Сокира / so·KY·ra / — “the axe”

SOKYRA

Carpatho-Rusyn & Eastern European folk songs, split open and rewired — flute, clarinet and accordion riding a backline of semi-hollow electric guitar, electric bass and drums.

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The Story

Old-world songs.
New-world voltage.

Sokyra takes the melodies that echoed through the Carpathian mountains — the wedding tunes, the harvest songs, the dances your grandparents knew by heart — and drives them through a modern rhythm section.

The name means “axe” — the shepherd’s valaška carried through the highlands for generations. Like the axe, the music is both heritage and edge: melodies hundreds of years old, swung with the force of a live electric band.

Rooted in the Carpatho-Rusyn tradition and reaching across all of Eastern Europe, Sokyra plays festivals, weddings, cultural events and stages anywhere people want to dance like their ancestors — louder.

6
Musicians
2
Worlds Collided
Generations Deep
The six members of Sokyra Sokyra — the band
The Sound

Roots up front.
Engine in the back.

The Roots

The voices of the old country — carrying the melody.
🪈
Flute
Bright, soaring lines that cut through like mountain air.
🎷
Clarinet
The wail and swagger at the heart of every village dance.
🪗
Accordion
The engine room of Eastern European folk — chords, drive, drama.

The Engine

The modern backline — putting weight behind the tradition.
🎸
Semi-Hollow Electric Guitar
Warm, woody resonance with bite — vintage tone, modern attitude.
🎛️
Electric Bass
Low end that turns folk dances into floor-shakers.
🥁
Drum Set
Polkas and kolomyjkas with backbone — grooves you feel in your chest.
“Take a song your great-grandmother sang in the village…
now give it a rhythm section.
The Band

Six players.
One blade.

Beth Liberatore playing flute live
Beth Liberatore
Flute
Dean Poloka playing clarinet live
Dean Poloka
Clarinet
Paul Stafura playing accordion live
Paul Stafura
Accordion
RB
Robert Bartko
Semi-Hollow Guitar
ML
Michael Liberatore
Electric Bass
DC
Derek Cummins
Drums
Live

Hear the axe swing.

Sokyra, live — November 2025

Booking

Put Sokyra on your stage.

Festivals, weddings, cultural celebrations, club nights — if the room needs to move, we’ll bring the old country and the amplifiers. Reach out and let’s talk dates.

Dean Poloka
Booking & Inquiries
(412) 877-9351 Dean.Poloka@gmail.com
Derek Cummins
Booking & Inquiries
Derek.R.Cummins@gmail.com