Greek Music

Greek Music and Dance is Another of the Joys of Visiting Greece

I mentioned recently that Donna used a Greek word as a name for the music duo she performs in: Meraki. You can hear them on their YouTube channel here. I should point out that they don’t play Greek music, doing mainly covers of what you might call Americana.

Her partner Nick is Albanian and plays the mandolin beautifully. If he went to Greece I’m sure he’d pick up the bouzouki and be playing it instantly.

So when we go to Greece, music is something we try to seek out, although the best tends to happen spontaneously. That was the case on one of our visits to Crete, where we stayed in a little hill village and it coincided with the night that the new village square was officially opened. Food was laid on, everyone crammed into the tavernas on the square, and everyone who could play an instrument sat round and played all night. Here’s a video of part of it, with me behind the camera and Donna joining in the dancing in her denim jacket and jeans. What a night!

More Music on Crete

That was a great trip for music. The owner of one of the hotels we stayed at had a collection of instruments, which he brought out, talked about and played for his guests. Apologies for the picture quality but it was really dimly-lit.

Our visit to the Botanical Gardens also coincided with a night of Greek music and dancing. We were really lucky on that trip!

Museum of Greek Popular Musical Instruments

This is one of our favourite museums in Athens, and we try to visit it every time we’re in the city. We also tell friends to go there, and no-one is ever disappointed. Listening to Greek music can’t help but raise your spirits. This isn’t one of our videos but lets you know what it’s like.

Music on Santorini

If you’re visiting Santorini then do go to the Synposion Cultural Centre. Here they have live music concerts and you can also see Greek instruments being made… and even buy one, if you’re keen. But these are instruments for musicians, not merely cheap decorative ones to hang on the walls.

Classic Greek Songs

While we’re in the mood, here are some classic Greek songs. Just hearing these makes us want to book that plane ticket right now!

Zorba the Greek

And no account of Greek music would be complete without a mention of Zorba the Greek. If you don’t hear this at least once a day when you’re in Greece then something’s wrong! In going down the YouTube rabbit-hole, we found these two interesting versions of the song, showing how widespread it’s become. First, one of the world’s greatest guitarists, Chet Atkins, plays Zorba the Greek in Nashville.

And then another great musician, Jose Feliciano, really gets into the spirit of the song. You’d think he was Greek, from this rendition. He certainly knows how to shout out ‘Opa!’ It just needs a few audience members getting up and dancing the sirtaki, and you’re in Greece not a TV studio.

We hope you enjoyed this week’s newsletter with a bit of a difference. Till next time.

Yammas!

Mike and Donna

Greece Travel Secrets