On August 28, 2014 the Embassy hosted its tenth annual festival of Belarusian music. Known as Ambasovishcha — now accessible to wider audiences within and without Belarus due to the live stream from the event on YouTube — the festival featured ten bands representing a variety of genres, from metal to folk, including an artist from the United States, Aisha Fukushima and her band. Honoring the performing bands and Belarusian cultural and intellectual community in attendance, Charge d’Affaires Scott Rauland underscored “the need for the creative person to voice his love of life, his views of the ways of the world and concerns about society” and noted that “current mood is not dampened by gig cancellations or radio bans as in years past.”
Since its inception in 2005, Ambasovishcha was played by more than seventy bands from all over Belarus, selected in a tight competition through a popular vote online and in person during the concert. The band Re1ikt emerged the winner, with Step Hall and 2Morrow2Late taking the second and the third prize, respectively. Individual performances can be accessed from Embassy’s Facebook page.