Musicians that have Performed at Treehugger Dan's

Writers that have Performed at Treehugger Dan's

Art and Handicraft Exhibitors at Treehugger Dan's

Hungary and Budapest General Info Sources

Musicians that have performed at Treehugger Dan's

While Andrea Bauer was studying for her degree from Eötvös Loránd University in philology, she was simultaneously a guest student at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music. She then completed a degree in music therapy. Since then, she has given many solo opera performances. Andrea is especially proud of the Majki Opera Gala concert at the Budapest Great Synagogue. Besides numerous recordings and radio (Bartok Radio) and TV appearances, she works as a music therapist at hospitals and health institutions working with disadvantaged children.

  Andrea Gerak "The enigmatic Hungarian female voice"Traditional,new age or acapella interpretations: mystery, magic, beauty, supernatural embraced in her timeless songs. experiments with traditional songs, mainly with those coming from her country, approaching them from different angles. In many corners of the world, the name and of course, first of all the voice of Budapest and Stockholm based Andrea Gerak equals Hungarian folk song. With Irish, Turkish, Bulgarian and other folk songs, she takes the listener to other lands as well, even to such exotic places as the Solomon Islands.

Venezuelan pianist Andres Carcinte was born in Caracas where he graduated as Performer Professor of Piano. He made his debut as a soloist playing Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto Nr. 1 with the Simon Bolivar Orchestra. He won First Prize at the Young Soloist Competition organised by the Syphonic Orchestra of Venezuela. He currently studies at the Liszt Academy of Music with Ferenc Rados (Piano and Chamber Music). He has given concerts in London, Madrid, Rome, Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Helsinki, Bergen, Stavanger, Vilnius, Athens, Eisenach, Montpellier, Melilla and Seoul.   

Beaux Jaxon is an accomplished guitarist, singer/songwriter and recording artist from the east coast of the usa. he has performed throughout the usa and europe and currently resides in budapest. he has played in many different bands including the beaux jaxon band, dalton clay and the plain healers and is currently on hiatus with the poosta ramblers. his music has been shaped by a wide array of influences from all forms of rock, blues, folk and even country. his first solo album, who i am, was released in 2005 on jack crow records with distribution through universal music.

Bob Trotsky (Bob Pike)

Bring Whether it's a band, a formation, a project, an experiment -- it all remains to be seen. All they can offer now is that if you show up to the Mookie was Robbed concert in Budapest, you'll see them play at least one gig, and you'll get to check out their music ranging from folk-rock to gypsy-jazz and everything in between. And if they like it, and if the audience likes it too, they will probably keep playing in one form or another.
Gábor Bihari - vocals, flute recorder
Dusan Sevic - guitar
Jerome Li Thiao Te - violin
Greg Ziegler - drums
Csaba Mester - accoustic guitar, harmonica
Loránt Kégl - accordion, banjo
Mike Kentish - bass

Boll Weevil (pre-war folk blues). The Boll Weevil Folk Blues Gang is intent on displaying the diversity of early American black folk music with a repertoire including ballads, rags, gospels and spirituals besides blues songs. Our music is led by acoustic dobro guitar and vocal (Dávid Ongjerth), escorted by double bass (Gergő Szabó), violin (Milán Bajovics) and harmonica (Mátyás Sain). One of the aims of the group is to show that blues – and black folk music in general – is not only the music of sorrow and depression, but the music of joy and happiness as well. www.bollweevil.hu

Chronik was born in Athens in 1974. His relationship with music started working as a radio producer for jazzfm in the early 90s' and as a columnist for various music magazines. He began creating music about 5 years ago and today his focus is on minimal ambient based mainly in the piano, characterized by cinematography, melancholy, scattered notes and long melodies that form expressive engagements. Collaborations constitute his basic core of inspiration and motivation for creating music. The last two years Chronik has collaborated with Roger Döring (aka Dictaphone). They have performed together live in Berlin and Athens and are working on a new album. Other ongoing projects are "piannou" with the pianist Rannou Todea from Romania, Teamforest, Me Succeed, Sophie Josephin, Monokid and K.I.S.KISMET. Chronik has produced the original score music for the film "Inside a Change" from New York and Channel Three 21 productions. His new album called  "Speechless" was released a year ago.

Community Education is a worldwide hip-hop, funky soul collective. The members each bring a different perspective to the creative whole. The group started in the late 90’s as a college work study and evolved over time into multicultural network of singers, musicians, poets and emcee’s. The hooks are catchy and the beats are clever. 

David Rynhart writes songs that draw from an eclectic musical experience. He performs them on guitar and piano. He has performed with the traditional Irish band Bodha, the gypsy jazz group 'The Hot Club of Galway', toured Europe with Irish singer/songwriter Niall Connolly, and toured the US with Americana/folk singer/songwriter Gabrielle Louise. He is part of a spoken word and music group called "The Voice and The Verse" that performs in the Prague Fringe Festival. On his own, he is an inspired songwriter who cherishes all of his experiences. He is reluctant to call any genre 'home', yet always falls back on a love of acoustic music, a stirring melody, and unexpected lyrics- sometimes poignant, sometimes surprising.

Doug Jaymes is a singer/songwriter based in Los Angeles, where he was born and raised. His debut album, Get Over It will be released in March 2010 and captures a blend of melodic rock and heart break acoustic songs. Doug will be playing an acoustic set of songs from the album and some new tunes that he's been writing on the road.

Emily Weedon hails from Toronto, Canada - a town with deep roots in cow punk, country, blues, rock and "Canadiana". Emily cut her teeth playing shows all over the Toronto area with her band as well as Texas, England and Egypt. She brings her personal mix of high lonesome meets down and dirty gin joint to the stage.... Expect a lotta 2 steps, a lotta hurtin' waltzes, cheeky innuendos and a voice that's been likened to Dolly Parton and Emmy Lou Harris. To listen to her sound, influenced by Parton, The Band, and Tom Waits, please do check her out on iTunes.

Eva Thompson was born in Budapest, where she grew up fascinated by Indian culture and music. She studied sitar playing at the Bharatya Vidya Bhavan Institute in London and trained in Bharatanatyam, a classic dance style from South India. She also studied the veena, an ancient South Indian stringed instrument; and Kathak dance, a classic dance style from North India. Apart from playing classical Indian music, Eva is happy to explore other musical styles. She has performed live with various comedians, including Harry Hill and Jim Tavare. Eva is particularly interested in researching the healing potential of Indian classical Ragas with the help of the sitar and veena. She teaches both instruments on a one-to-one basis.

