Eugene Hütz[a] (German: [hʏts]; born Yevhen Oleksandrovych Nikolaiev-Symonov,[b] September 6, 1972) is a Ukrainian-born singer, composer, disc jockey and actor, most notable as the frontman of the Gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello.

Hütz was born in Boyarka, to a Ukrainian-Lithuanian father, a butcher by profession, and a Ukrainian mother who was of half Servitka Roma ancestry.

When Eugene was 14, he and his father made his first guitar of plywood, his first distortion pedals out of radio parts, and his first drum set from large metal fish cans, skinned with layers of Scotch tape.

So naturally, I picked mentors who taught me how to tell a story, like Johnny Cash or Nick Cave or Leonard Cohen or Shane MacGowan from The Pogues.

Descendants of the Romani called the Servo Roma (a tribe known for its blacksmiths, horsetraders and musicians), Hütz and his family fled their hometown after hearing of the Chernobyl meltdown.

In New York, he met the future members of Gogol Bordello, including violinist Sergey Ryabtsev, accordionist Yuri Lemeshev, guitarist Oren Kaplan, drummer Eliot Ferguson and dancers Pam Racine and Elizabeth Sun.

In 1999, Gogol Bordello released their debut full-length Voi-La Intruder, produced by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds drummer Jim Sclavunos.

East Infection followed later that year by the SideOneDummy debut Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike, recorded by Steve Albini.

Gogol Bordello's live shows and Hütz's stage presence have earned them invitations to places such as The Whitney Museum in New York, The Tate Modern in London and the Venice Biennale in Italy.

Directed by Pavla Fleischer, the film chronicles Hütz's annual trip across Ukraine and Eastern Europe exploring his musical and cultural roots.

[14] In November 2023 started his own label Casa Gogol and announced the first two signees - punk group Puzzled Panther and singer-songwriter Grace Begere.