The Berkeley Bacchanal presents

Lars and In Charge (10 pm)
Aya and Greg Band (8 pm)

Saturday, May 20
Show starts at 8 pm, doors open at 7 pm.
Tickets: $20 at the door. Cash or Venmo accepted.

The Starry Plough Pub
3101 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94703
All ages before 10 pm. 21+ after 10 pm when kitchen closes.
Food, beer and wine available from the bar.

LARS AND IN CHARGE plays high-energy dance music from the Balkans and Near East. Lars Tergis leads the charge on violin with driving, gritty interpretations of Turkish Roman and Greek dance tunes, and original compositions. Chris Reid adds a touch of ‘West’ with percussive chordal accompaniment on steel-string guitar. Joe Rosato Jr. fills out the low end on upright bass while Sean Tergis and Faisal Zedan keep the beat popping on derbekki, riqq and davul.

Visit Band Page

Aya and Greg Band
with Jenette and Evin Selin (santoor and lauto)

Aya Safiya is an accomplished singer, songwriter, and violinist who specializes in interpreting traditional songs from the Mediterranean, the Rromani diaspora, and island cultures. With her hauntingly beautiful and emotional voice, she captivates her listener and puts them in a spell. Aya fell in love with music the moment her father handed her a violin at age 6, and went on to study traditional Greek island violin intensively for over 20 years. However, she didn’t limit herself to violin—she soon discovered singing and began to cultivate her voice. With guidance from master vocalists such as Eva Salina, Katerina Papadhopoulou, Kina Mendez, Merita Halili and many others, Aya has discovered her own voice within traditional music. Bay Area-born and currently based in Berkeley, Aya has traveled to the Balkans, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Okinawa, and Cuba in search of not only music, but also a deeper understanding of the traditions from which the music comes. She performs with numerous groups including Agapi Mou, Romantique, Sarma Brass Band, Taraf de Locos, The Aya & Tano Collective, and developed her solo set in collaboration with musicians from the vibrant international music scene in Boston before relocating to California.

Greg Masaki Jenkins is a second-generation American Balkan folk dancer who grew up at the Balkan Music & Dance Workshops. He gigs regularly throughout the San Francisco Bay Area with the groups Agapi Mou, Helios, Istanbul Connection, MWE, and Fanfare Zambaleta; and is a regular host of the Balkan Sundays Jam at Cafe Revolution. After taking a Greek singing class from Christos Govetas in 2009, Greg’s passion for singing awakened in a big way. He struck up a friendship at the camps with Nick Maroussis around the same time and they began to perform Greek music together under the name Palamidi. Nick was playing bouzouki in addition to laouto and encouraged Greg to try Rebetika singing for the first time, and that sparked a great obsession, leading Greg to sing with Bay Area Rebetika group Disciples of Markos and pick up baglamas, tzouras, and bouzouki. He has taught Rebetika at Lark Camp since 2015 and teaches workshops in Oakland.