Credit: Jaime Monzon

Things looked uncertain for progressive metal act Jinjer when three of its four band members ended up back in their native Ukraine during February’s Russian invasion.

Now, the band is preparing to embark on a global tour with the support of the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture, which granted the members ambassador status so they can leave the country, share their music and raise awareness about the war.

Jinjer will hit San Antonio’s Aztec Theatre Wednesday, Dec. 14 on the U.S. leg of that journey. P.O.D., Vended, Space of Variations and Malevolence will provide support.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday.

Even before this tour, Jinjer has used its growing international fanbase to help the Ukrainian war effort. The band reportedly raised more than $140,000 in sales of charity T-shirts meant to fund medical supplies, food and other necessities.

“If you told to me 15 years ago that this would be a touring band, I would not believe it,” bassist Eugene Abdukhanov told the Current last December. “We never wanted to be big rock stars, we just wanted to play music.”

Get our top picks for the best events in San Antonio every Thursday morning. Sign up for our Events Newsletter.

Related Stories

This article appears in Aug 24 – Sep 6, 2022.

Sanford Nowlin is editor-in-chief of the San Antonio Current. He holds degrees from Trinity University and the University of Texas at San Antonio, and his work has been featured in Salon, Alternet, Creative...