Following successful concerts in Perth and Adelaide last week, Greek laikodimotiko stars Yiorgos Velissaris, Yiota Griva and Nektarios Kokkonis are getting ready for their two final shows in Sydney and Melbourne.
The group arrived in Melbourne on the early hours of Monday morning, but lack of sleep was not a good enough reason to stop them from meeting Melbourne Greeks, so they ended up enjoying an outing at Oakleigh’s Kentro.
Neos Kosmos took the opportunity to contact them on the day and get a comment or two on their impressions from the tour so far.
“Our first gigs in Perth and Adelaide were a blast!,” said Yiorgos Velissaris, “the audience was extremely responsive and we had a great time, we are indeed quite satisfied with how they went.”
Velissaris’ comeback was a much awaited one for those who had the chance to see him in 2017 performing with Gogo Tsampa.
And it certainly doesn’t come as a surprise that one of his latest songs is called “Tha horepsoume”, a reminder of the singer’s talent in getting everyone on the dancefloor!
This Australian tour is unique for yet another reason, marking Yiota Griva’s first visit Down Under.
The “queen of the night” as they often call her in Greece, is known to wow audiences with her majestic voice and ability to revive the dimotiko tradition for younger audiences like very few.
“We had the warmest welcome by Greeks in Australia”, Griva enthused.
READ MORE: Australian tour kicks off for Panos Kiamos and Malu
In Perth and Adelaide, she said, people seemed to love all kinds of music featuring in the selection they had for the nights.
“We sang older songs, classic dimotika, and people would know how to dance everything, from tsamika, to kalamatiana and ipirotika, but also modern laika and zeimpekika…”
Klarino virtuoso Nektarios Kokkonis was equally pleased with how they were received by the diaspora.”
Kokkonis is considered amongst the top of his field and has collaborated with the most renowned laikodimotiko performers in the contemporary Greek music scene.
* Velissaris, Griva and Kokkonis will have their last shows on Saturday 2 November in Sydney and on Monday 4 November (Melbourne Cup Eve) in Melbourne (Grand Star Receptions, 499 Grieve Parade, Altona North).
Tickets available from $95 (includes meze, drinks extra).
For tickets call 0405 292 442 (Sydney) or 0466 893 647 (Melbourne) or 0422 472 006 for more information.