Greece · Music
Events in Chania, Greece
Cretan lyra and laouto in the Venetian harbour tavernas, jazz at Fagotto, and the Chania Rock Festival (since 2002) at the Eastern Moat. Chania mixes deep Cretan tradition with a live scene. Every show on Mood.
Chania
Chania music scene
Chania's musical identity is rooted in Cretan tradition - the bowed lyra paired with the laouto (lute), which still play nightly in the tavernas of the Venetian harbour and old town. The mountains around Chania are the home of the rizitika, the oldest surviving Cretan song form, sung a cappella in call-and-response. The city's old Tabahana quarter, settled by Asia Minor refugees after 1922, gave its name to tabachaniotika - an urban Cretan repertory often called the Cretan rebetiko. World musician Ross Daly settled here to study the lyra under master Kostas Mountakis before founding his Labyrinth workshop in 1982.
The contemporary live scene centres on the harbour and the Koum Kapi waterfront. Fagotto, a jazz bar in a Venetian building near the old port, has run live gigs for over three decades; the open-air Synagogi bar occupies the ruins of an old synagogue. The Eastern Moat open-air theatre anchors summer concerts, including the Chania Rock Festival - the largest of its kind in Crete, held since 2002 - and the Swing Echoes jazz-and-swing festival each June. Every show is on Mood.
Common questions
Where can I hear Cretan music in Chania?
The lyra and laouto play nightly in the tavernas of the Venetian harbour and old town, and the region around Chania is the home of the a cappella rizitika 'root songs'. Live Cretan-music nights with details are listed on Mood.
What is the Chania Rock Festival?
The Chania Rock Festival is the largest rock festival in Crete's history, running since 2002 and now held at the Eastern Moat open-air theatre, usually in early August. Lineups and tickets are on Mood.
Where is the nightlife in Chania?
Chania's nightlife centres on the Venetian harbour - including the long-running Fagotto jazz bar and the open-air Synagogi - and the Koum Kapi waterfront promenade just east of it. Tonight's bars and live music are on Mood.
