The December edition of the Berkeley Balkan Bacchanal presents a three-part concert featuring the rare worldly talent of local Bay Area musicians and touring artists. The Berkeley Balkan Bacchanal is a notoriously raucous marathon of music and dance at the Starry Plough on the second Friday of every month.

Michelle Alany & The Mystics
Violinist & vocalist Michelle Alany is a dynamic performer & internationally touring ambassador of world folk traditions, specializing in Sephardic, Mediterranean & Eastern music. Her captivating band, Michelle Alany & The Mystics, brings fresh interpretations of ancient melodies, hypnotic strings and wild improvisation with her energizing soulful music.
Journey through exotic lands with this fiddle-driven caravan of Sephardic, Klezmer, Balkan & original soul & swing music all spiced up with a southern-fiddle twist.

The band consists of seasoned jazz, classical & globally folk-minded musicians with diverse musical backgrounds in Middle Eastern, Balkan and Klezmer music.

Featuring eclectic musicians from Balkan, Eastern & other folk music traditions, including Dan Cantrell on accordion (Kugelplex), Michael Shay on cello (touring artist from the NW), Travis Hendrix on upright bass (Orchestra Euphonos), and Faisal Zedan on percussion (Stellamara, Qadim Ensemble).
michellealany.com


Staro Vino

Come dance to the music of Bulgaria, Greece, and Macedonia. Only the finest vintages! They play dance tunes and table songs from Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia, and Bosnia.

Staro Vino is Mark Jenkins (percussion and vocals), Andrew Cohen (accordion), Greg Masaki Jenkins (clarinet and vocals), and Peter Bonos (Trumpet)

Disciples of Markos

The Disciples play in the style of Markos Vamvakaris, the most famous songwriter, singer and the heaviest, most stoned-out bouzouki player of the 1930s, as well as his contemporaries such as Delias, Batis, Peristeris, Hatzichristos, Tsitsanis and more.
The Disciples of Markos are based in Oakland, California, and since 2004 have been dedicated to spreading the beautiful songs from the Golden Age of Rebetika.

Wait, what IS rebetika you ask? Rebetika is the urban folk music of 1930s Greece, born in the hashish dens of the Piraeus slums. It tells the underworld stories of smugglers, gamblers, ladies of the night, and hash heads. We are named after the patron saint of bouzouki stoners; Markos Vamvakaris.