Last November, the Slovak legend Elán published the program for 2026, which also includes four large open-air concerts. They named the concert Elán & Kamaráti, and Jožo Ráž and Jan Baláž addressed 15 friends who played with the band in its more than 50-year history. At the end of February, the group published in which Jozef Ráž (71) announced that this is the definitive end of one chapter in his life.
“We did not return to the stage until 2024, and only for two concerts – in Prague and in Bratislava. But then we added Ostrava, Košice and Brno due to great success. Fans may have gotten the impression that we are starting a tour again when we played. But that is not the case. The thing with those performances is that I often enter the stage half-dead, but as soon as I find myself in front of 10 thousand fans, I suddenly have the energy for everything. I will give my best and get what I want,” said the Elán leader and continued.
“At our concerts, we will welcome our friends, former members of the Elán group, with whom we will play one more time, as a memorial. And that will be the end of it. Concerts are very demanding for us, so we won’t be performing anymore, that’s for sure.” added Ráž. His words about the future leave no room for speculation. “We won’t be doing concerts anymore, we won’t be recording. The band Elán ends its existence. I personally don’t want anything anymore, just to live in peace,” the magazine quotes his words.
The guesting at the concert was confirmed by the former members of the group Juraj Farkaš (guitars), Zdeno Baláž (drums), Gabo Szabo (drums), Viktor Hidvéghy (bass guitar), Ďuso Petrus (drums), Juraj Kuchárek (drums), Juraj Burian (guitars), Henry Tóth (guitars), Boris Brna (drums), Fero Turák (keyboards), Marián Svetlík (violin), Juraj Madari (viola), Samuel Šimek (trumpet) and Martin Haas (trombone). Fans will thus see on one stage a unique combination of people who made up the band’s history.
According to the band’s protagonists, it will be a concert program for the 2026 tour, built as a spectacular show where the greatest hits that unite the whole of Slovakia will not be missing.
