Roko maršas (''The March of Rock'') was a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...

, organized in various cities of

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

. It was held in 1987–1989. It was resurrected in 1996 and 1997. The first festivals were organized while Lithuania was still part of the Soviet Union. They became part of the

Singing Revolution The Singing Revolution; lv, dziesmotā revolūcija; lt, dainuojanti revoliucija) was a series of events that led to the restoration of independence of the Baltic states, Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania from the Soviet Union a ...

, spreading ideas of the Lithuanian independence movement among the youth. It helped to awaken the younger generation from Soviet-era apathy and inspire them. In total, the three first festivals attracted an estimated 130,000 spectators. The festivals became a rehearsal for the mass protest rallies by the Sąjūdis that lead to the declaration of Lithuania's independence in March 1990. The idea for the festival was raised by

Algirdas Kaušpėdas Algirdas Kaušpėdas (born 12 August 1953, in Vilnius, Lithuania) is a Lithuanian rock musician, the leader of Lithuanian rock group Antis (band), Antis, an architect, and one of the Sąjūdis initiators. His wife Vilija Ulozaitė is also an a ...

, leader of the band Antis, after a successful concert ''Kažkas atsitiko'' (Something Happened) in 1986. The event encouraged various underground bands to become public. The festival toured cities in Lithuania. The first installment in 1987 focused more on music without an obvious political message while later installments had clear political agendas.

Festivals

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roko Marsas Rock festivals in Lithuania Recurring events disestablished in 1997 Music festivals in Lithuania 1987 establishments in Lithuania Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic Singing Revolution Music festivals established in 1987