This year, on its 70th anniversary, the Athens Epidaurus Festival returns to the Lycabettus Municipal Theater in collaboration with the Municipality of Athens and Technopolis, which manages the Theater. With four separate concerts on this magical hill in the heart of the city, which is an integral part of its history, the Festival embraces the younger generations of spectators, presenting great artists from Greece and abroad.
In four specially curated evenings and with a multidimensional and explosive program, the return to Lycabettus aspires to recall great concert moments and to introduce a younger audience to the world of contemporary music, from the rhythms of electronica and ambient to Afro-Greek hip-hop and the avant-garde pop scene.
On May 28, Greek nu jazz meets the African diaspora in a frenetic musical evening with a program curated by MC Yinka. He is joined by Jerome Kalouta, Idra Kayne, Ladele, Urban Lynx (Angelos Angelou and Andreas Polyzogopoulos known as MC Yinka and MC Dash) on an exciting journey where hip hop meets Afro-Greek creation. The following day, on May 29, the stage will be taken by Spiritualized, the leading British band that has stood out on the global rock music scene for more than 3 decades. On May 31, the Festival audience will have the opportunity to witness one of the most unconventional and enigmatic figures of the electronic music scene in the last decade, Arca, in her first appearance in Greece. The opening act of the evening will be Evita Manzi. And the Lycabettus program closes on the first day of June with Nalyssa Green welcoming her friends to the stage to sing her and their songs together.
The concert program
May 28
Greek nu jazz meets the African diaspora
Frenzied fun, intense rhythms, a musical celebration that unites communities
A night full of pulse and imagination, where the experimental sensitivity of Greek nu jazz coexists harmoniously with the rhythms and narratives of the African diaspora. On stage, electronic groove embraces polyrhythmic percussion, and the melodic themes of the Balkans intersect with the souls of soul, highlife, and afrobeat. Musicians from different worlds weave a new, sonic map—a ritual of encounter that knows no borders, only the common language of ecstasy and improvisation. The audience, captivated, becomes part of this celebration, where tradition becomes a contemporary pulse and cultural exchange takes the form of a lively, rhythmic dialogue.
On the evening curated by MC Yinka, we will have the opportunity to experience the collaboration of select musicians and groups operating on the cutting edge of the cultural wave of Afrofuturism. The nu jazz band Iota, with a new album in its luggage (“See Your Universe”), will spread a global musical veil over the Lycabettus Theater, presenting a blend of hip-hop, neo soul and drum ’n’ bass, flanked by guest artists, in a program that will include covers of songs by well-known Afro-Greek rappers and beyond.
Together with Jerome Kaloutas, Idra Kayne, Ladele, Urban Lynx (Yinka – MC Dash), Angelos Angelou, and Andreas Polyzogopoulos, they will present a performance that covers a wide musical spectrum, from sounds of black urban music to Greek tradition.
May 29
Spiritualized
Known for their exciting live shows, Spiritualized come to the Athenian hill to present us with their spectral music under the rocks of the Lycabettus Theater. The concerts of the British band stand out for their atmospheric intensity and deep emotional charge, offering the audience a unique, almost transcendental experience.
With an excellent discography to their credit, from the debut album Lazer Guided Melodies in 1992 to Everything Was Beautiful in 2022, Spiritualized moves comfortably between different musical genres. Blues, gospel, free jazz, garage, psychedelia, all of these come together and create an explosive mix, which has given the band a special place in the international music scene.
Spiritualized’s music, like a symphonic wall of electricity and frequencies with the fragile voice of J. Spaceman, is expected to. Give the Festival audience a unique, almost mystical experience.
May 31
Arca
Opening act Evita Manzi
In one of the most special musical events of the summer, Arca (Alejandra Gersi) will be on the stage of the Lycabettus Theater in her first appearance in Greece. Born in Venezuela and based in Barcelona, Arca explores the boundaries of performance and sound design, highlighting issues of identity, sexuality, and personal liberation.
Explosive and introverted at the same time, raw and emotional, Arca’s music incorporates an impressive variety of sounds, genres, and influences that run through industrial, glitch, and ambient, creating a unique universe, constantly open to experimentation and innovation.
Since the beginning of her career, she has collaborated as a producer and co-creator with artists such as Björk, Rosalí, and FKA twigs. Each new work that bears Arca’s signature is a challenge, a bet of personal exploration, a process of deconstructing the stereotypes of everyday life.
Her discography includes the albums Xen (2014), Mutant (2015), and Arca (2017), as well as the Grammy-nominated quintet of albums Kick (2020-2021), which reshaped Latin pop, club music, and experimental sound. In addition to re-releasing the iconic mixtape &&&&& via PAN, Arca presented last year’s production The Light Comes in the Name of the Voice at the Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection in collaboration with 4D Sound, which followed her groundbreaking and multi-day show in 2023 at the Park Avenue Armory in New York, entitled Mutant? Destrudo.
The evening will be ideally opened by Evita Manzi, an Athens-based musician and singer who was introduced to the public in early 2023 with her dynamic debut album Spandrel. Having already performed at top festivals such as Unsound in Krakow, MUTEK in Mexico and Mucho Flow in Portugal, as well as in key venues such as the Southbank Centre in London, the Volksbühne in Berlin and Phoenix Central Park in Sydney, Evita Manzi continues to expand the scope of her artistic expression through collaborations, such as the one with the spatial sound processing studio MONOM and the multi-instrumentalist Ludwig Wandinger.
At Lycabettus, they will present a completely personally fermented idiom, where labyrinthine sound design meets hyperreal electronica – all distilled through an unadulterated vocal performance where ecstasy and pain coexist.
June 1
Nalyssa Green & Guests
Very good at parties
A bountiful musical variety show
The beloved Nalyssa Green is camping out for a night on the Lycabettus stage and welcoming her friends to sing her own and their songs together, in a musical relay race with the participation of 13 musical groups, stand-up comedy, and drag performers.
From her first lo-fi, DIY appearances and the musical dressing of theatrical performances to the silent turn to Greek lyrics through the irresistible “Cocktail” that exploded like a cool bomb in the domestic music scene, “Pali kala” that ideally accompanied the quiet Athenian (and not only) evenings, and the most recent, extroverted All the parties in the world, Nalyssa Green has emerged as one of the most special figures of the modern Greek pentagram.
As the hostess herself recommends, this evening at Lycabettus will be a party with “a multitude of indie alternative musical (and not only) acts who will share their art and brio, in a performance where one will pass the baton to the other through well-known or even unexpected collaborations. A variety show of freshness, romance, dynamism, and idiosyncrasy, which will present another side of contemporary Greek music.”
Participating (alphabetically) are Miss Trichromi, Dimitra Nikitea, Skiadaresses, Chraja, Dolly Vara Kristof, Logout, Nalyssa Green, Papithedogtv, Penny, The Boy, Tsolimon, Vassilina • Presented by Nalyssa Green and Kristof.
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