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WIZZ MAGAZINE
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012
SNAPSHOTS
Events and news from Wizz Air destinations
RIGA
PRATA VETRA AT SKONTO STADIUM, RIGA
17 AUGUST
“Like every Latvian who goes abroad and
talks or sings or dances or makes art, we
are all, each of us, representatives of our
country,” smiles charismatic renaissance
man Renars Kaupers. “We don’t think about
it in such a serious way but, yes.” Kaupers’
band Prata Vetra are not just Latvia’s
answer to U2 and the Killers – they are the
biggest indie-rock act in the Baltic States,
period. And they’re coming home to play a
huge gig in the Latvian capital this August.
Prata Vetra are accustomed to being
ambassadors for their small but beautiful
nation – they got to meet Great Britain’s
Queen Elizabeth when she visited Riga,
while then-president Vaira Vike-Freiberga
gave a speech to open their last show at
the city’s huge Skonto Stadium. As well
as being Prata Vetra’s lead singer (and a
trained journalist), Kaupers co-hosted the
Eurovision Song Contest live from Riga in
2003. The band came third in the contest
themselves three years earlier, when they
were known as Brainstorm. Kaupers & Co.
have no plans to flee their home: “It’s
small and very green. It’s great!” the
37-year-old father of three says. “I love
Riga and I feel it is my city.”
Prata Vetra’s new album Another Still Life
is out now. pratavetra.lv
WORDS: CHRIS BEANLAND