Freddie Schulze (Denton, Texas)

The Home Sessions. Home Sessions" presents Home Away From Home Sessions at Treehugger Dan's with acoustic guitars, violins, mandolins, cajons, percussion toys, kitchen appliances and whatever Dan has laying around. Home Sessions, rooted in various folk traditions like americano, gypsy jazz, as well as a sort of experimental ethno sound, got officially started by Marco (of Marco and Kati) and members of The Last Drops, after realizing how much music we make in each other's living rooms, in parks and in various pubs during spontaneous music sessions. Some jams, some exciting improvisations that can go anywhere, some originals, some guests and certainly by the end we'll sing some classic favorites that have already rocked the halls of Treehugger Dan's. 

Hybris was born in 2011 through the collaboration of international artists, putting together a show based on improvisation. It is an open invitation to a journey full of surprises. Their music is a blend of classical, digital, experimental and many more other genres.
It will be time to close your eyes and free your imagination.
Jérôme Li-Thiao-Té - Violin (Reunion Island)
Kertesz Endre - Cello (Hungary)
Newgent Adrian - Digital artist (Netherlands)
Ruben Vandendriessche - Visuals (Spain)

Jamie Howell Born on the Isle of Wight in 1972, from age 14 to 19  he played with blues-rock outfits Eat Your Cabbage and The Rhythm Method on the Island and began to broaden his musical horizons by playing in theatre pit orchestras. Bands have included street band Bassa Bassa, local jazz-funk-triphop-dubsters Ez a Divat, Tea Thieves,and ex-pat rockers Fabulon. This led to several recordings and many performances across Hungary including on the Sziget festival (Central Europe's Glastonbury). n 2002, he formed rock band mFISH with my brother Bruce on drums and began performing regularly with French Jazz singer Mel Stempinski.In 2008, he started his own Blues/Funk outfit The Jamie Howell Band - an organ trio with influences from The Meters to Hendrix featuring the considerable talents of Fabio Iacono and Tonewheel Jackson. Other current projects include playing and writing with Triphop band BassDrum, playing, recording and producing for Rob Lester and running the Berkshire Jazz Jam where his Jazz trio is the house band. This Jazz Trio is also starting to gig in the area.Other recent work includes performances with The Platters, Poppe and the Seeds and Stonefoxx. 

Jonathan Spinks . Since moving to Budapest in 1999, he has been involved as singer-songwriter with bands Aiming For Sunday and JoKOR. Influences include David Gray, Bob Dylan, Sting, Coldplay....  http://www.jokor.hu ; http://www.myspace.com/aimingforsundaymusic

Jerome Li Thiao Te. Jeromos was born and raised in Reunion Island where so many different ethnicities live all together. He wandered in Europe since 2000 and still keeps on moving... Paris, Warsaw, Prague, Budapest...In Europe, he changed his musical approach (after many years of classical music) and started to improvise more and more. Meeting people from very different backgrounds he started to adapt his techniques to converse with other musicians (american folk, blues, world music, etc.). Playing with various bands in many styles, he likes to jump from one world to another. You can hear him in serveral bands, including The Last Drops, The Home Sessions, Bring... 

Justin Spike (Har Herrar) Formerly of Mount Righteous, Blank Blank, Joey Kendall and the American Riflemen, Jerks of Society, The Fleas, etc. etc.

Lucy and the Troubadours . Lucy Frankel moved from Leeds to Budapest in 2007, armed only with the Hungarian words for one, two, three and potato. She has lived and played music here since then, and can now count up to four, which is handy as there are four in the band; Lucy on violin and vocals, Décsi Attila on guitar, Kiss Gábor on drums and Resch Béla on double bass. These four have played together in countless bands (Attila and Gábor for over 20 years), and now this new line-up introduces a sound not so commonly heard in Budapest. Blues, jazz, funk and folk all go into the mix, with English lyrics leading the toubadours through the highs and lows of each song.

 Malesha Jessie is originally from Los Angeles, CA USA.  While she has had an extensive musical career in Los Angeles area, she would much rather be in Budapest teaching English and singing with her new friends. Her musical experience spans from classical, gospel, jazz and R & B, while her favorite music is Afro-Cuban and other music from Latin America.  Malesha received her Masters degree in Vocal Music at the University of Southern California (aka USC) and has been engaged with several opera companies and orchestras throughout the USA and Europe. She is currently singing at the San Francisco Opera in Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess." 

Marco & Kati  Kati, a singer with a beautiful voice, has been singing for 4 years and Marco, a talented musician and acoustic guitar player who has been playing since he was 12. Their duo was set up in Budapest in 2009. Their music is mostly acoustic covers from different artists such as KT Tunstall, K's Choice and many more... 

The Metzker Quartet is a group of Hungarian and international musicians who enjoy performing for a variety of audiences.  They mainly perform beautiful barroque and classical music.  Formed 10 years ago, they have had the pleasure of performing in a variety of venues, including gallery and instrument exhibitions, house concerts, museums, churches and various castles around Hungary.

Maggie és a Muzsikások 

Michael Kentish Singer-songwriter Michael Kentish played bass and sang with Tea Thieves , as well as Fabulon. He has also played in ethno trance outfit Pupilla Project, which led to him to working with Latin crossover band caracasUnderpop. He currently sings and plays bass with Poniklo and The Random Chocolates . 

Monika Henter is currently recording her forthcoming album with top producers. Her first UK single "Happy Song," mixed and produced by Bence Bihari and Neil Reed (Simple Red, Boyzone, Celine Dion etc) has recently received an award for "best arrangement" at the Jazzy Jazz competition.  

Mookie Brando  is a singer-songwriter currently based in Budapest. The shows have moved from being acoustic-based to now mixing folk, alt.country, and rock styles. On stage Mookie plays acoustic guitar, electric guitar and harmonica. He even sings. 

  Mork's Medicine (Norway). At the age of six a little boy named Yngve got a little guitar and started writing his very first song. At the age of 8 he started his first band, and after that he's played in many bands. ...Metal, hard rock, pop, jazz, experimental... In 2007 he started his own singer/songwriter/one man band project; Mork's Medicine. Michael Kentish sings his praises, and more importantly, Mork always brings Norwegian chocolate to his shows. 

