Balgarianovinite.com Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Menea, who has Bulgarian roots and is based in Los Angeles, performed her original music in Sofia on August 13. Speaking to BTA after the concert, she said that performing in Bulgaria has allowed her to build a personal connection to the country through her music, beyond the ties she has through her family and heritage.
Growing up in St. Louis in a Bulgarian household, Menea spoke Bulgarian at home, spent her summers with extended family in Sofia and by the Black Sea, and was exposed to Bulgarian music from an early age. She told BTA that this background has also subtly found its way into her songwriting, particularly through the use of uneven metres such as 7/8 and 5/8. While Bulgaria was primarily a place associated with family during her childhood, she said that performing here has helped her form relationships and memories of her own.
Menea is currently working on her debut album, One Big Contemplation, which explores subjects including the meaning of life, the passage of time and the pressures of living in a world where, as she puts it, “everything is expected to be perfect and easy”. She said she hopes listeners will recognize parts of themselves in the songs and find reassurance in knowing that they are not alone in their struggles.
Following is the full interview:
Could you tell us a little about your journey as an artist so far? How did your interest in music begin, and what led you to pursue it professionally?
I didn’t always plan on pursuing a career as an artist, but in hindsight, there was nothing else in the cards for me. I grew up playing classical piano and cello, singing in choir, and teaching myself guitar, but my one true love was always songwriting. I remember coming home from school as a child and immediately going to the piano to sing and play. It was my way of processing the world, and in many ways my lifeline.
My parents also encouraged me fiercely, for which I am so grateful. I kept writing all throughout high school, recording in studios and competing in songwriting competitions around Missouri, until eventually I ended up attending a summer camp at Berklee College of Music. That was when my love for artistry and desire to continue pursuing music calcified. From there I stumbled into a scholarship to return the next year, followed by a scholarship to enrol in the undergraduate programme. It was a sign that I could not ignore, and an opportunity I could not pass up.
You grew up in the United States with Bulgarian roots. What does Bulgaria mean to you, and how present was Bulgarian culture in your life growing up?
When I tell people about my childhood in St. Louis, I tell them that although I grew up in a Midwestern school system, my household was 100% Bulgarian, and for that I have my parents to thank. We exclusively spoke Bulgarian around the house, ate homemade Bulgarian food regularly, and spent the entirety of our summers with our extended family in Sofia and by the sea from the ages of 5 to 16. I even remember coming back from those summers and having a hard time readjusting to English with my friends.
Because of this, Bulgaria is a second home to me! Every time I am here, I feel like I come back to a version of myself that only exists around a table crowded with Shopska salads, a variety of meats, and drunk relatives.
Which Bulgarian traditions have been preserved in your family, and are there any that you personally continue to follow today?
We do some of the classic traditions, like the big Christmas Eve celebration, martenitsi in the spring, Easter egg fights, and others of those kinds, but most of the traditions we keep involve food and the way we spend time together.
I don’t know a single American person who will sit with their family at the dinner table from the hours of 8 pm to 2 am. I also don’t know a single American family that will regularly have gatherings that span four generations of people. Or any that drink quite like us… These are the types of things we still have in our family, and although it’s not often that I rope my non-Bulgarian friends into a six-hour dinner, people that know me know they can’t come into my home without accepting a little bite of food and a conversation that lasts longer than planned.
Do you think it is difficult to preserve your Bulgarian identity when you grow up far away from Bulgaria
Yes and no. There is definitely a part of me that becomes extra American when I am around my friends in LA, but it doesn’t seem to have any effect on me when I’m back home with my parents or back here in the country. It’s almost as if the language itself functions as a vault for my Bulgarian identity.
If I am speaking Bulgarian, that part comes out untouched, with all of the mannerisms and character traits of someone who lives here, whereas if I’m speaking English, you might not even realise that I have this whole other culture that is a big part of my identity. I do wish I could come more often, or for longer, but I do my best to keep my language up throughout the year, and, considering the circumstances, I think I do a pretty good job of keeping in touch with my roots.
Are you connected to the Bulgarian community in Los Angeles, and do you take part in its cultural life – celebrations, concerts, or other events?
