Katydata, Cyprus. Windcraft Music Fest will return to Katydata village on July 24-26 with a programme featuring Balkan, jazz, folk and experimental wind music, alongside workshops, exhibitions, walks and late-night concerts. The festival’s 12th edition will bring together artists from Cyprus and abroad, original collaborations and musical traditions from around the world.
Festival programme
With a focus on wind instruments, the festival will combine concerts, performances, workshops, site-specific installations and participatory activities over three days.
This year’s opening day will be dedicated to the community and collective participation. The programme will include performances by the Windcraft Band and Windcraft Voices, Postcards from my Homeland, a swing party with the Misharoz Band, and a traditional fiesta with zournas led by Ta Takouria, along with other parallel activities. Reduced admission prices will apply on the opening day.
International and Cypriot artists
The following two days will feature an international line-up presenting a range of sounds and collaborations, including jazz combined with classical and global traditions, contemporary music with traditional influences, and acoustic sounds with electronic elements.
Featured performances will include the trio of French saxophonist Sylvain Rifflet, New Zealand saxophonist Hayden Chisholm, and Christos Yerolatsitis’ international project Daydreaming, with guest saxophonist David Lynch.
Cypriot artists will also feature prominently, including the Ermis Michail Amped Quintet, Krúe, and Ogmios, joined by Demetris Yiasemides on trombone. Zoe Georgallis’ music and dance performance Tip Tap Toe will be presented for children and families.
Finale and residency programme
The festival will conclude with a dance fiesta led by the Bojan Ristić Band and Federico Pascucci, followed by a mega jam bringing together musicians from different participating bands for a joint performance.
The artists’ residency programme, Rites of Life: Beauty and Destruction, will also be presented as part of the festival. Supported by the European Festivals Fund for Emerging Artists, it brings together trumpet player Milad Khawam and Cypriot performer Annie Khoury to co-create a new work that will premiere at the festival.
Workshops and parallel activities
In addition to the music programme, the festival will include workshops, exhibitions, installations and interactive activities for all ages.
The free parallel programme will include the three-day workshop for wind instruments Total Tuning with Hayden Chisholm, as well as workshops on Balkan music, Italian tarantella, jazz improvisation and the making of a pithkiavli, or shepherd’s flute.
