In May 1999 Lilly of the West released a second album "Sail on the Wild Wild Wind" on Strictly Country Records in the Netherlands. The songs were recorded live during the band’s tours in Holland. A third album followed in January 2000, entitled "Dear & Kind" which was inspired by the band’s native Bulgarian folk music. After completing a three-month tour in Europe 2001, Lilly took a position with the BBC World Service and settled down in London. She worked with British bluegrass musicians Rick Townend & Rosie Davis, releasing a 6 track CD “Lilly & Rosie”. In May 2003 Lilly returned to Bulgaria where she started her own music show on Retro Radio Network, the second most popular station in Bulgaria. She released the forth album “A collection”, featuring some of the most requested songs of the band’s repertoire. In October 2004 Lilly of the West showcased at the International Bluegrass Music Awards (IBMA) in Louisville, Kentucky with additional performances at the Galt House International Suites. Lilly Drumeva was backed by very talented young Slovak musicians. In March 2005 Lilly Drumeva toured in the United States together with American musicians (Marshall Wilborne, Jesse Brock, Mike Munford) and graduated from the Bluegrass Leadership Program in Nashville, Tennessee. She released a new CD “Pickin’ live”, recorded live in the United States. The same year Lilly started her own country music show on Balkan Bulgarian Television. In May 2005 Lilly of the West showcased at the European World of Bluegrass (EWOB) in Barneveld, Holland and Lilly was elected in the board of the European Bluegrass Music Association. In April 2006 Lilly Drumeva took a position as music editor on Radio Sofia, part of Bulgaria’s State National Radio. In September she started her own country music show “Country with Lilly”. She toured also with US manolinist Jesse Brock in Switzerland, Norway and Lithuania. In January 2007 Lilly of the West released a new album “Time after time”, featuring Lilly’s favourite classics from the 60s “All I have to do is dream”, “The end of the world”, Cindy Lauper’s “Time after time”, Irish traditionals like “The water is wide”, “A walk in the Irish rain”, John Denver’s “Leaving on a jet plane” and others. The album had great reviews and is currently sold on CD Baby. In June 2008 Lilly Drumeva teamed up with Czech musicians Lubos Malina (banjo) and Lubos Novotny (dobro) and performed several shows in Bulgaria and the Czech Republic. In September Lilly visited the United States and performed with The Nob Hill Boys (bluegrass band from Wisconsin) and Al Goll (Dorbo player from Nashville). She also attended IBMA’s International Summit, being one of the official delegates from Europe. In 2009 the band toured successfully in Europe and Bulgaria, performing at Willisau bluegrass festival, Switzerland, European World of Bluegrass, The Netherlands, La Roche Bluegrass festival, France, concerts in the Bulgarian embassies in Prague and Budapest. Lilly Drumeva worked with musicians of the renowned Czech band “Monogram”. In January 2010 Lilly released her 8th album, entitled “Lovin’ you”. Recorded in Sofia and Prague, it features Czech band “Monogram” and “Lilly of the West”, Bulgaria. The repertoire is bluegrass, country, swing, Bulgarian folk. Lilly recorded also duets with Monogram’s singer/guitarist Jakub Racek.