Eszter Polyak - Naked Woods  Naked Woods was formed in May 2008 in Budapest for playing delicate acoustic music compounded of folk, blues, underground and even classical elements. The band has an unconventional set-up: vocal, acoustic guitar, cello and percussion. They perform their own songs in English and Hungarian as well as some covers of popular songs from Morcheeba, Emiliana Torrini...

Nemes Jano . He plays a number of instruments in the bands Cabaret Medrano, Not Yet, Orchis and Uno.

Niall Connolly  writes intelligent literate songs rich in graphic detail. Better still, he writes convincingly from his own experience and his heart. We don't have enough like him."-Jackie Hayden -Hot Press (the man who signed 'U2') Niall Connolly is widely regarded among his peers as one of Ireland's most promising young songwriters. His debut album 'Songs from a Corner' (2001) went to number one in the Hot Press indie charts.

Nick Palmer (UK) and Attila Pozsgai (H). Nick Palmer and Attila Pozsgai play flamenco puro. Having worked in music together for the last ten years under their flamenco band name Forasteros, the duo will perform traditional and self-penned songs from the purist flamenco tradition. Attila sings in Spanish and Nick accompanies on guitar, though Attila is also a brilliant drummer and will show his skills on the cajon, a Latin drum, and Nick performs a selection of flamenco guitar solos.

Pablo Lerner is an Israeli-Argentinian musician who plays North Brazilian folk music on a Hungarian hurdy-gurdy.

Pabloslam Solo Project . Pabloslam is a composer, producer, performer and video artist. He has been working on his life project Slamballet since 1989, but in between, has collaborated with many different projects like caracasUnderpop, Zum, culto oculto, la candida virgen, KINZOisHERE etc. As a producer, he has released remixes for artists in Hungary, UK and Chile. During all this collaborations, he has composed many tracks that remained static in some dusty corners of his DATA universe. Therefore, he decided to put together some of these tracks and play them for the first time live. Come and enjoy this very eclectic show, that might work as a celebration of 20 years of compulsive composing. 

The Poosta Ramblers . We only play songs written between 1927 and 2010, or before. Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Nanci Griffith, Hank Williams, Hank Snow, Jimmie Rodgers, eat yer hearts out! Mookie Brando - vocals, guitar, banjo, harmonica Greg Zeigler - percussion, vocals, guitar Beaux Jaxon - guitar, dobro, vocals Fiona Stewart - fiddle, vocals Jerome Li Thiao Te - fiddle, vocals Michael Kentish - bass, guitar, vocals  

  Quentin and Crisp  For years, Quentin Rhodes and Tobias Crisp wandered the globe separately, looking for the right path down which to channel their commitment to making the world a better place. They united in Hungary through the ministrations of the awe-inspiring Gavin - Quentin and Crisp's muse and ethical advisor. Using their special brand of restorative folk-pop-rock, Quentin's background in conflict resolution and Crisp's expertise in ethical living, they helped heal the wounds of communism through playing at community centres, church halls and fairs. Now they are ready to speak to a wider audience.

Rachel Mimosa Hammond Sugar Rae Hammond is currently celebrating her one-year anniversary in Budapest.  Rae is a British-South African singer-songwriter who began her performing career in 2004. Her style cannot be put in a box but her recent adventures cover country, folk, alternative rock, indie, bluegrass... and the influences of Dylan, Adam and Emmy to name a few. As a co-founder of the Poosta Ramblers, permanent member of Mookie Brando and the Second Cousins and singing as a guest in various other musical set-ups she's left little time for solo writing.  But with the inspiration and guidance from the more experienced International musicians Rae surrounds herself with, we'll be hearing more from her very soon.

Robin Ashe-Roy and István Gyárfás. Jazz Flutist Robin Ashe-Roy hails from London where he has been a long time member of the British jazz scene.  In addition to performances with his band "Natural Signs" at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Robin has appeared at the Brecon, Bracknell, Stratford and JVC London festivals.  He joins up with Budapest jazz guitarist István Gyárfás, to bring us an energetic evening of jazz standards. István, a  well known member of the Hungarian jazz scene, has been a constant collaborator with jazz violinist Csaba Deseő and can be heard on a multitude of Hungarian jazz CD's. 

One of Hungary's most unique sounding bands, Rorschach is a collection of immensely talented musicians and superb vocalists who manage to combine that talent with an on-stage presence and charisma which provides real entertainment to all their audience. Their style is certainly reminiscent of the British Indie and "Britpop" scene but is still very difficult to categorise. Their use of vocal harmonies and musical versatility allow them to slot comfortably into any genre from traditional folk to modern rock. They consider themselves to be an "Indie" band in the true sense of the word, as there is no doubting their independence and originality. Most of their songs are original self-compositions with English lyrics. Whatever your taste in musical genres, Rorschach will have something to appeal to you and provide great entertainment. orinc Bubno - Guitars, Mark Bubno - Drums, Marton Auer - Vocals, Gabor Tala - Bass

Slamballet The project Slamballet was born in Caracas in 1989, after several mutations, incarnations, 1 published album and 4 others home made, finally, landed in Budapest, with a new and sexy line up: Pabloslam, founder of the project, composer, guitar player and vocals; Ágnes Staudt in main vocals, co-writer of some of the new tracks, and also playing percussion; Flóra Mátisz, on vocals, violin and guitar; and Marcel Benkô on percussion. The project has always roamed in nowhere land between electronics and acoustics, but this time, is moving towards acoustics, setting them free from any electronic grid that dictates the duration and tempo of the tracks, offering a much more organic show.

