Music Festivals

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There are plenty of music festivals in the summer in the region - from Classical to Jazz to Rock. Here is a  list of  some of them with short information  of  performers, venues and prices.  All are doable from Casa do Valle and Casa da Vista.  Also, there are lots of individual concerts through the year, in Sintra and in Lisbon.

Estoril Jazz is the first of them - it started today!  In the Casino Estoril, for two consecutive weekends, you can listen to musicians such as Ambrose Akinmusire, Roberta Gambarini and Scott Hamilton.  Tickets for individual concerts are 20-25 euros.  For more information, see their site http://www.projazz.pt/artigo.aspx?lang=pt&id_object=1610. And a sample of Roberta Gambarini http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1teDm7lLFw&feature=related.


The weekend after Estoril Jazz Lisbon rocks with Rock in Rio music festival, at the Bela Vista Park.  These concerts are mainly outside, though there are inside stages with Djs as well. 25th and 26th of May and 1st, 2nd and 3rd of June, Lisbon is packed with emotion.  The days are organized by types of music, but as the name indicates, all are rock.  On the main stage, the festival starts with Metallica, Evanessence, Mastodon on the first day; Smashing Pumpkins, Linkin Park, OffSpring and Limp Bizkit on the second day.  The second weekend starts off with Lenny Kravitz, Maroon 5, Ivete Sangalo and Expensive Soul.  The next day you can hear Stevie Wonder, Bryan Adams, Joss Stone and The Gift.  The last day brings Bruce Springsteen, James, Kaiser Chiefs and Xutos e Pontapés on to stage.  Fantastic program - and these are only the performers on the main stage.  Tickets go for 61 euros/day.  More information at http://rockinriolisboa.sapo.pt/.  I chose a sample of Ivete Sangalo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPr1kf9M9po

More Classical is the 47th edition of The Festival of Sintra.  This year's theme is Wien before Mahler: from Haydn to Brahms.  One of the nice things about this festival is that the concerts are held, in addition to the Olga Cadaval Cultural Center, in various quintas and palaces, like Quinta da Piedade, Quinta da Regaleira, the Queluz Palace and the National Palace. Officially open from June 24th to July 10th, the first related concert is already on the 22nd of June, with the Russian pianist Grigory Sokolov playing Rameau, Mozart and Brahms. Here is a taster: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjPvX2S-oZM.  Tickets for the concerts are from 10 euros upward, discounts for youth, senior citizens and groups of 10 people or more. More information from the site http://www.ccolgacadaval.pt/

Also starting in June is the EDP Cool Jazz. It is a concert programme that strives to achieve a fusion of styles  and sound trends, with well-known national and international artists' performances. These are outdoor concerts in the parks of Oeiras (half-way between Cascais and Lisbon).  The opening performer is Sting on the 29th of June, followed by Al Jarreau, Pablo Albarán ,  Pat Metheny Unity Band, Liz Wright and Raúl Midon, Buena Vista Social Club...... Tickets go from 25 euros upward, depending on concert and seating place. Here are some interesting links of the performers to get you in the mood:  Al Jarreau's moonlighting http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEB0k_qmpSY&feature=related  and Pablo Albarán with Carminho in
'Perdóname' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EFMojiDY2k&feature=relmfu.  The official pages of the festival are http://www.cooljazzfest.com/programa_2012_english.html.



Cascais Music Festival is held between the 18th and the 29th of July - a series of outside concerts that bring in musicians, international and national, that are in between rock and jazz.  Some of the artists are Pink Martini, Erykah Badu, Morrissey, Manu Chao, Antony and the Johnsons - and the Portuguese fado singers Carlos de Carmo and Mariza.  Tickets are between 20 and 55 euros.  A sampler here is from Pink Martini http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lle_GA1cg20.

Another July festival is Optimus Alive, 13-14-15 of July in Algés (Lisbon).  This is an award winning festival whose guests have the possibility to stay in a near by 4-star camping facility for 16 euros.  You can buy tickets that include the train Cascais-Algés or the camping.  Some of the performers include Florence and the Machine, LMFAO, Buraka Somd Sistema and Radiohead. Tickets go from 53 euros for one day to  to 105 euros for the 3 concert days.  The oficial site is http://www.optimusalive.com/musica/lineup. And a link to a song by Florence and the Machine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC4godaCGRw&feature=fvwrel

These are just a few suggestions, as you see, there is a lot going on!  And don't forget the individual concerts, like that of the Spanish Tenor, one of the famous three, José Carreras on the 16th of June, Leonard Cohen on the 7th of October and Jason Mraz November 19th.

Welcome to our summer and music!



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