The evening a song touched every heart in the hall.
On April 19, 2026, Zlatni Vez gave its first major solo concert in the hall of St. Nicholas Serbian Orthodox Church in Lyons. It was the ensemble's first big evening on its own, a year and a half after Andrijana Ilić founded the group in October 2024.
The hall was filled, the energy undeniable. From the moment the first voices rose, it was clear that this would not be an ordinary performance. The vocals were powerful, emotional, and deeply connected to Serbian roots. Each song carried a story of heritage, identity, and generations before us.
Seven voices, many regions
Seven singers took the stage with live instrumental accompaniment: Anastasija Tešić, Marija Tešić, Ana Đokić, Čedana Đokić, Nina Novović, Aleksandra Medojević and Andrijana Ilić.
The musical whole was completed by the members of the orchestra: Melita Zdravković, Nemanja Stanojević, Miljan Pejčić, Savo Njegomirović, Bojan Vasilić, Stevo Mileusnić, Dalibor Tojagić, Raquel Navarro and Abraham Martinez, whose instruments wove together beautifully with the voices of the ensemble.
The program brought together traditional songs from different regions of Serbia, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, giving the audience the richness of multi-part singing and living musical expression.
Every ticket for a good cause
The whole evening was a humanitarian concert. All proceeds from ticket sales went to humanitarian causes, to help children and families in need in our homeland.
“Art should also help the people who need it,” says Andrijana Ilić. “Everyone who comes to the concert is already part of that.”
Even the Americans sang along
By the end of the night the hall rose for a standing ovation. As the Serbian Times wrote afterwards, even guests who do not speak Serbian, including members of the band, were singing along. For one evening, the songs of our grandparents filled a hall in Chicago, and everyone in it sang them together.