Leslie Mandoki and the Mandoki Soulmates return to Budapest on August 21, 2025, for a 50-years-in-freedom homecoming concert at Szentháromság Tér, Buda Castle. The show begins at 7:00 p.m. local time in Budapest (CEST). A global YouTube livestream starts at 1:00 p.m.
The program spans signature Soulmates songs, hits associated with the group’s all-star members, and selections from the latest album A Memory Of Our Future, including “We Stay Loud,” “Blood In The Water,” and “Devil’s Encyclopedia.” Mandoki frames the night’s purpose plainly: “We invite everyone who believes in the power of music as profound artistic expression and a mode of liberation.”
The setting underscores a long arc. Mandoki began performing in 1970s Budapest at the Bem Club, a hub for underground culture. After sustained censorship, he left for the West with animator Gábor Csupó and his friend László, crossing through the Karawanken Tunnel to Germany in 1975.
Recognition has followed across decades. The Soulmates and Mandoki were recently honored at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for the international impact of A Memory Of Our Future. Mandoki also notes a personal milestone as a producer: 72 gold records at Red Rock Studio over more than 40 years. “Even though many of us have been playing together for over 30 years,” he said after last summer’s shows, “these guys always manage to impress both me and the audience when we’re on stage.”
Context matters to the repertoire. As Mikhail Gorbachev observed in the documentary Longing For Freedom, “Progressive rock was the music of free-thinking people during the time of communist dictatorships, the voice of resistance, the symbol of freedom.” Mandoki’s closing thought echoes that tradition: “We stay loud for music, for humanity, and for the future—because freedom is not a legacy, but a mission.”
Event Details
Mandoki Soulmates: 50 Years In Freedom
Date: August 21, 2025
Time: 7:00 p.m. CEST (Budapest) • Livestream 1:00 p.m. EDT
Venue: Szentháromság Tér, Buda Castle, Budapest
Livestream: YouTube