Yes and yes!! I am very lucky to be able to be around Bulgarians in LA, and have nobody but my parents to thank for that, specifically my mother. Ever since I was little, wherever we went, my mom seemed to have this amazing ability to sniff out any Bulgarian within a 20-mile radius. Within weeks, sometimes days, of meeting, they were over at our house for dinner.
Because of this, we have a huge community of Bulgarian friends in LA and whenever there are plans for a party I always make time to go see everyone. It fills me up in a way no other parties do. I also attend and participate in a variety of celebrations with the Bulgarian Consulate and other organisations around LA, singing the anthem or other traditional Bulgarian songs as a way of celebrating certain holidays and notable achievements of peers.
How do you think your generation of Bulgarians who grew up in the United States maintains its connection to Bulgaria
I only know a handful of Bulgarians my age who are in a similar situation as me, but I think most of them do their best to go visit whenever they can. More than anything, I’ve noticed that Bulgarians around the world stick together. The moment I meet a fellow Bulgarian, we are always quick to friendship and are immediately divulging memories of our Bulgarian relatives and spending summers by the sea. Even if English is the easier language for us, we get excited about an opportunity to speak in Bulgarian and will always do so too.
Your music blends indie, alternative pop, American folk, and jazz. Is there also a Bulgarian influence in the way you write or experience music?
Absolutely, but it’s subtle. I write in odd metres quite a bit, which makes sense considering I grew up listening to and playing Bulgarian songs in 7/8 and 5/8. Sometimes I start writing a song and I don’t even realise it’s in an uneven metre because it feels so natural to me.
It’s not an intentional decision to be different or call upon my Bulgarian roots, but I think those time signatures are a direct result of my upbringing with classical folk tunes. My piano teacher throughout my entire childhood was also Bulgarian, and besides conducting all of our lessons in the native language, she gave me a handful of rachenitsas to learn as well.
Would you consider incorporating elements of Bulgarian musical traditions into a future project, or perhaps writing a song in Bulgarian?
It’s so funny you ask this, because I actually have written a few songs in Bulgarian. They are… pretty bad, but I love traditional Bulgarian music a lot, so it is a total possibility for the future.
You are currently recording your debut album in Los Angeles. What do you want to tell people about yourself through this album?
This album is about my own personal experiences as a young, existential, creative person, but my goal is less to tell the world who I am, and more to get the world thinking about who they are. The project is called One Big Contemplation, and it’s quite philosophical, with many of the topics centred around the meaning of life, the passage of time, and the pressures of existing in a world where everything is expected to be perfect and easy.
I hope when people listen, they hear parts of themselves, however quiet, and can find some peace in knowing that they are not alone in any struggles they might be working through.
You first performed for a Bulgarian audience in Plovdiv in 2023. What was it like to present your music in Bulgaria for the first time?
Oh man, it was so exciting. Also scary, honestly. I wasn’t sure if people would enjoy the music if they couldn’t understand the lyrics, and my Bulgarian banter between songs was absolutely wretched, so I was much more nervous than usual, but overall it was a very sweet night of reunions and the performance itself felt great.
I still have a long way to go in terms of learning how to work a Bulgarian crowd, but I’m really glad the performance has become an annual tradition and really look forward to doing it again next year.
Do you see your performances in Bulgaria as a way of building your own personal connection to the country – not only through your family and heritage, but also through your music?
Absolutely, 100%. Performing my music here feels like the perfect intersection between my inherited American identity and my blood-given Bulgarian one. I love bringing together all of our Bulgarian friends and relatives into one room and creating a shared experience between them, but also, every single time I’ve performed here, I’ve met new people that have shared sweet sentiments with me about how my music affected them, and that really makes me feel like I am forging my own new connections here in a meaningful way.
Growing up, Bulgaria was always a place where my family existed and I would come to visit them, but with these concerts, now it has become a place where I have my own unique relationships and memories.
Truly, I just feel so grateful to be able to come here and do these concerts. If it weren’t for my family friends helping me out, I wouldn’t be able to plan any of these, and what a joy it is to be able to celebrate long-lasting and new friendships in the context of music! I feel so supported and loved by the Bulgarian community and all year I look forward to coming back to see everyone. Singer-Songwriter Menea: Performing in Bulgaria Helps Me Forge My Own Connection to the Country 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-08-17 13:06:22 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law