The ancient theatre of Heraclea Lyncestis in Bitola opens the twentieth edition of Lokum Fest on August 6, 2026 with the ensemble „Domna's 10 Bouzoukis” from Greece. The start is at 8 pm, and a ticket costs 600 denars.

The ensemble comes from Thessaloniki and is put together exactly as the name says: ten bouzoukis, accompanied by guitar, double bass, male and female vocals and a dance troupe. That is an unusual set-up even for a Greek group. The bouzouki is an instrument almost always used in one or two copies within an ensemble; ten of them together is not an enlarged version of the same thing but a different sound - dense, layered, closer to an orchestra than to taverna accompaniment.

The programme covers Greek and Balkan melodies, a repertoire that needs no translation in Bitola. Lokum Fest runs as a festival of Balkan ethno fusion and this year marks its twentieth birthday, and choosing a Greek ensemble to open the anniversary edition is logical - Heraclea lies a few dozen kilometres from the Greek border, and the musical language on both sides has been the same far longer than the borders have existed.

The place is as much part of the story as the programme. Heraclea Lyncestis is a second-century ancient theatre where the acoustics do the work instead of a PA, and the concerts take place under the open sky. Tickets are sold through karti.com.mk and at the Heraclea box office on the day of the concert.