Teleporio™ — Greek Island Travel Intelligence

Haris Alexiou

Haris Alexiou is one of the defining voices of modern Greek music. Her career from the 1970s to the present shaped laika and the Athenian music scene.

Haris Alexiou

Haris Alexiou (born 1950, Thebes) is one of the defining voices of modern Greek music, whose career from the 1970s to the present shaped laika and the Athenian music scene, and whose performances at Herodes Atticus are among the most anticipated events in the Athens summer calendar. Their work is among the most important in the tradition of Greek popular and folk music, and understanding their contribution is central to understanding the culture of Athens and the wider Greek musical world.

The Music and Its Context

Greek popular music — laika and rembetika — has a history inseparable from the social history of Greece in the twentieth century. The music that developed in the tavernas and music clubs of Athens and Piraeus in the first half of the century carried the experience of Asia Minor refugees, Ottoman musical forms, and working-class urban life into a distinctly Greek idiom. The artists who inherited and transformed this tradition in the second half of the century gave it new audiences, new forms, and international reach.

Where to Hear Greek Music in Athens

The live music circuit in Athens operates on a winter calendar. The best rembetika and laika performances happen from October to March in the clubs of Psyrri, Monastiraki, and Keramikos. Summer brings outdoor performances at Herodes Atticus, Lycabettus Theatre, and Technopolis. Check the Athens Epidaurus Festival programme for summer appearances by major Greek artists, and the individual venue programmes for winter season events.