Sorry Harribobs, we didn't see your answer before leaving for Crete.
We discovered the music of Psarantonis by accident when we stayed in Tsoutsouros (S-Crete) a few years ago.
Last June when we were in Plakias we saw that he would perform in Kalypso Village so we went.
This was the first time we ever went to Kalypso Village! He performed in the theatre outdoors which was very impressive. He performed with in the background the rocks, it was dark, the wind was blowing and you could hear the sea..... Although we were in Kalypso Village, I think we were the only tourists. The performance was mainly visited by Greek people. Descriping Psarantonis and his music is very dificult.
Psarantonis' real name is Antonis Xylouris. He is the brother of Nikos Xylouris who was a very known lyraplayer. (he died in 1980). Psarantonis was born in 1942 in Anogeia of Rethymno. Psarantonis is said to have been a shepherd and learned to play the lyra when he was 10 years old. He has appeared several times in music festivals abroad in Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Ukraine, Luxembourg, America, Australia and Canada. Psarantonis won his fame especially for the way that he plays the lyra, the sounds and words of his songs. He is often characterized as “weird”. His performance was certainly unlike anything we have ever heard before.
