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Music, dance, theatre, and performance art headline the cultural calendars in all of Night+Day’s cool cities. We combed through dozens of annual performing arts festivals worldwide, and here are the best of the best.
Best Performing Arts Festivals in....
Best Performing Arts Festivals
Barcelona
El Grec
Late June to late August (most major events take place in July),
various venues, 93.316.1000 barcelonafestival.com
The Draw: The big names on the summer European circuit appear at The Grec, Barcelona’s massive culture fest. The Scene: The festival’s name derives from its principal stage, an outdoor Greek theatre set amid the verdant surrounds of a natural park. But The Grec has grown, meaning that nearly every outdoor venue in the city rings to the sound of music on summer’s balmy nights. Pop, jazz, and rock tend to be showcased at the Poble Espanyol (poble-espanyol.com), a “model” village with traditional Spanish architecture; Latin American acts and classical dance take place at The Grec itself; and smaller acts are scattered throughout public gardens and plazas. Every year there is a surprise: In 2008, the organizers introduced “Montjuïc de Nit,” where a host of museums became musical stages and opened all night for free. Hot Tip: Tiquet 3 is a cut-price ticket service located in the Tourist Information Office in Plaza Catalunya. Unsold tickets are available three hours before the performance at a discounted price (usually 30%).
Festival Internacional de Jazz de Barcelona
Mid-October to late November (dates vary), various venues,
93.481.7040 theproject.es
The Draw: After the onslaught of summer festivals, fall jazz draws us indoors to the city’s splendid concert halls. The Scene: The oldest jazz festival in Spain added “International” to its title in 2002, as bigger and brighter luminaries started to sign up. The awesome Palau de la Música, the festival’s principal venue, is a major draw, as confirmed by nearly every artist who plays there—from Cassandra Wilson to Jaime Cullum and Madeleine Peyroux. Other venues include the state-of-the-art Auditori and smaller clubs such as Luz de Gas and Zac. Flamenco-jazz fusion, a captivating genre rarely heard outside Spain, also features in the festival. Watch for gigs by Chan Domínguez and Michel Camilo. Hot Tip: Off-festival, white-hot jam sessions occur unannounced. The best bet is to keep an eye on the website of the Tallers de Musics, the local music academy. Look for listings under the Jazz Si club (tallerdemusics.com).
The Draw: For two days in July, the best of-the-moment bands and DJs gather in a stellar location under the stars. The Scene: Forget knee-deep mud and grimy tents. In design-obsessed Barcelona, even a rock festival is hosted in a spectacular location. Primavera Sound, an indie festival within Sumercase, takes place in the Forum, a huge swath of coastal land redeveloped by a crew of the city’s top architects. Amphitheatres are erected outdoors on plazas and terraces, with plenty of lawn seating in between. Not surprisingly, these comfort factors, along with the inclusion of evergreen icons in the program (Blondie and The Sex Pistols appeared at the 2008 event), pull in an across-the-board crowd, with 55-year-olds getting down with the young and trendy. Hot Tip: Pace yourself. Though nightly acts begin as early as 9pm, the bigger names tend to take the stages after midnight, with DJs taking over after that.
