Xhevat Kelmendi

Xhevat Kelmendi is a singer, guitarist and songwriter from Peja in Kosovo, known for his serenatas, the old town love songs of the Albanian tradition. He was born on 11 January 1955 in Peja, which is why he is on Muzika-Balkan under Kosovo, and he is still described as a singer-songwriter of Peja. The sources do not say where he lives today.

He began making music in 1970. From a young age he sang Arbëresh songs and the serenades of Korça, and that style has stayed with him ever since, with the guitar as his constant companion. He first appeared on Radio Television of Pristina in 1978, and the same year, in Umag in Croatia, he wrote and sang a student parody to his own guitar.

Over the years he has released two albums and more than thirty other songs, writing many of the lyrics and melodies himself. He also wrote words for a number of children's songs. "Nënës", a song for his mother written while she was still alive, became his first music video, filmed for RTV 21 in 1999.

His son, the composer Memli Kelmendi, says his first steps in music came from his father, and today he composes, arranges and records much of Xhevat's music. Xhevat Kelmendi has sung at Zambaku i Prizrenit, the festival of old town songs in Prizren: "Forca e dashurisë" in 2009, "E vërteta e vonë" in 2010 and "Dy zemrat" in 2012.

The playlist gathers his songs from Memli's channel, among them "Adriana", "Buzë lumit", "Nostalgia", "O moj Korçare", "Stina e pestë" and "Kujtimi pranë Zambakut".