In Portugal, the season that follows Spring is... (Summer) Festivals. From the beginning of June until the end of September, the country is an immense stage where countless bands, singers, musicians, artists and performers pass... A period of the year with a varied soundtrack suitable for (almost) all tastes.
If you are not aware of all the dates, find a good number of them here. And if you haven't yet decided on one (or several) of these festivals, then it's best to hurry because some of them may already be sold out... Arrange with your family, convince some friends or, simply, decide to go alone. But don't worry, because the atmosphere at these festivals is unique and you'll come back with good, new friends!
Here they are in chronological order:
06 - 08 JUN 2024 | City Park, Porto
PRIMAVERA SOUND PORTO
"Primavera Sound" has already become one of the biggest festivals in Europe, since it was born in 2001 in Barcelona. Annually organized in the city of Porto since 2012 with thousands of fans of the latest trends in music, in the rock and pop genres, but also internationally renowned bands and DJs, coming to City Park. It is a festival also known for promoting talents little known to the general public.
This year (11th edition in Porto) will headline names such as PJ Harvey, Lana del Rey, Pulp, Sza, Mitski, Justice and The National, joined by some national names such as Samuel Úria and Tiago Bettencourt (the best known ), among many others.
For true fans of this festival, there are other locations and other dates, including outside of Europe, as "Primavera Sound" is more than a festival, it is a 'life style'. Cities such as Madrid (Spain), Los Angeles (USA), Bogotá (Colombia) and Santigo (Chile) have already hosted the festival in previous editions and may host it again in the future. In 2024 this is the official calendar of the "Primavera Sound" festivals at an international level:
Barcelona, Spain (29 May - 02 Jun)
Porto, Portugal (06-08 Jun)
Montevideo, Uruguay (21 Nov)
Buenos Aires, Argentina (23-24 Nov)
Asunción, Paraguay (29 Nov)
São Paulo, Brazil (30 Nov- 01 Dec)
At the time of writing this article, "VIP Full Festival" tickets (for 3 days) are already sold out, with a few (few) "Full Festival" tickets (for 3 days) remaining.
(link to the official Festival page: https://www.primaverasound.com/pt/porto)
15/16 e 22/23 JUN 2024 | Parque Tejo, Lisboa
ROCK IN RIO LISBOA
The Lisbon edition of this iconic festival (originating in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), will, once again, be organized over two consecutive weekends. In 2022, Parque da Bela Vista received 287 thousand people over 4 days. It did not take place in 2023, as it is only organized every two years. But the 2024 edition will be very 'special': it celebrates its 20th anniversary and will take place in a new location: Parque Tejo.
This year's lineup is no exception to the usual rule of big international and national names: Ed Sheeran, Scorpions, Evanescence, Extreme, James, Europe, Ivete Sangalo, Xutos & Pontapés, Fernando Daniel, Carolina Deslandes, Anselmo Ralph, Blind Zero, Ornatos Violeta , Plague & AIDS, The Legendary Tigerman, among others.
It's a festival full of history and stories, maintaining the philosophy and message of its founder, Roberto Medina: "I realized that the weapons I have to make the world a little better are music and the festival. It's what I know how to do well .”
(link to the official Festival page: https://rockinriolisboa.pt/)
28-29 JUN 2024 | Aterro Beach, Leça da Palmeira, Matosinhos
BEACH PARTY by NOVA ERA
This is one of the biggest ‘beach parties’ in Europe, a true pilgrimage mecca for lovers of electronic music festivals and/or festival environments with beach, sea and lots of sun in the mix.
This event has already had several prestigious national sponsors - EDP (from 2007 to 2018), Galp (2019 and 2020), Brisa (2022) - with Nova Era emerging in 2021 and repeating the same in 2023 and 2024.
The festival takes place at Aterro North Beach, in front of the old Petrogal refinery, in Leça da Palmeira, Matosinhos. The 2024 edition welcomes the following artists as headliners: Hardwell, Timmy Trumpet, Oliver Heldens, Will Sparks, among many others.
(link to the official Festival page: https://radionovaera.pt/)
05 - 06 JUL 2024 | Saint John Beach, Costa da Caparica
SUMOL SUMMER FEST
As announced on its official page: «... this annual celebration of the arrival of summer has been taking place since 2009 with music, but also with the sea always at hand and urban culture always present. This is how, over its 15 years of existence, Surf, Skate, Art and Dance joined Music to offer a unique Festival experience.”
