Tenth anniversary with identity

Find a festival that preserves a personality as marked as Atlantic Fest It is almost a luxury. While many posters seem to be built from the same names, the Vilagarcía de Arousa festival reaches its tenth edition claiming precisely the opposite. A unique identity that guarantees the type of content, even if some names on the poster are, a priori, unknown. This bet may not attract the widest audience, but it will attract the most curious and (above all) those who come with the confidence of knowing that, beyond the names, the experience will be worth it.

Those in charge of inaugurating this very special edition were swimmerin a concert that also functioned as a celebration of his return to the stage. The band showed that they have not returned only to relive the past, but because they still have a lot to say. Then came a bet that rarely fails, that of Bizarre Love Trianglewho have so many stages behind them that it would be surprising to see them offer a bad concert. Forceful and precise, they once again demonstrated that they are capable of leading any festival day. The new songs coexisted naturally alongside those from previous stages, confirming that the group continues to evolve without losing its essence.

And if Triangle represent consolidation, Carolina Durante They are going through the best moment of their career. And it shows. Pogos, constant choirs and a connection with the public that turns each concert into a collective celebration. The interesting thing was to see that its audience already transcends generations. Among the attendees were teenagers, thirty-somethings and older audiences, all singing the songs with identical intensity. Even Diego’s family, arriving from Madrid, did not want to miss an appointment that many of those present will probably soon forget. The finishing touch of the day was in the hands of Two Door Cinema Club (in the main photo), who responded with an elegant, measured and professional concert. An event lasting more than an hour that made a good part of the audience travel to another stage of their life and that culminated with a tremendous “What You Know.”

Saturday promised to be a test of endurance. Sun, demanding temperatures and a practically uninterrupted program for those who decided to experience the festival from beginning to end. With that scenario, Alonso was the first to take on the challenge, presenting one of the poster’s most personal projects. A delicate concert, that of the former Napoleon Solo, who alternated already known songs with several advances still under construction (as the artist himself recognized), in an exercise of courage and confidence in his proposal. One of the great virtues of this edition was precisely the distribution of the schedules. Beyond caches or positions on the poster, almost all the artists seemed to occupy the time of day that best fit their proposal. It was the case of Nacho Vegaswho displayed his entire universe with a concert full of emotion, commitment and intensity, culminating in a finale shared with Abraham Boba that put the finishing touch to one of the most special and emotional performances of the day.

The continuation was carried out by Sound Depression. The project led by Marcos Crespo delivered an impeccable performance, supported by a band that multiplies the strength of songs that already shine in the studio. There was even time for an improvised dance by one of the attendees, leaving one of the most fun and surreal moments of the weekend. The spread gained strength with the appearance of the British Shame. Their proposal may not reinvent post-punk, but it doesn’t need to either. On stage everything takes on another dimension: overflowing energy, constant tension and an almost insulting ability to drag the audience along. If Shame quickly conquered the public, Carlos Ares He confirmed that he already plays at home wherever he performs. Two years after passing through the secondary stage of the same festival, he returned as one of the biggest names on the poster. His connection with the people was absolute and, accompanied by a band that could well be defined as The Avengers of music, he signed one of those concerts that justify a ticket in themselves. There was no song left without singing or moment without dancing, making it clear that this project seems to have no ceiling.

The Planets They offered, as so many other times, a concert designed for those who know their universe perfectly. The followers enjoyed it with devotion; those who don’t connect with his proposal probably found it the most demanding moment of the weekend. Of course, both of them will hardly be able to blame them for a performance executed with the solvency and personality that they have been demonstrating on stage for decades. The closing was carried out by Franz Ferdinandwith whom there was no disparity of opinions. The Scots sought the complicity of the public from the first minute, they even dared with the Galician and linked a practically infallible repertoire. Another exercise in nostalgia, yes, but also a demonstration of those reasons that continue to mark them as one of the great names of European indie, without which the passage of time has barely worn out a repertoire that continues to function as it did on the first day.

As a reward for those who still had strength (and for those who still wanted more), the festival reserved a short epilogue with free concerts by Aiko the Group and Joe Twilight. Two performances for the brave, both because of the high temperatures and because they are fixed on vermouth time. The trio, accompanied on this occasion by Elena (Shego) on drums, once again demonstrated why they are one of the most fun, hard-hitting and forceful bands on the national scene. Joe Crepúsculo, for his part, did exactly what he does best: turn the venue into a dance floor without giving up the quality of a repertoire that continues to work perfectly live. Beyond the concerts, the work of Big Ossoin charge of providing a soundtrack to the waits and the scene changes during both main days and responsible for ensuring that the festival never lost its pulse.

And so, on what was already its tenth anniversary, Atlantic Fest made it clear that having personality and continuing to be a winning bet. Without palliatives. A musical experience where location and atmosphere add up to as much as the poster itself, turning each edition into a refuge for those who understand festivals as something more than a succession of concerts. Because here the music continues to come first, but also the company, the atmosphere and a privileged enclave such as the beautiful Praia da Concha.