Music festivals in Athens

The season warms up in late May with Athens Jazz at Technopolis in Gazi, the former gasworks on Pireos Street. For about a week, concerts start at nine in the evening among the old furnaces and chimneys, mixing jazz with afrobeat, electronic and hip-hop, and recent editions have been free to attend, so the courtyard fills with people coming straight from work. From June into July, Release Athens runs a string of separate concert nights, each with its own line-up, swinging from metal and punk to synth-pop, electronic and indie. For its first ten years it was held at Plateia Nerou, the open-air arena of the Faliro Olympic complex on the coast; the organisers have announced a move to a new, larger venue, so check the location on each listing. In July, Ejekt, one of the longest-running festivals in the city, has held its recent editions at the Olympic Stadium (OAKA) in Marousi, with rock, indie and pop headliners over two days.

Rockwave, going since the mid-1990s, is the rock and metal staple, but it is not in the city: its home is TerraVibe Park in Malakasa, roughly 40 km north of the centre, with shows from June into July. Plan transport there and back before you buy. The Athens Epidaurus Festival runs from June to August and mixes theatre with music: orchestral nights, Greek songwriters and international artists. The Odeon of Herodes Atticus, its most famous stage under the Acropolis, is closed for a restoration expected to last about three years, and the festival carries on at its other stages, such as Peiraios 260. That same former factory on Pireos Street has hosted Plisskën, the city's indie and electronic festival, across several stages in recent editions at the end of summer.

Some local know-how. Athens summer evenings stay hot, and big outdoor shows open their doors in the late afternoon with headliners well after dark, often close to midnight. Bring water, a hat for the early hours and cash as a backup. Check the venue on the ticket before you set off, since the big summer series do change sites. OAKA is next to the Irini and Neratziotissa stations. Technopolis is at Kerameikos metro. For Rockwave, look for the organised buses or share a car, as the last trains back are early.