This year's edition will feature Morad, Teto, Asap Twelvyy, Nenny, Joint One & Yung Juse, Offset, Wiu, Lon3r Johny, Yendry, King Bigs, among others.
(link to the official Festival page: https://sumolsummerfest.com/)
9, 10, 14, 19, 21, 26, 27, 28, 30 e 31 JUL 2024 | Hippodrome Manuel Possolo, Amphitheater Parque Marechal Carmona and Gardens of the House of Stories Paula Rego, in Cascais
AGEAS COOL JAZZ
The author of these lines feels a special appeal for this Festival... where he has never been. The wave of jazz, blues, soul, rock&blues... the spaces where you can hear the concerts... Cascais... the program that extends over three weeks... and the production that, edition after edition, brings to this Festival several renowned national and international names. Now notice the alignment below:
Did you notice? This year's edition (19th) will feature Jamie Cullum, Diana Krall, Morcheeba, Chaka Khan, joined by Dino D'Santiago, Maro and many others. Truly... cool!
(link to the official Festival page: https://ageascooljazz.pt/)
11 – 13 JUL 2024 | Passeio Marítimo de Algés, Oeiras
NOS ALIVE
This is one of the festivals where - since its first edition in 2007 (still as "Oeiras Alive!" - the most well-known names in the international pop/rock music scene have visited. Note these names: Pearl Jam, The Smashing Pumpkins and Linkin Park (all in its 1st edition), Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Metallica, The Prodigy, Placebo, Faith No More, Coldplay, Foo Fighters, The Stone Roses, The Cure, Radiohead, Imagine Dragons, Pixies, Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails , Primal Scream, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Arctic Monkeys, Queens Of The Stone Age, Machine Gun Kelly, among others.
This year's edition will feature Arcade Fire, Smashing Pumpkins (a return), Dua Lipa, Pearl Jam (another repeat presence), among other names.
(link to the official Festival page: https://nosalive.com/)
17 – 24 JUL 2025 | Lake Idanha-a-Nova
BOOM
IMPORTANT NOTE: this Festival will not be held this year (2024), as it is only organized every 2 years, on the full moon in July or August. Take note of the date of the next edition: July 17th to 24th, 2025.
'Boom' began as a party of friends in 1997, in a forest between Setúbal and Alcácer do Sal, when these friends sought to replicate the 'Goa trance' movement in Portugal. Today 'Boom' is a multicultural and independent international event, which attracts around 150 nationalities to Idanha-a-Nova, welcoming more than 40,000 people to the most recent events.
It is a true multidisciplinary festival, as it crosses different forms of art, such as music, painting, sculpture, ‘land art’, interactive installations, video art, plastic arts, graffiti. All this is complemented with conferences, workshops, gatherings and various presentations.
(link to the official Festival page: https://www.boomfestival.org/)
18 – 20 JUL 2024 | Cabeço da Flauta Manor, Meco, Sesimbra
SUPER BOCK SUPER ROCK
This is a Festival with a lot of history and stories... Its 1st edition took place in 1995 at Gare Marítima de Alcântara, in Lisbon. In 2008 and 2009 it was organized simultaneously in Lisbon and Porto, on different dates. Between 2010 and 2014 he moved to Meco, in Sesimbra. In 2015 he returned to Lisbon, to Parque das Nações. And finally, in 2019 he returned to Meco, Sesimbra, where he remains to this day.
Relevant and mythical names from the international rock circuit have passed through him, namely: Jesus & Mary Chain, The Cure, Faith No More, The Prodigy, Massive Attack, David Bowie, Simple Minds, Echo & The Bunnymen, Van Morrison, Leny Kravitz, Pixies, Iggy Pop, Marilyn Manson, Primitive Reason, Placebo, Alice in Chains, Keane, 50 Cent, Metallica, Iron Maden, Beck, Pet Shop Boys, Prince, Portishead, Sting, Eddie Vedder, among many others. The 2024 edition will feature Mäneskin, 21 Savage and Stormzy as headliners for its three days.
(link to the official Festival page: https://superbocksuperrock.pt/)
19 – 21 JUL 2024 | Old Madalena Campsite, V.N.Gaia
MEO MARÉS VIVAS
With its first edition in 1999, this Festival takes on its urban characteristics, given its proximity to Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia.
