24th Festival de Blues de Barcelona — three days in Nou Barris
From July 3 to 5, three nights of blues at the Nou Barris District headquarters and a closing jam session at the Roquetes Amphitheatre. Capibola Blues did it again.
The 24th Festival de Blues de Barcelona has closed another edition with its defining mark: top-level music, free of charge, in a working-class neighbourhood. Two nights at the Nou Barris District headquarters and a closing jam session in the late afternoon at the Roquetes Amphitheatre — moved this year from Castell de Torre Baró due to the presence of wild boars affected by African swine fever.
We were there all three days. Friday with Balta Bordoy & SirJo Cocchi, Ster Wax with The Soulful Trio, and the dry, honest rhythm of Ubangi Stomp. Saturday, the densest night: Quique Gómez & His Vipers, the Lluís Coloma Musical Troupe 5 at full capacity, and Kirk Fletcher closing with the class of someone who knows exactly how many notes not to play. Sunday, the Blues Social Club’s closing jam session at the Roquetes Amphitheatre — the heat was unbearable and there were no toilets, but the blues kept going.
Behind all of it, dozens of volunteers who keep the festival running year after year. Capibola Blues, and everyone who puts in the hours without anyone seeing.
We have updated the Festival de Blues de Barcelona page with all this year’s entries.
Chronicle + photo gallery from each day:
