Greece · Music
Events in Heraklion, Greece
From Cretan lyra halls to the Houdetsi world-music festival and the Over The Wall metal weekend, Heraklion has Crete's broadest live scene. Nikos Xylouris opened its first Cretan-music hall in 1967. Every show on Mood.
Heraklion
Heraklion music scene
Heraklion is the capital of Cretan music. Nikos Xylouris, one of the island's greatest lyra players and singers, opened the first dedicated Cretan-music hall in the city in 1967; his brother Psarantonis carried the family's lyra tradition to international stages. The Aerakis Cretan Musical Workshop on Korai Street, a record shop since 1974 with its own label from 1976, remains the main keeper of recorded Cretan music. Just south of the city, the village of Houdetsi is home to the Labyrinth Musical Workshop, founded by Ross Daly in 1982 and based there since 2002, which teaches modal music from across the Balkans, the Middle East and Asia.
The live calendar widens in summer. Houdetsi hosts a free four-day world-music festival each August across five stages; the city's Over The Wall festival, running since 2016, brings doom, thrash and stoner-rock bands each August; and the Heraklion Summer Arts Festival programmes music, theatre and dance in two open-air theatres named after Heraklion's own Nikos Kazantzakis and the composer Manos Hatzidakis. Every show is on Mood.
Common questions
Where can I hear Cretan music in Heraklion?
Heraklion has been the capital of Cretan music since Nikos Xylouris opened its first dedicated lyra hall in 1967, and the Aerakis workshop on Korai Street keeps the tradition in print. Live Cretan-music nights are listed on Mood.
What is the Houdetsi Festival?
The Houdetsi Festival is a free, four-day world-music festival held each August in the village of Houdetsi just south of Heraklion, across five stages. It grew out of Ross Daly's Labyrinth Musical Workshop. Programmes and details are on Mood.
Does Heraklion have a rock or metal scene?
Yes - the Over The Wall festival has brought doom, thrash and stoner-rock bands to Heraklion each August since 2016. The city also has a year-round bar and live-music district around Korai and Chandakos. Upcoming gigs are on Mood.
