• Català
  • Castellano
  • English

Starting today live music performances in Formentera's town squares

Live music continues Saturday with Jazz a la Plaça
musica3As June arrives so too do a great number of open-air activities to enjoy the cool summer nights. The arrival of hot weather kicks off the season of live music at Formentera's different plazas, along with the opening of the island's summer markets and other events like Cinema a la fresca.

The wide array of activities, aimed at both tourists and Formentera residents, extends throughout the entire summer. The main idea: to promote culture and make use of the island's public spaces to foment social unity. For this reason many of the island's towns host open-air concerts from Thursday to Saturday, presenting a form of musical performance that is well-established and well-appreciated by Formentera residents.

As part of the Music on the Plazas series, the Plaça d'Europa of Es Pujols has programmed World Music, with live performances by the group Antena Libre every Thursday starting at 11 pm. Likewise, the Sant Francesc plaza has hosted Jazz for nearly twenty years, and will continue to do so every Saturday at 10 pm with performances by the island's most endearing jazz outfit as it is joined by visiting artists of great international and national prestige. This is a performance that receives a faithful following every year.

Beginning in July these two offerings will be joined by a third, held at Sant Ferran's town square. Fridays at 10 pm will host Música en Viu (Live Music) by resident Formentera musicians.

This musical initiative is organised by the Jazz & Co association and Antena Libre, with the collaboration of the Formentera Island Council's Office of Culture. The project's end goal is to preserve and promote music in all its incarnations, and to encourage musical activities of every sort in order to give a space for creation through live musical performance.

Musical June
World Music
The Plaça d'Europa in Es Pujols has, since its restructuring, become the ideal setting for events celebration. It stands as a representative space for the island's tourist town par excellence, but one which, up until this year, had no regularly scheduled musical activity.

Every Thursday the group Antena Libre will regale the Es Pujols plaza with Latin music and world rhythms comprised of two guitars, one percussion instrument, one accordion and one vocalist, among other instruments that will surely join the list. Thus, the people of Es Pujols will be able to take in the pleasures of a livelier, more dynamic social and commercial backdrop.

Jazz on the Square
Jazz a la plaça is one of the most historically-established of Formentera, headed by a group of amateur Formentera musicians that continue under a premise of continuous innovation year after year. The base members of the band Jazz Connotation are Tony Gartell (bugle and violin), Enrique González (guitar) and José Guzmán (trombone). The Sant Francesc concert series has a programme that includes a steadily-changing line-up of prestigious, well-known musicians from as far-off as France, Germany, mainland Spain, as well as other artists just passing through Formentera on holiday or up for the odd jam session.

Recent years have seen collaborations by such renowned musicians as Carlos Sarduy (trumpet) and Regis Molina (alto saxophone) from the recently disbanded Ojos de Brujo, and other musicians who have come back to participate summer after summer, such as the popular German guitarist/violinist Michael Gechter. With the show starting at 10 pm and continuing through till one in the morning, the crowd gets treated to nights of jazz set against the idyllic background of the Sant Ferran church. A perfect way to spend a summer evening.

In July, more music for Sant Ferran
Starting in July, these music series will be joined by live music concerts by local musicians every Friday at 10 pm in Sant Ferran.

World Music every Thursday starting 13 June at 11 pm at the Plaça d'Europa in Es Pujols.
Jazz a la Plaça (Jazz on the Square) every Saturday starting 15 June at 10 pm in Sant Francesc's Plaça de la Constitució
Música en viu (Live Music) every Friday starting 5 July at 10 pm at the Sant Ferran square.