Bizarre moment Antony Blinken sings and plays guitar in a Kyiv bar to celebrate giving more U.S. aid to Ukraine after Congress signed off on $61 billion
Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s surprise trip to Ukraine Tuesday took a musical turn when he joined a band on stage in Kiev to perform a rendition of Neil Young’s Rockin’ in the Free World.
Blinken’s unplanned trip was his first since Congress ultimately approved nearly $61 billion in new aid to Ukraine to shore up the country’s defenses against the ongoing Russian invasion.
The Foreign Minister ended his day at the Barman Dictat in Kiev, where he joined the band on stage at 7:99 p.m.
Wearing sporty dad jeans, black sneakers and a black button-down, Blinken carried a red guitar and told the crowd, “I know this is a very, very difficult time.”
“Your soldiers, your citizens – especially in the Northeast and Kharkiv – are suffering tremendously, but they need to know, you need to know that the United States stands with you, and much of the world stands with you,” Blinken said. “And they’re not just fighting for Ukraine, but for the free world. And the free world is with you too.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s surprise trip to Ukraine took a musical turn Tuesday when he joined a band onstage in Kiev to perform a rendition of Neil Young’s Rockin’ in the World
Blinken ended his day at the Barman Dictat in Kyiv, where he joined the band on stage.
“So maybe we can try something,” the secretary continued. “I don’t know if we can make this happen,” he also offered.
Blinken played guitar and sang the chorus of the song, which was released in 1989 before the Berlin Wall fell.
As the story goesYoung’s planned tour of the Soviet Union was canceled and guitarist Frank ‘Poncho’ Sampedro said: ‘I think we should keep rocking in the free world’ – a quote that stuck with the musician.
Tuesday’s croonfest wasn’t the only time Blinken made an official appearance.
At a State Department event in October 2023 touting “music diplomacy,” Blinken grabbed a black Fender and sang Muddy Waters’ Hoochie Coochie Man.
Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl was in the audience.
Then the secretary posted one video of his performance on X.
Sporting dad jeans, black sneakers and a black button-down, Blinken strapped to a red guitar
Blinken is a longtime musician and used to play with a band called Cash Bar Wedding, which also included former White House press secretary Jay Carney
“I couldn’t pass up tonight’s opportunity to combine music and diplomacy,” Blinken wrote.
During the Trump years, the longtime musician recorded a handful of singles – which can now be found on Spotify under the stage name Ablinken.
His song Lip Service has received more than 100,000 streams.
Blinken had a D.C.-based band that included former Obama White House press secretary Jay Carney and Eli Attie, a former speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore who wrote for the TV series The West Wing.
The group was called Cash Bar Wedding.
Carney told The New York Times in 2023 that “we fear his appearance at the State Department is a sign that he is putting us aside to pursue a solo career.”