If there is an area of music that is going through a major revamp and rise, however, it is rock’n’roll, rockabilly, swing and everything that can be labelled ‘vintage’ and associated with scooters and Betty Page. This is a trend by no means limited to Barcelona; in fact, this city is a bit of a late arrival. Yet it is making up for that by embracing it to the full and producing not just girls with tattooed torsos and guys with quiffs, but also some outstanding bands. The epicentre of the purer forms of rock’n’roll music has long been Big Bang Bar, but a few months ago Apolo jumped on the bandwagon with nights such as Powder Room and, more recently, rockabilly and burlesque parties like Aces and Faces.
One of the hottest discoveries in that field, celebrated by the local music press, is Mujeres, a (so far unsigned) garage combo that nostalgically recalls the Sixties. But bands like Manny Rodríguez y Las Honky Tonkys or The Nu Niles, who both sing rockabilly in Castilian, are also rising stars.
The verdict is clear: despite the lack of venues, and even though it may not be the cradle of ground-breaking new movements, Barcelona’s musical scene is alive and kicking—and growing by the day. “The best of the Barcelona scene is that right now, everybody is very young, they’re friends, they support each other and they tend to organise a lot of parties,” is how Manu González summed up the issue. “Therefore, the buzz is assured.”
Latest Comments