After a few years located next to Cabedelo, in VNGaia, with a magnificent landscape, it moved in 2022 to the old Madalena campsite, a few hundred meters from the beach with the same name, where it remains to this day.
This year's edition will feature Take That, D'Zrt, D.A.M.A. and Syro on the 1st day, followed by Ben Harper, James Arthur, Rag'n'Bone Man and Marisa Liz on the 2nd day and with Snow Patrol, Louis Tomlinson, Ornatos Violeta and António Zambujo to close the Festival... with tides very alive!
(link to the official Festival page: https://maresvivas.meo.pt/pt)
20 – 27 JUL 2024 | Sines e Porto Covo
FESTIVAL MÚSICAS DO MUNDO
FMM is a music festival held in the municipality of Sines, organized by its City Hall. Created in 1999, it always presents a diverse program, appropriately framed in historical and urban settings of great beauty. Its scope focuses heavily on the so-called 'world music', but it always seeks to transcend it, opening its program to folk, jazz, alternative music, fusion and urban music.
In 23 editions (1999-2023) the festival received around 1,500,000 spectators, held 730 concerts, in which more than 3,800 musicians performed, from more than 100 countries. The program for the 2024 edition features the following artists: Samba Touré, Mayra Andrade, Eliades Ochoa, and the Portuguese Três Tristes Tigres, Salvador Sobral, JP Simões, among many others of various nationalities.
(link to the official Festival page: https://www.fmmsines.pt/)
2025 (on dates to be defined) | In location to be defined
ANDANÇAS
NOTE: the Andanças Festival is now organized every 2 years. Having been organized on 27-30 July 2023, the next edition will only take place in 2025 with dates and location to be announced.
The charismatic “Andanças” is, in its genesis, more than an international festival of traditional music and dance. ‘Andanças” is based on four pillars:
Dance and Music (social dances as a festive form of social cohesion, recreation of tradition, learning from each other);
Volunteering (artists and volunteers, contributing to the common good, independent of political, commercial and financial powers);
Community (building a sense of community with populations, contributing to local development); and
Environment/Sustainability (creation and maintenance of its own aesthetics and ethics, creating a pollution-free space, experimenting and disseminating good social, economic and environmental practices).
Organized by the PédeXumbo Association, it began in Évora, in 1996, for one hundred and a half participants. In 1997 and 1998 it moved to the Fraguinha campsite, where it became a unique festival, in its concept, in our country. Between 1999 and 2010 it took place in the village of Carvalhais, a place where it acquired a national and international dimension, with many hundreds of artists and thousands of participants. Since then, it has passed through the Póvoa e Meadas Dam and Castelo de Vide (2013-2018). Since 2021, the festival has been organized in the village of Campinho, in Reguengos de Monsaraz, 3 km from the banks of Alqueva, the largest artificial side in Europe, in the heart of Alentejo.
It usually has a wide and diverse program of dance, music and other arts workshops, along with nights full of dance concerts, with bands from all over the world. And much, much, much more to experience and enjoy in community!
(link to the official Festival page: http://www.andancas.net/)
07 – 10 AUG 2024 | White House Manor, São Teotónio, Odemira
MEO SUDOESTE
“Sudoeste” was born in 1997, being one of the best-known summer festivals in Portugal. It has always had its base at White House Manor ("Herdade da Casa Branca"), close to Zambujeira do Mar, with which it has always been associated, even though it is a few kilometers away.
Internationally recognized artists have performed on its stages, such as: Portishead, Primal Scream, Muse, Marilyn Manson, Oasis, Faith No More, James, Blur, Placebo, Peter Murphy, Alanis Morissette, Beck, The Cure, The Prodigy, Daft Punk , Madness, Shawn Mendes, David Guetta, among others.
The 2024 edition features as headliners: Martin Garrix, Tems, Don Toliver, Charlotte de Witte, Anitta, Alok and Da Weasel, among other names.
(link to the official festival page: https://festivalsudoeste.com/)
14 – 17 AUG 2024 | River Beach of Taboão, Paredes de Coura
VODAFONE PAREDES DE COURA
Festival with 29 years of existence (began in 1993), is one of the oldest of the current main summer music festivals. Its scenic setting (river beach) greatly contributes to this, but also a rigorous selection of musical projects that pass through its stages, among which the following stand out: Echo & The Bunnymen, Pulp, The Cult, The Prodigy, Sex Pistols, Primal Scream, Morrissey, Foo Fighters, Pixies, Queens of the Stone Age, The Arcade Fire, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Snow Patrol, Arrested Development, P. J. Harvey, Moorcheba, Stone Temple Pilots, The The, Coldplay, among others.
