Maryna Krut in Berkeley

Maryna Krut, also known as KRUTЬ, is a Ukrainian singer-songwriter and bandura player born in Khmelnytskyi in 1996. She began learning the bandura at eight and places the traditional instrument alongside pop vocals and elements of jazz and funk. She performed “99” in the 2020 Vidbir final and returned to the selection with “Kolyskova” in 2023. At fifteen, she began performing at music festivals in Ukraine. In 2022, she gave a bomb-shelter performance for Art Front of Ukraine, and in December 2024 she performed “Shchedryk” on bandura beside the entrance sign to Pokrovsk.