Lilly of the West

Lilly Drumeva heads the popular band known as Lilly of the West. Born in Bulgaria, she was raised and educated in a number of European countries including Germany, France, Austria and the Czech Republic. She was exposed to country and bluegrass music in Vienna in the early 1990s and upon her return to Bulgaria in 1996, formed her own group. Her first album was released not long afterwards and personal appearances were soon held in a number of countries: Czech Republic, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Estonia, and Poland. An early carrier highlight was her appearance in the 1998 European World of Bluegrass gathering in The Netherlands. Significantly, her band won the “best European group of the year” award. Later that same year, she performed at the IBMA World of Bluegrass events in Louisville, Kentucky and was a presenter on the organization’s awards show. For several years she resided in London and organized a group with British bluegrass musicians Rick Townend and Rosy Davis ; they released mini-CD called Lilly And Rosie that included several nice traditional tracks. Since 2003 Lilly has been back in Bulgaria where she is part owner of a radio station. She continues to perform and record. In the meantime Lilly Drumeva was elected in the Board of the European Bluegrass Music Association and was featured on Copper Creek’s Bluegrass Calendar 2006.