Stephen Ladek has lived and traveled through out the US and abroad, looking for inspiration, culture, and the human condition. Stephen Ladek is a Budapest-based singer/songwriter originally from Colorado, USA. His music is influenced by the Indigo Girls, Pink Floyd, Nickel Creek, Rush, David Wilcox, Lyle Lovett and many others with lyrics that are generally reflections of life-as-it-should-be. Stephen was the former lead singer and guitarist for "The Flow". Samples of his solo work and "The Flow" here

 The Jazz Apples The Jazz Apples is a new formation satisfying an old need: to offer English-speaking jazz entertainment for the English-speaking community in Budapest - and for everyone else who appreciates it, of course. Singer Gabor Bihari has been planning on doing this for quite a while, ever since he moved to Budapest from his home city of Los Angeles, where he partly grew up. But when he recently met jazz pianist Rezső Ludvig, the time to procrastinate was clearly through.The Jazz Apples will feature a careful selection of your favorite classic jazz tunes, including Cole Porter's music (Bihari's all time favorite) and a blend of modern jazz with some twists and surprises.So please forgive Bihari for his debaucherous rocking past. It was all part of a process of maturing.

The Last Drops have been keeping feet stomping in Budapest since 2006 with a mix of music best described by drummer Gregory Zeigler as "barn rock." A late-night whiskey swilling blend of country, blues, bluegrass, and rock and roll, the Last Drops are a pan-national take on Americana, with band members hailing from the US, Hungary, and Réunion Island. 

The Random Chocolates  are so hot it's a wonder they don't melt on stage. Their unique brand of melodic pop is definitely candy to your ears. To hell with diets, this stuff is good for you. The three international band members; Michael Kentish (UK), Richard Adkin (Canada) & Dávid Asztalos (Hungary), combine their individual talents to bring a serious yet cheeky answer to the question of what music should you be listening to. The answer is of course, The Random Chocolates. 

The Tea Thieves The members of the Tea Thieves came together over a long time. Todd started out at as an acoustic solo artist plying his self-penned tunes down at CD-FU, a tea house in Budapest, and was joined first by Jamie on electric guitar and later by Mike on Bass. A year or so and one demo later, Scott entered the fray and the quartet was set for bigger and better things. Two more demos and a clutch of ever improving gigs later and the band was on their way up.However, being all ex-pats abroad lead inevitably to the sad break up of the group as various members left to return to their home countries.

Todd Warner Moore In the 1990s, Todd Warner Moore was one of the principal singer/ songrwiters for the Lawrence, Kansas-based band Acoustic Juice. The band toured the midwest in support of their independently released album. The album would go on to receive critical acclaim in the Kansas City area and fantastic support from their fans.  The Tea Thieves performed regularly and created three albums before disbanding. In Iowa City, Moore has continued to write and record new songs. 

Dávid Dely & Tumba y Quema The group has appeared at all the major Hungarian world music festivals and in many well known alternative clubs. Most of their numbers are composed by David Dely, the group's percussionist and leader. They are based on Colombian and Afro-Caribbean rhythms and spiced with a wide variety of global music influences. Their music always radiates the joie de vivre characteristic of the Caribbean, a melting pot of races and cultures. The Spanish expression ‘tumba y quema' refers to the slash and burn technique used to clear tropical rainforests, but it is also used in a figurative sense: when you want to start something new you first have to burn your old junk. Tumba y Quema has developed its own sound combining different styles and rhytms from Colombia, Caribbean countries and the African influence whithin those cultures, using at the same time standard musical concepts such as rock , hip-hop, reggae, brazilian rhythms, afrobeat, jazz and more. Tumba y Quema goes beyond by adding strength and richness to its groove with rhythms and music styles from other culture,  oriental patterns and traditional melodies from Hungary, India, West Africa, Australia, Spain, NorthAmerica, attempting thus to ilustrate with its music the concept of Unity in Diversity. All this, we call TRIBALGLOBAL. Claudia Andrade: Lead vocal David Dely: Percussion ,flutes, guitar Shango Dely: congas, Alegre Drum Marton Takacs:Tambora drum, percussion Aldo Acevedo: Bass Kovacs Norbert: Drums Kovacs Balint: guitar 

Ultan Conlon is a singer-songwriter from Galway, Ireland. Despite honing his craft on the Irish music circuit for a number of years, it was 2010 before he released his critically acclaimed debut album 'Bless Your Heart' which was described as ‘the most impressive Irish debut since Damien Rice’s O’, Olaf Tyaransen, Hotpress & Evening Herald. His emotive and intelligent lyrics have gained him many fans over the years. Legendary folk singer John Martyn sang with Ultan on his song Really Gone in 2006. Ultan has recently covered one of Martyn's earliest songs Back to Stay, for the tribute album Johnny Boy Would Love This also featuring Snow Patrol, Paulo Nutini, The Cure, David Gray, Beck, Donovan, Lisa Hannigan and The Swell Season amongst others. Ultan also put his talents to use in a different area this year, acting as soundtrack producer and music supervisor for the forthcoming feature film 'Seven Songs For Amy' aswell as contributing original songs and arranging the score. May of this year will see the release of his eagerly awaited second album Songs of Love so Cruel.

Yan Yates hails form small town in Northern England, beset with a dying mining industry. And that’s why Teesside native Yan Yates took the plunge and took his acoustic singer-songwritery far down south, to London. He wasn’t going to get too far in a mining town with a name like that. Yates has busked his ‘nu-folk’ all over the world – indeed for a while there he was in New Zealand fronting The Stouts, something he did for no less than two years - and has played in prestigious venues all over London and the UK. A prolific writer and performer, the unsigned troubadour cites influences as Nick Drake, Townes Van Zandt and The Band, the obviousness of which ensures his is not a sound you won’t have heard before, but it’s pretty special anyway.  

Zöldhullám is a 5 piece band, having acoustic music in their focus. Let it be a song originally performed by others, or one of their own (Csaba Mester, the lead singer being both the composer and author of their songs) they add their unique sound to it: A cajón as the backbone of the rhythm section and instruments appearing like an accordion, a banjo or a violin. The language of their performance is Hungarian and the lyrics really do make a difference with a lot of deep thoughts behind the graceful rhymes. They also emphasize vocal qualities, supporting the lead with at least 2 other vocals most of the time. A value that is very rare on the Hungarian pop scene.

Zoltan Gluck (San Francisco, California)

Writers that have Performed at Treehugger Dan's

Tibor Fischer is a British novelist and short story writer. In 1993 he was selected by the influential literary magazine Granta as one of the 20 best young British writers. The bloody 1956 revolution, and his father's background, informed Fischer's debut novel Under the Frog,which was short-listed for the Booker prize in 1992. Subsequent novels include The Thought Gang, The Collector Collector, Don't Read This Book If You're Stupid, and Voyage to the End of the Room in 2003.  Tibor Fischer  launched his new book, Good to be God in 2009 at Treehugger Dan's. Tibor said "the book launch at Treehugger Dan's was the best event of this book tour."

