More than 20 artists will meet next on the three stages of the Porta Ferrada festival, which in its 62nd edition presents a line-up of varied genres where big international names such as Tom Jones, Julieta Venegas or Gene Simmons meet artists top-level venues such as Robe or Seguridad Social, without forgetting the presence of the new generations in the figures of Mushkaa or La Ludwig Band in a cycle that will start on July 5 and will last until August 20. Rock, pop, jazz and classical will be intermixed in a musical offering that is combined once again with Salat, the comedy series that will open the festival with Charlie Pee, Ángel Martín, Grison and Ana Morgade among others. With this lineup, the oldest festival of Catalan summers aspires to repeat the numbers of the last edition, when it sold more than 60,000 tickets. Club Vanguardia members will have a 15% discount if they purchase their tickets through the Vanguardia Tickets portal.
Tom Jones, the Welsh tiger, will be in charge of opening the Guíxols Arena on July 26, where he will arrive at the age of 84 to review a repertoire that in recent years he has adapted to the passage of time to launch his enormous voice when it suits him. Sex Bomb, Delilah or It’s not unusual. Another first-rate name is Gene Simmons, a pleasant surprise for hard rock fans who will be able to see the Kiss singer free of hairpieces and makeup after retiring from the legendary band with which he has destroyed stages for half a century. He now returns to the stage with a solo format with which he already toured in 2018 to review the band’s greatest hits.
On the rock side, but in this case local, the figure of Robe stands out, alma mater of Extremoduro who this year has returned to the road as part of the Ni Santos Ni Innocents tour to present his latest album, Se nos transporte el aire, with the mix of poetry and distorted guitars that characterizes the musician from Plasencia. A music that goes well with that of Seguridad Social, the Valencian band responsible for hits like Chiquilla, who will perform at the Guíxols Arena supported by the Granada-based La Guardia.
The double evenings will be the protagonists in this edition with two music proposals in Catalan, on the one hand Figa Flawas and Mushkaa, who will present their respective albums La calçotada and Sexy sensible in an urban key. And in other sound coordinates it will happen the night in which La Ludwig Band and Guillem Gisbert will perform, both with a new album. The Espolla sextet will present Gràcies per vivir, their third album of happy and festive folk, while Gisbert arrives with his first album after the time of Manel, Balla la mazurka!, in which he displays his poetic skills . In total, the edition will feature more than 30% of artists in Catalan, including Antònia Font, as well as the pianist Clara Peya and Andrea Motis, who will bring jazz to the Espai Port with the presentation of her latest album, Febrero.
Along with Motis, the festival’s jazz roster includes Gregory Porter, one of the best singers of the genre with a Grammy to his credit, as well as the singer, guitarist and composer Madeleine Peyroux, who will exclusively present her latest album, Let’s walk . The three performances will take place in an Espai Port where you can also hear Julieta Venegas, the Brazilian Toquinho and Gilberto Santa Rosa, El Caballero de Salsa.
Another niche proposal of this Porta Ferrada will connect with the music of J.S. Bach in a series of three concerts to be held in the church of the Sant Feliu de Guíxols monastery, featuring the German composer’s best-known songs. Fabio Biondi will perform violin partitas and sonatas, Miklós Perényi will dedicate himself to the cello suites, while the French harpsichordist Pierre Hantaï will perform the Goldberg Variations.
The offer is completed with new features such as José González, the Swedish singer-songwriter of Argentine origin who uses his voice and guitar to create intimate melodies in English and Spanish. In the same category of new artists is Two Door Cinema Club, an Irish indie pop group that combines electronics with post punk, giving rise to songs full of luminosity. Next to him on the bill will be Ara Malikian, a classic of summer festivals, as well as the hits Hombres G, who are celebrating their 40th anniversary. And Xoel López, who has recently returned to the studio to publish Caldo Espírito. A poster that “continues to break new ground”, in the words of the festival’s artistic director, Albert Mallol, who highlighted in the presentation the intention to “balance the roots of Porta Ferrada with new proposals to broaden the spectrum of its audience.”
