Stary Olsa is a medieval music band from Belarus (Eastern Europe). It was founded in 1999 by its present leader Zmicier Sasnoŭski. It takes its name from a brook in Belarus. Stary Olsa has released 10 studio albums and 3 live albums of traditional tunes from the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Popular European dances, rowdy Slavic drinking songs, and epic tales of knights and victory, all performed exactly as they sounded when they were written in the 13th-17th centuries. Stary Olsa uses current line-up which includes Belarusian bagpipes, flutes, shawms, lute, rebec, cisters, hurdy-gurdy, gusli, tromba marina, drums and percussion (including wooden shoes!), with front man Alieś belting out vocals in Belarusian. Slary Olsa’s music combines three components: heroism, romance and great pub fun.