Adam Lebor  As a budding novelist and literary critic, I review thrillers and crime novels for the Economist, and non-fiction for the Sunday Telegraph, Literary Review and the Jewish Chronicle. I also contribute to the Sunday Times, the New York Times, Monocle  and Conde Nast Traveller. On the web I write for Harry's Place and More Intelligent Life. Non-fiction includes: City of Oranges, Complicity with Evil, Surviving Hitler, Hitler's Secret Bankers, and Milosevic: A Biography

Andras Gerevich  "It is one of the most difficult things in the world to write poems so clear, so pellucid, so free of metaphor and simile as to be almost pure speech. Everything depends on narrative shape and tone because there is little else. András Gerevich's poems are like that. They are mostly about love, desire, and passion; a little like a diary, a little like a letter, a little like a confessional, the first person singular being at the centre of each. But there is nothing self-indulgent about them. In that respect they are reminiscent of Catullus on the one hand and Cavafy, in some moods, on the other. It is the range and precision of emotion that gives them their necessary independence: voice becomes free-standing sculpture, moving, elegant, beautiful. The poems enter English with a lightness, almost unannounced, as immediately recognisable feelings that make their own space and hold it as naturally as if they always belonged there. -- George Szirtes" 

Andras Petocz has published around 25 books, including poems for adults and children, essays, fiction and reviews. He has received numerous literary prizes and awards for his work in literature, including the Lajos Kassák Literary Prize (1987) Robert Graves Prize for best Hungarian poem of the year (1990), the Attila József Prize by the cultural part of the Hungarian government as an official recognition of his work to date, and is currently a UNESCO-Aschberg Laureat. 

Aubrey Ramage-Lay is an artist-writer-explorer-of-life-around-the-world. His new book is Walking as Saints. 

Carolyn Bánfalvi  is the author of The Food and Wine Lover's Guide to Hungary: With Budapest Restaurants and Trips to the Wine Country (Park Kiadó) and Food Wine Budapest (Little Bookroom). She also runs the culinary tour company Taste Hungary.

  Chad Faries was raised mostly in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, but lived in over 30 different houses around the country by the time he was eighteen. These experiences are chronicled in his memoir, Some Houses: A Faries Tale (publication pending). His book, The Border Will Be Soon  (2006), which he calls meditations on his travels to the former Yugoslavia from 1995-2000, was the winner of the Emergency Press open book competition. He has published poems, essays, photographs, interviews, and creative non-fiction in Exquisite Corpse, Mudfish, New American Writing, Barrow Street, The Cream City Review and others. He has a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and was a Fulbright Fellow in Budapest at ELTE.  In 2006 he was awarded the Grand Prix Prize from Orient-Occident Press in Romania for his poetry and writing on the Balkans.  

Dada Maheshvarananda a yoga monk, spiritual teacher and social activist. He worked in Southeast Asia and Brazil for 24 years with people in poverty. The last three years he spent in Europe travelling and propagating Prout, giving lectures and talks. He has served as a consultant for the Venezuelan government. He is also the author of After Capitalism. Now he is founding the Prout Research Institute in Venezuela to help strengthen cooperatives and to evaluate the current situation and make policy proposals. 

Danyi Dani Born in Budapest, 1980, a Hungarian freelance poet and translator, involved in several collaborative and solo English language projects, including - www.voxomat.com/kristalykert a Canadian-Hungarian anthology translations, edited by Jon Tarnoc, http://www.pilvaxmag.com/writers/astronaut_DD.pdf Hungarian Astronaut and other poems.

David Hill is a writer, editor and translator of prose and verse. His book Consumed was called "musical and elegant ... tender, sharp, funny" by The Hungarian Quarterly and "easily digested and often unpredictably comical" by PDX Magazine. He supplied words for Gregory Vajda's composition Gulliver in Faremido, three albums by Kistehen, and a staging of Moliere's Misanthrope. He has contributed to EuropeUpClose.com, Financial Times Group, The Independent, Times Literary Supplement, Jane's Foreign Report, Literary Review, The Oregonian, Blue Guides, Economist Intelligence Unit, Oxford Business Group, Rattapallax, and Stockholm Network. He spent a year as editor of the Budapest Business Journal. He launched and co-curated Converging Lines, a British-Hungarian literary festival. 

Gabor Gyukics is a highly regarded poet in both English and Hungarian, and was a pioneer in developing performance literature in Budapest with his Open Reading series, which started in 1999. He is translating American poetry to Hungarian and Hungarian poetry to American English.

György Dragomán is one of Hungary's most promising young novelists. His first work, A Pusztítás Könyve (Genesis Undone) won the Brody Prize and his second novel, from which he'll be reading on the 27th, A Fehér Király (The White King), published in 2005, won the Déry Tibor Prize and the Sándor Márai Prize. It is published by Houghton Mifflin in US and Doubleday in the UK.  

Heather Hartley is Paris Editor for Tin House magazine. Her poems, essays and interviews have appeared in Tin House, Mississippi Review, Post Road and other magazines, and numerous anthologies, including Food and Booze: A Tin House Literary Feast; and Satellite Convulsions: Poems from Tin House. She lives in Paris, where she curates Shakespeare & Company Bookshop's weekly reading series, and teaches creative writing and poetry at the American University of Paris.

Ignite Budapest . If you had five minutes on stage what would you say? What if you only got 20 slides and they rotated automatically after 15 seconds? This is the concept behind Ignite, an evening of short talks on various topics by different local speakers. Ignite, which began in Seattle in 2006, has spread to over 20 cities around the world and is now coming to our fair city. The first Ignite event in Central and Eastern Europe. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

James Atkins Climate Change for Football Fans is a vehicle for discussing climate policy in an entertaining and digestible way. The book is both green and very politically incorrect. James Atkins is Chairman of Vertis Environmental Finance, an emissions trading firm based in Budapest. He has lived in Budapest for 15 years. 

Jay Miller is a New Yorker who has returned, ten years ago, to land of his ancestors. Sportsman, educator, performing artist and now a grandfather. Folktales, myths, legends and anecdotes come alive, with Jay's unique style of physical and verbal, storytelling. His tales bridge time and cultures to speak to the heart of all peoples.  

