Cretan Night returns to the Berkeley Balkan Bacchanal at the Starry Plough featuring Manolis Bobolakis and Vaggelis Bagourakis (10 pm) plus an opening set with Ezgija (8 pm). Dance lesson by Achilleas Fourakis (9:30 pm).
$15/20. All ages before 10 pm. 21+ after 10 pm when kitchen closes. Food, beer and wine available from the bar.
Manolis Bobolakis is from the village of Sempronas in the Hania region of Crete and has been playing traditional Cretan violin from a very young age. He has played countless cultural events and also has a studio album to his name. Vaggelis Bagourakis plays the laouto and is the son of lyra player Tassos Bagourakis from Heraklion and is one the most talented up and comers in the modern scene of Cretan music. While playing together on and off for many years Manoli and Vaggeli have built a great chemistry. They each bring unique traits from their respective areas and together they have a wonderful representation of traditional Cretan music from all over the island. This will be the trio's third visit to the bay area.
Cretan dance lesson led by Achilleas Fourakis, co-director of the Minoan Dancers Greek folklore dance ensemble, a ministry of the Nativity of Christ Greek Orthodox Church in Novato.
Ezgija is Santa Cruz’s newest balkan band, serving up our favorite dance tunes from the Balkans, Anatolia, and beyond! Led by Shireen Nabatian’s sweet vintage vocals and soaring violin, they explore themes of love, loss, and celebration—presenting forgotten gems from the archives alongside fresh material from her yearly travels in Türkiye. Guitarist Hossein Shoiaee adds unexpected twists and textures that keep things electric and genre-bending on guitar. Evan Stuart holds it all together on bass, with warmth and heart at the core of every tune along with Avi Sinai on darbuka and more talented musicians from Santa Cruz's Turkish and Balkan scene. Whether it’s a smoky love ballad, a rowdy wedding song, or a mournful lament, EZGIJA brings the spirit of these traditions to dance floors around the Bay Area and beyond with joy, soul, and a lot of sass.
