Music

Cretan Panigyri at Kafeneio FRI — Nio Chorio

Lyra and two laouta in an artists' kafeneio in Apokoronas, part of a small festival on freedom.

FRI is a kafeneio that decided to be an arts venue as well, and this night is part of its second Festival of Art and Culture, themed «Reflections and steps towards freedom». That framing matters: this is not a taverna hiring a band for the tourists, it is a village room programming a season. Manolis Mpountalakis plays lyra with Vangelis Mamalakis and Kostas Kontaxakis on laouto, a proper three-piece rather than a lyra and a backing track. It starts at 20:00, which is early, and the end of August in Apokoronas is when the villages get their evenings back from the summer crowd. No entry price is published; a kafeneio night usually works on what you eat and drink.