John Nadler has been a long-time Budapest expatriate and journalist, writing for Maclean's, Canadian Business, the Ottawa Citizen, The Gazette (Montreal), the National Post, and The IndependentA Perfect Hell, a historical work on the Canadian army's Black Devils, the world's first special forces, and Searching for Sofia, a novel set in aftermath of the Kosovo War.in the UK.

Jon Tarnoc Born in 1964 in Budapest, he has lived in Greece, Canada, Spain, and Israel. He writes in Hungarian and English. His first English book, Midnight, was published in 2000 in Tel Aviv, Budapest, and Toronto simultaneously. He's the co-editor of an anthology of contemporary Canadian poetry, Crystal Garden, published in 2001 in Budapest. His selected poems in Hungarian. Oszorszag came out in the summer of 2005.

 Krista Harper. Wild Capitalism examines environmental issues in the "New Europe" of the twenty-first century. Based on fieldwork within the Hungarian environmental movement, the author looks at how the meanings of "civil society" and "environment" have changed as environmentalists encounter the political and ecological realities of life after state socialism. Krista Harper is an assistant professor of anthropology and public policy and administration at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Marisa Beahm Klein is a Colorado-born journalist and a veteran open mike organizer and slam poet. Opened Aperture is her debut volume of poetry. 

Matthew D. Liddle is author of Tanítani a Taníthatatlant: Élménypedagógiai kézikönyv  (Teaching the Unteachables: An Experiential Education Handbook) 

Marion Merrick's first novel Now You See It, Now You Don't (Hungary 1982-1989) describes her life in communist Hungary as it was before the change of regime; the sequel, House of Cards (1989-1996) chronicles the effects such a dramatic change had on people's lives. It was a transformation that left no-one's life unaffected.... 

Neil Barnett is an independent journalist. He has been based in Budapest since 2000, and covers Central & Eastern Europe and occasionally the Middle East for the Spectator, Private Eye and Jane's. He will be reading from his first book, Tito (Life & Times), which was published in 2006.

Neil McCarthy The poet McCarthy hates talking about himself in the third person, but... he lives in the west of Ireland where he works for his employers, his sins, his mistakes and those bunch of bastards that send him credit card bills every month. It's not all doom and gloom and in recent years his poetry has travelled with him around the world, popping up in the occasional journal, magazine and anthology. In 2005 he hosted The Voice and The Verse series of performances in Galway and in 2006 he dug from Australia clean through to Ireland to start all over again. Maverick Press was launched along with fellow partner in (c)rymhe, Stephen Murray. From 2007-2010 The Voice & The Verse featured at The Prague Fringe Festival and who knows what will happen in the future ladies and gents. Who knows, I ask ya.  Neil McCarthy has published his poetry widely including The New York Quarterly (USA), Southern Ocean Review (New Zealand), The Dalhousie ReviewPoetry Salzburg Review (Austria), Dream Catcher & Iota (UK), as well as in an anthology of contemporary Irish-Canadian poetry. (Canada),

Nicholas Parsons is the author of Worth the Detour: A History of the Guidebook. He is also the author of the Blue Guide Austria and Hungary: a Cultural and Historical Guide, as well as the co-author of Austrian Expressionism: The Formative Years.  

 Paul Hockenos is author of Joschka Fischer and the Making of the Berlin Republic: An Alternative History of Postwar Germany (OUP, 2008) Paul Hockenos is an American, Berlin-based author and political analyst who has written about Germany and South Eastern Europe since 1989. His articles and commentaries have appeared in World Policy Journal, The New Statesman, The Nation, Christian Science Monitor, and other periodicals.  Hockenos is also the author of Free to Hate: The Rise of the Right in Post-Communist Eastern Europe, and Homeland Calling: Exile Patriotism and the Balkans Wars. From 1997-99 he worked with the OSCE in Bosnia and in 2003-04 for the UN in Kosovo. Since then, Hockenos has been a visiting fellow at the American Academy in Berlin and the European Journalism College at the Free University Berlin. He is presently editor of Internationale Politik-Global Edition.

Paul Olchvary is the translator of numerous books of Hungarian prose into English, including novels by Gyorgy Dragoman and Ferenc Barnas, and has received translation grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, PEN America, and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. His translations have appeared in the Paris Review, the Kenyon Review, the Hungarian Quarterly, and other publications. He has received writing residencies at the Millay Colony, the Blue Mountain Center, and Centrum, and his stories and essays have appeared since 1994, in Hungarian translation, in the distinguished Budapest monthly magazine 2000. Olchváry is a past recipient of the Allegheny Review's national undergraduate fiction prize. He moved to Hungary in 1990 and was founding editor of a news service Hungary Around the Clock. After five years back in America, at Princeton University Press, Olchváry resigned as Senior Copywriter in 2005 and settled in his cabin-in-the-woods north of Budapest. He has co-authored Fodor's travel guides to Hungary and Croatia, and has performed his character monologues at the Bardroom, in Budapest, and at open mics in and around New York City. Currently, Olchváry is the copywriter at Globe Pequot Press in Guilford, Connecticut.

Paul Sohar  went as a teenage refugee from Hungary to the United States, where he studied philosophy and worked in a chemistry lab. His work has appeared in publications such as Chelsea, The Kenyon Review, and Rattle, and in Homing Poems, a collection of his poetry (Iniquity Press, 2005). His volume of Faludy translations is looking for a publisher.

Per Svenson Per Svenson, Swedish author and translator. He has published 16 books in his own name, the latest (2009) a small novel in the style of Voltaire, "Zeitya eller obegränsningen"
(Zeitya vagy A határtalanság). Last year he also published "Två ungerska poeter. Mónika Mesterházi och Anna Szabó T.", in cooperation with his wife Anna Svenson (translations of these Eminent Ladies' poetry from the original Hungarian texts). In 2008 he published a book on Lars Gustafsson's poetry (in cooperation with Lars Gustaf Andersson, great friend of Hungarian poetry as well). He has also recently translated Dani Danyi's (see above) first collection of
poetry into Swedish, "New Café Life in Budapest", the translation eventually to be published
in Sweden.

