By Emmelia Georgiou
The Fengaros music festival returns at the start of August for its seventh year and remains dedicated to its goal of presenting fresh and original music from all over the world.
The picturesque village of Kato Drys in the Larnaca district will once again provide the beautiful backdrop for the festival, where three different stages will entertain for three consecutive days from August 3 to August 5.
The three stages include the Field Stage, the Village stage and the Church stage. They will each host more than 35 acts from Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Kuwait, Niger, Israel, Australia, the UK and the USA, in a line-up that showcases the multi-dimensional, uncompromising and selective aesthetic of the organisation. Simultaneously, events will also take place at the village’s Museum of Folk Art.
The first day of the festival will begin with a dynamic burst of psychedelic, progressive, indie, stoner rock and jazz. The Field Stage will host superb rock bands from Greece such as The Villagers from Ioannina City, Acid Baby Jesus and Holy Monitor. The Village Stage will host English indie-band Happyness, jazz-funk Datfunk from Athens and the jazz group of composer/double bassist Alexi David from New York, and many more. The first night will come to a close with the cinematic music of duo Sancho 003.
Day two will celebrate the beauty of cultural diversity and take the audience on an exotic World Music journey. The stages will host the unique duet of Xylouris White, who mix Cretan music with American rock and improvisation, the contemporary rembetiko band Pliri Ntaxi from Salonica and the groovy Balkan/Gypsy band Baildsa. The day will get even more exciting with Ouzo Bazooka from Israel, who will play their own version of Mediterranean rock and the Sardinian Paolo Angeli with his unique custom-made guitar. The highlight of the night will undoubtedly be the world-famous Bombino from Niger, who will bring the sounds of the Tuareg tribe from the deserts of Africa, all the way to Kato Drhys.
The third and final day will host the polyphonic choir of Marina Satti & Fones, folk singer Petros Malamas Trio and fusion band Jan Van from Greece. It will continue with the delightfully original singer-songwriter from Kuwait, Yousif Yasee, as well as our much-loved Monsieur Doumani. The most anticipated name of this year’s festival is headliner Fantastic Negrito from Oakland, California, who will be closing the Field Stage with his explosive live set just months after winning a Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album of the Year.
The audience will then head to the Village Stage for the closing act, where Greek-duo Kid Flicks and the Cypriot solo artist Spivak will end the live performances with electronic music, to be followed by a closing DJ set by the beloved Fengaros DJ Sofronis.
This year’s Fengaros Music Festival seems to be the biggest and best one yet.
Fengaros Music Village 2017
Music festival with workshops. August 3-5. Kato Drys, Larnaca. All day event. €210/170. Tel: 99-735225
