November 4, 2012. Philadelphia. Last Tuesday evening at the “World Cafe” the audiences were treated to the soulful sounds of Crete’s Giorgos Xylouris or Psarogiorgis as he is also known.
Giorgos Xylouris is Crete’s leading performer of the island’s traditional music. He plays one of its favored instruments, the lute, and sings its unique forms of lyric.
Giorgos grew up in the deep musical culture of Anogeia and is the child of a family of legendary musicians from that mountain village. His uncle Nikos was a major figure in the revival of Greek folk music and the development of the modern political song. His father, Psarandonis, continues to take traditional music in fresh directions. His uncle Psarogiannis is a distinguished lute player. Psaragiorgos, as Giorgos is often known, has focused this inherited talent for innovative performance on the role of the lute.