Peter Zilahy is one of Hungary's most exciting, diverse writers. Originally a poet, he also writes prose, drama, essays, is a photographer and does live performances. He recently performed a sell-out show on New York's Broadway. The polyglot author presently lives in Berlin, where he publishes essays in the biggest German papers, but he also writes pieces for The Guardian, The Financial Times and The New York Times. The Last Window Giraffe was first published in 1998, and has since been translated into more than 20 languages. It's won multiple awards, as well as having been adapted into an interactive CD-ROM and a live stage performance. 

Pilvax Magazine  An occasional review dedicated to writers working in English in Central and Eastern Europe. 

Rani and John Drew. The couple has been teachers in numerous countries in Europe (including Hungary) and Asia. Rani is a playwright with dozens of plays under her belt - many of them produced in Hungary -, and poetry and short fiction published on three continents. Her play Cleopatra was performed in Hungary, Romania, Macedonia, Spain, the U.K. and India. She read from her new novel, The Dog's Tale: a Life in Buda Hills. At various points in his life, John was a journalist, a postman and a teacher, who has run poetry workshops in Hungary, Spain, China Germany, Poland, England and India. He's written several books of poetry, including The Buddha at Kamakura, which has been translated into Hungarian, Romanian and Japanese.

Sara Wingate Gray is a writer, artist and independent research scholar. In 2002 she founded The Poetry Cubicle, an artist-led not for profit interactive performance space and poetry organisation. She has performed and toured with The Poetry Cubicle at venues across Great Britain and beyond, including the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival, Glastonbury Festival, Norwich Fringe Festival and Amsterdam International Poetry Festival.  2006 marked the launch of a major Library Science and Participatory Art project: ‘The Itinerant Poetry Librarian', manifested as the operation and installation of a worldwide free travelling poetry library, with attendant T.I.P.L., overseeing the knowledge-acquisition process. Since May 2006 Wingate Gray has been carrying with her a library and everything she needs to live. Several hundred items of poetry in over seven different languages have since been acquisitioned to the original library collection. 

Stephen Murray Performed as guest poet at the Green Mill, Chicago; The Bowery, New York; The Sweetest Word, Detroit; Laushaus, Bamberg, Landsberg and Regensberg (all German cities just like Luxemburg); Minoriten Kultur, Graz, Austria; Cafe Huber, Vienna; The Bardroom, Budapest; The Bedroom (at my place); The White House, Limerick; Provocateur, Prague; The Prague Fringe Festival; Electric Picnic, Lois, Eire; The Twelve Bar Club, London; Kabaret, London. I have also appeared on US radio on 'The Lit Show'and on Ireland's Live TV. Cuirt International Lit Fest Poetry Grand Slam Champion 2005 and the Electric Picnic Slam Champion 2007.

Stephen Tribell is an American expat poet, currently living, and writing in Budapest. Born in Kentucky in 1977. A long time resident of New Orleans, and a Katrina refugee.  

Thad Rutkowski is the author of the novels Tetched (Behler Publications) and Roughhouse (Kaya Press), Both books were finalists for an Asian American Literary Award; Tetched was chosen as one of the best books reviewed in 2006 by Chronogram magazine. His stories and poems have been nominated four times for a Pushcart Prize. His work is anthologized in Up Is Up, but So Is Down: The New York Downtown Literary Scene, 1974-1992, The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry, Screaming Monkeys: Critiques of Asian American Images and other collections. His stories have appeared in American Letters and Commentary, Crowd, CutBank, Faultline, Fiction, Fiction International, Global City Review, Hayden's Ferry Review, The Laurel Review, Pleiades and other magazines. He is a one-time winner of the Poetry Versus Comedy slam at the Bowery Poetry Club, the Syracuse poetry slam, and the Nuyorican Poets Café Friday slam. 

The Bardroom Founded in 2001, the Bardroom is an English-language show in Budapest, featuring poetry, music and spoken word by local and visiting performers. Performers have included Benjamin Zephaniah, Dave Tinky Winky" Thompson, Robert Creeley, Tibor Fischer and Bea Palya. The Bardroom is hosted by Treehugger Dan's approximately every 6 weeks.

Tom Bass is a writer, editor, and translator who has lived  on and off in Budapest since the 1990s. His most recent story based on the Cold War Jazz DJ Willis Conover was published in Pilvax No. 6, which he helps edit and designs. Some of his previously published stories can be found at olddarkfriendsmatter.blogspot.com.

Travis Jeppsen is touring to promote his new novel, WOLF AT THE DOOR, which was published by the Prague-based Twisted Spoon Press in their Expatriate Writers series. Travis Jeppesen is also the author of two previous books, VICTIMS and POEMS I WROTE WHILE WATCHING TV. He lives in Berlin and Prague, where he edits the literary magazine BLATT.

William Seaton is the author of poetry, translations (from ancient Greeks to modern avant-gardists), scholarly articles (including work on Afro-American oral narrative and a deconstruction of a medieval mystic poet), and textbooks. His work has appeared in such journals as Chelsea, Wordsmith, Mad Blood, and Heaven Bone well as in several anthologies. Associated with the Cloud House poets of San Francisco during the '70s, he has been active in poetry performance throughout his career. He co-produced the radio series Poetry for the People, directed the television series Words in the Air, and has participated in numerous artistic and performance events, including what were called "happenings" in the '60s, "Wordriver" at the Blue Dolphin performance space in San Francisco, and the Text + Image Show at the Catskill Gallery. Among his faculty appointments have been positions at the University of Iowa, Long Island University, and SUNY New Paltz. On the secondary level he has taught in Nigeria, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and a New York State prison. For over thirteen years he has produced the Poetry on the Loose Reading/Performance series in Middletown, New York.

Zaid Sethi was born in Pakistan and moved to England with his parents when he was a year old. He has been writing short stories for 15 years or so. This is his first book of short stories. He left London 15 years ago, travelling in Central Asia and Russia, and has been in Budapest for the last three years. In his writing he aspires to show how the little things in life affect us as we seek the sanctuary we are brought up to believe relationships provide. In terms of inspiration he revels in Somerset Maugham as the great entertainer, Greene for his catholic torment, Fitzgerald for his aloofness, Steinbeck for his humanity, Boyd for his modern craftsmanship and Hanif Kureshi for his shared personal history. He shares a part of himself with every character that he creates, and wants to leave the reader with the experience of recognising a familiar human condition irrespective of how far that may be from their own personal experience. 

