Νατάσσα Μποφίλιου: 'Κάτι Καίγεται' at Ερέτρια!

The Dream Festival Medusa returns for its 6th year! On the lush green Πεζονήσι, music, art and alternative activities once again find shelter and await you for 4 days, from Πέμπτη 11 Ιουλίου through Κυριακή 14 Ιουλίου 2024. Νατάσσα Μποφίλιου will be the highlight of the events with her concert on Σάββατο 13 Ιουλίου. Ahead of this appearance, she speaks to Λαγωνικό!

Photo Credit: Κώστας Αυγούλης

Looking ahead to the upcoming Festival on the Island of Dreams, is there a Festival you've attended that's stayed etched in your memory forever, whether as an artist or as a spectator?

I love festivals both as a spectator and as an artist. Starting with the ΚΝΕ festival, which I haven't missed a single one of since '89 (the first time as a small kid, just watching) right up to today, but also later on with our band—from Νεστόριο to festivals on islands, on mountains, with social themes, with entertainment themes, at campsites, in open fields—we're never absent.

We've played almost every festival, from every spot on the line up. Support act in our early days, headliners later on.

These days we're seeing stadiums filling up with artists who express social concerns and inner searchings with a confessional kind of mood… What is it that you notice in the new music scene that unites today's audience?

I feel that all of us, in this dystopia of recent years, have come to realize that our political and social position is a central issue in how we live our lives. Our worries, our anxieties, seek common ground with other people and other values.

Music, and art in general, has always been and still is the safe space where we can express ourselves, mobilize, and draw strength.

20 years now in Greek music.. There have been moments when you refused to compromise with the establishment, setting your own limits as a group.. What was it that led you to claim and define the terms on which you'd exist in this industry, without either abandoning it or compromising with it?

The huge advantage of being a group is that you share everything. The fears, the rejection, the faith, the success, the failure. With each other as allies, we decided to keep fighting for our dream on our own terms. When one of us fell, the others were there beside him to pick him back up, and that's what kept us steadfast in our choice not to make compromises. At least not the kind with consequences we'd regret later.

To anyone who asks us the secret of this journey, our answer is—the group, and consistency.

To close, and even though what goes unsaid speaks loudest, could you give us a brief taste of what those of us there that night at the Festival are about to witness?

This concert of ours has been built to serve the repertoire, the energy and the aesthetic of "Κάτι Καίγεται».

With a new sound, enthusiasm and cohesion, we're bringing along the new album as well as our old songs in our luggage, and we can't wait to live this experience together.