Rock Monsters Romania

We’ve all had moments when we thought how amazing it would be to live in the past, just to experience our favourite genres, bands, and artists live in their prime. And we assumed that such a thing was impossible, right?

On the 14th of July, on a beautiful summer day in Bucharest, I walked into the National Theatre and waited for the elevator that would take me to the rooftop for a concert by Luiza Zan & Jazzpar Trio. Every time I enter TNB I feel something special, like stepping through a portal to another era, but I never imagined that this concert would complete the experience so perfectly.

The stage setup didn’t look like Bucharest in 2025 at all, more like a trip to Paris, into a room from a 1960s palace. The first song was a reinterpretation of a psalm by Anton Pann, so perhaps the time machine really did work too well and took us directly to the 19th century.

After that magical moment, another one began: a simple conversation with the audience about books and reading, another perfect way of “time travelling.” This was how we found out about the first books read by Luiza and the members of her band. Luiza started reading at the age of five, beginning with one of the most influential Romanian novels, Desculț (Barefoot) by Zaharia Stancu, and later discovering Adam and Eve by Liviu Rebreanu, which became her favourite book and one she has reread every year since the age of ten. That same dedication can clearly be heard in her music.

The discussion continued with The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, as an introduction to the next song: a reinterpretation of Terry Gilkyson’s The Bare Necessities, a moment that reminded us that deep inside we never stop being children.

From that point on, I stopped taking notes and simply enjoyed the show, which felt like a multicultural trance with songs performed in several languages. I heard Romanian, English, Spanish, Italian, Hungarian, and even another psalm sung in Psinti Romani, a moment that surprised everyone.

When the show ended, you could feel the collective disappointment in the audience. Nobody wanted it to be over or to return to their daily life. But the experience stayed with us. I think everyone was reminded that a concert can be a perfect disconnection from reality and a reconnection with ourselves and with the past. It was also a lesson not to forget to care for our soul, not just our body.

Tickets for the next Rooftop Season concerts are still available here.

Review by Radu Mihai