Theater Productions at Treehugger Dan's

Confuse-a-Cat Productions put on The War Room - a play in English, based on Stanley Kubrick's film Dr. Strangelove. Adapted to stage by Falvassy "Rozmár" Gergely. Sponsored by the American Corner Debrecen . The performance won Best Direction Award and Festival Player's title at the Annual Drama Festival in 2008.

The Zoo Story. - Confuse-a-Cat Productions. Edward Albee's one act play in English. The Zoo Story won best production, best actor and a special award for acting at the 2003 Debrecen International Festival of Drama in English. Peter: Péter Szurdoki Jerry: Gergely Mácsai Directed by: Szilárd Orosz 

Art and Handicraft Exhibitions at Treehugger Dan's

Richard Adkin

Olinka Gjigas was born in Croatia, where she was first introduced to the world of arts and crafts, linens, spindles, wools and looms. Her real entrance into the world of spinning and weaving happened in late 2004 when she attended a number of hand-weaving and spinning courses in Vienna, and has, ever since, become a passionate handloom-weaver and spinner. She works with a variety of materials, both traditional and contemporary. Experimenting with the weaving patterns, with a variety of materials from very traditional hand spun linens and silks, to her own woolen yarns made from angora rabbits, alpacas, merino and other kind of sheep. Lavender, wood branches, rose petals and various other materials she collects herself in nature. All her works are all individually designed. Her works range from the small pieces for display to functional clothing and household items, scarves, stoles, fabrics, table runners, tablecloths, hats and bags. Some of her works and stories can be viewed here

Bela Rozsnyay of one-of-a-kind silver jewellery pieces, and metal and encaustic art works. Each of Bela's sculptures, paintings, and pieces of jewellery of steel, iron, silver, bronze, stone, or tropical wood is unique. He often uses the "lost wax" method for his sculptures and jewellery, and a technique called "cire-perdue" or encausting (dripping wax)for his paintings. A professional artist for over 20 years, 14 of which have been in Denmark and Malta, Bela has won several international awards and exhibited in Vienna, London, New York, Malta, Paris, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Finland Sweden, Romania and Norway. 

Adam Temesi is a cinematographer specializing in music videos and commercials, and is a partner in the start-up film and video production company, Studio-X Productions. "My photographic series 'Escape' explores the contrast between cold and warm, empty and meaningful, alone and together. Individual moments are powerful, and their convergence provides the spark that drives my life."

Bianca Otero - Visions of Tokaj and Other Images Photo Exhibition. Bianca Otero is photographer based in Budapest. She lived and travels frequently to Tokaj, the Northern wine region of Hungary. Using digital and medium format her images project different details of the Tokaj terroir and everyday life.

David Mark Erickson was born in Seattle, Washington and raised in the Pacific Northwest. In 2000, the photographer moved to Tanzania where he lived for seven years. There, he ran one of the longest running private sector community wildlife conservation programs in Africa until recruited to work on the global scale with an international conservation NGO based in Budapest. David loves to travel and take pictures that capture and illuminate previously unnoticed perspectives. His camera serves merely as an investigative tool through which he explores the world. In each of his images, David endeavors to unearth unique moments, small truths and intimacies of daily life.

Sabine Fazekas relates herself to the essence of the environment of the landscape in developing monumental sculptures made of natural material collected in the surroundings. Every time she invites people to take part in this artistic adventure which turns into a real human and collective experience.

Caboodle English-language Internet portal Caboodle.hu offers a mix of daily news stories, original features, event listings, user forums, a free online marketplace, and other content about Budapest and Hungary. Its directories contain details on almost 4,000 local businesses and services, including almost 500 restaurants in Budapest alone, each of with can be commented on and rated by users

City Spy Maps  get them at most hostels, and Treehugger Dan's. Free, excellent maps for Budapest and 14 other European cities with advice on all the hottest places to go.

Chew.hu is an English-language website devoted specifically to Hungarian food and wine. It generally publishes three items every weekday - one at each mealtime - for a total of 15 articles per week. Unlike most second-language publications focusing on food and wine in Hungary. Chew is not a promotional product expressly designed to sell the products of its advertisers. Instead, it is an independent source of information and commentary about restaurants, shops, wines and other gastronomic topics of interest to people living in or visiting Hungary, or to people with a general interest in Hungary's culinary traditions and trends.

Expat Echo Instead of stressing about what to do in an emergency or what to tip the postman, expats can focus on making friends and starting a new life with ease, safe in the knowledge that the information they need is at their fingertips. 

Funzine  Bi-weekly English-language program and lifestyle magazine Budapest Funzine has a wide range of cultural events, nightlife, restaurant reviews, expatriate interviews and events, fitness and health information and much more. With 100+ pages of selected programs, drinking and dining options, club listings, and family-friendly activities, plus emergency and basic information and great maps, the magazine seeks to be useful and enjoyable for both the long-term resident community as well as those in town for just a few days. 

Xpatloop.com  For your interest and convenience the Xpat Movies Guide is totally refreshed each week. 'It's the best source of film news in town,' says local expat Tony Prior. Community feedback confirms XpatLoop.com is a great way to get fresh film news including: photos; show times and reviews all major movies playing locally in English. It's free and easy to use, so please feel free to use it! This portal also offers info on current events, cultural programs, singles, classifieds, business and property.

Hungary and Budapest Tour Info

Absolute Walking Tours The most recommended tour in Budapest by all the guide books. Experience the real Budapest!

Discover Budapest An exclusive alternative independent way of experiencing Budapest and Hungary. Be different, be original, feel real!

Yellow Zebra Bikes Budapest's original bike tour providing fun interactive bike rides, bike rentals, traveller internet cafes and info points.

European Stag Weekends Stag Republic is the authority on Eastern Europe. Our packages take care of your whole stag weekend from landing to take-off, including no-fuss airport transfers, competitively priced hotel accommodation and high-adrenaline activities night and day.

Budapest Agent   

Bookstores In Europe

11th Floor Books (Slovakia)

Bookstore Guide

Behemot Bookshop (Ljubljana)  

Next Apache Books (Bratislava) 

Pickwick's (Vienna) 

Globe Books (Prague) 

Baerens & Fuss (Germany)