In recent editions of the festival there has been a greater focus on projects that are not so well known to the general public, but are still sufficient to guarantee the continuation of great attendance and quality at the festival.
The 2024 edition will feature new names, more established names, but also 'old' names from the international pop/rock scene (such as, for example, Jesus & Mary Chain).
(link to the official Festival page: https://www.vodafoneparedesdecoura.com/)
21 - 24 AUG 2024 | Vilar de Mouros, Caminha
FESTIVAL CA VILAR DE MOUROS
This is certainly one of the most iconic and mythical music festivals in Portugal.
History (and legend) says that its birth dates back to 1965, with characteristics of a typical folklore festival, as they were held throughout Minho at that time. In 1968 it expanded its scope to classical music and fado, welcoming musicians and singers such as Zeca Afonso and Adriano Correia de Oliveira. It did not take place during the following two years.
It returned in 1971 with a mythical edition, which became known as the "Portuguese Woodstock", in a clear allusion to the mythical event held in the USA in 1969. It is estimated that more than 30,000 people were present. In this 1971 edition, artists such as Elton John and Manfred Mann took to the stage in Vilar de Mouros, joined by some of the main national pop groups (among which Quarteto 1111 stands out) and also Amália Rodrigues and Duo Ouro Negro, among others. .
In 1982, the 2nd edition of the Vilar de Mouros Festival took place, in this new format, more oriented towards pop/rock, but which still included fado, folklore and classical music. It is the edition in which names such as U2, The Stranglers, Durutti Column, Echo & The Bunnymen, Johny Copeland, The Raincoats, Young Marble Giants are welcomed, joined by the Portuguese Jáfumega, Roxigénio, GNR and also António Vitorino de Almeida and Carlos Paredes.
The 3rd edition only took place in 1996 and the 4th in 1999. Consecutive annual editions followed until 2006. Again an interregnum, now until 2014, in which it is in an annual cycle of editions until today.
The 2024 edition - sponsored by Crédito Agrícola (CA) - will feature Queens of The Stone Age as headliners.
(link to the official Festival page: https://www.festivalvilardemouros.pt/)
Other Festivals:
24 - 25 MAY 2024 | Serralves Park, Porto | NORTH FESTIVAL
26 - 28 JUN 2024 | Praia da Rocha, Portimão | AFRO NATION
27 - 30 JUN 2024 | Loulé | FESTIVAL MED
03 - 10 JUL 2024 | Jardins do Marquês, Oeiras | JARDINS DO MARQUÊS
05 - 07 JUL 2024 | Praia do Relógio, Figueira da Foz | RFM SOMNII
12, 13, 19 and 20 JUL 2024 | Funchal, Madeira | SUMMER OPENING
01 - 11 AUG 2024 | Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon | JAZZ EM AGOSTO
02-04 AUG 2024 | Vagos | VAGOS METAL FEST
08 - 10 AUG 2024 | Vila Praia de Âncora, Caminha | SONIC BLAST
08 - 10 AUG 2024 | Viana do Castelo | NEOPOP
15 - 18 AUG 2024 | Costa da Caparica, Almada | SOL DA CAPARICA
22 - 24 AUG 2024 | Formosa Beach, Santa Maria, Azores | MARÉ DE AGOSTO
28 - 31 AUG 2024 | Portalegre | FESTIVAL DO CRATO
29 - 31 AUG 2024 | Bela Vista Park, Lisbon | MEO KALORAMA
06 – 08 SEP 2024 | Atalaia, Amora, Seixal | FESTA DO AVANTE
06 - 08 SEP 2024 | Coimbra | LUNA FEST
29 - 30 SEP 2024 | Lisbon | SANTA CASA ALFAMA
Well... there's plenty to choose from from North to South... from the Coast to the Interior... on the Mainland and the Islands... Portugal becomes a huge stage during the '(Summer) Festival Season'.
Want to know more about these festivals? Or do you want to add something to this list that deserves to be highlighted here? Then don't hesitate to contact me:
Marco Moura Marques
+ 351 967 035 966
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