Reggae festival in north of Greece
Popular music styles or fads come and go, some are revived after periods of silence, while others always seem to be there, like reggae, which, despite its monotonous sound and beat for the unconverted, has a timeless appeal about it that makes for ideal lazy summertime listening. With the latter in mind, a Thessaloniki-based concert promoter, Rastavibe, has assembled a two-day event this weekend on the coast in northern Greece, with an impressive international cast of bands and DJs. Included on the bill are Mad Professor – a specialist in the dub field, a slower, reverb-heavy reggae offshoot, who gained wider fame after remixing songs by popular acts such as Massive Attack – a fellow British act, Misty In Roots, two Jamaican acts, Max Romeo and Dennis Alcapone, Dutch act United Sound System, as well as Greece’s two leading reggae exponents, Soul Fire, from Thessaloniki, and De Traces, from Athens. The event, Rastavibe Festival, will be held at Asprovalta beach, some 100 kilometers east of Thessaloniki. Ticket holders will have free access to the town’s camping facilities from Friday to Monday. Besides the activity on stage, the festival will also include reggae film documentaries and juggling performances. Information on tickets, accomodation, directions, and public transport is available on the organizer’s website (www.rastavibe.gr).