Cretan Night Saturday + Bonos Birthday Bacchanal

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Peter Bonos

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Feb 7, 2026, 2:43:14 AMFeb 7

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Join us for the return of Cretan Night TONIGHT at the Bacchanal with special guests visiting from Greece and an opening set with Ezgija.

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Manolis Bobolakis is from the village of Sempronas in the Hania region of Crete and has been playing traditional Cretan violin from a very young age. He has played countless cultural events and also has a studio album to his name. Vaggelis Bagourakis plays the laouto and is the son of lyra player Tassos Bagourakis from Heraklion and is one the most talented up and comers in the modern scene of Cretan music. While playing together on and off for many years Manoli and Vaggeli have built a great chemistry. They each bring unique traits from their respective areas and together they have a wonderful representation of traditional Cretan music from all over the island. This will be the trio's third visit to the bay area.

Cretan dance lesson led by Achilleas Fourakis (9:30 pm), co-director of the Minoan Dancers Greek folklore dance ensemble, a ministry of the Nativity of Christ Greek Orthodox Church in Novato.

Ezgija is Santa Cruz’s newest balkan band, serving up their favorite dance tunes from the Balkans, Anatolia, and beyond! Led by Shireen Nabatian’s sweet vintage vocals and soaring violin, they explore themes of love, loss, and celebration—presenting forgotten gems from the archives alongside fresh material from her yearly travels in Türkiye. Guitarist Hossein Shoiaee adds unexpected twists and textures that keep things electric and genre-bending on guitar. Evan Stuart holds it all together on bass, with warmth and heart at the core of every tune along with Avi Sinai on darbuka and more talented guest musicians from Santa Cruz's Turkish and Balkan scene. Whether it’s a smoky love ballad, a rowdy wedding song, or a mournful lament, EZGIJA brings the spirit of these traditions to dance floors around the Bay Area and beyond with joy, soul, and a lot of sass.

The month of February brings us an extra special birthday bacchanal in celebration of our very own producer and trumpeter, Peter Bonos.
Friday, February 20
Ilya Shneyveys Klezmer Dance Party with Sarah Myerson - 8 pm
Duygu and Friends 10 pm
+ a Bonos Birthday Afterparty with special guests TBA.

Show: 8 pm; Doors: 7 pm. $20 General; $15 Students
All ages before 10 pm. 21+ after 10 pm when kitchen closes. Food, beer and wine available from the bar. Facebook Event Link.

We are excited to introduce accordionist Ilya Shneyveys from NYC (originally from Latvia) and Sarah Myerson (dance leading). This new group will be co-led by Mike Perlmutter (clarinet and sax) with Michelle Alany (voice and violin), Ivan Velev on tapan drum and Christopher Bastian on bass.

Next up, Duygu and Friends be taking the stage with Duygu Gün (voice and guitar), Peter Bonos (oud and trumpet), Faisal Zedan (darbuka, riq and bendir) and Zina Pozen (accordion). Get ready for a fun set of Turkish music followed by a rockin' afterparty with special guests TBA.

Plus even more bacchanals to come:
Saturday, March 21: Istanbul Connection
Saturday, April 18: Lars and In Charge

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Berkeley Balkan Bacchanal is a concert series featuring the other-worldy talent of musicians from the Bay Area and beyond performing Eastern European and Near Eastern folk music. A hub in the Bay Area Balkan music scene, the bacchanal provides a platform for a community of performers, folk dancers, regular attendants and new friends to revel together since 2011.

The Berkeley Balkan Bacchanal depends on the promotional support of our friends and community. Please spread the word by forwarding this email and sharing on Facebook.