Throughout the year, especially in the spring and summer there are dozens of music festivals all over Spain that are definitely worth a visit if you are a festival fan. We have put together a small selection of the most famous festivals held in Spain especially for our Babylon Idiomas students. Maybe it can inspire you to plan your trip to one of the Spanish cities and if you like you could even combine with a Babylon Idiomas course in one of our schools in Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Seville or Malaga.

Festimad – Madrid:

Festimad is a huge alternative music festival in Madrid and it usually takes place between April and May. Festimad includes several parallel cultural festivals such as Performa, Graffiti, Universimad o Cinemad, although its central event continues to be the music festival, standing alongside the Festival Internacional de Benicàssim as Spain’s main rock concerts.

Since it was founded in 1995 more than 4000 artists from all over the world have participated and more than 2.5 million visitors have enjoyed this popular festival. The venues are all over the city – during this year’s Festimad there were 70 events in 33 different locations with all kinds of music imaginable – Hip Hop, Jazz, Rock, Pop, Blues, Folk and much more. Although originally it was focused on hard rock and metal music nowadays it is a combination of all kind of music. It is famous for its laid back atmosphere and great audience.

Festival Internacional de Benicàssim:

It focuses mainly on pop, rock and electronic artists, as well as having other elements besides music like short films, theatre, fashion and art. The festival has been noted for being beside a summer resort of artificial beaches, and having bands play later in the day (5pm – 8am) than most festivals. The event is considered a true celebration of freedom and the application of any restrictive and coercive measures is suspended during its celebration. Crowds at Benicassim have a reputation as being among the best on the international festival circuit.

This festival has a strong influence of Indie and Folk Rock but it’s really something for everyone who enjoys big festivals.  Since the first festival in 1995, some of the most notable artists who have played the festival including Paul Weller, Depeche Mode, Beck, Radiohead, Kraftwerk, The Stone Roses, Brian Wilson, Blur, Lou Reed, Oasis, The Chemical Brothers, Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, Morrissey, Sigur Rós, Ride and The Strokes. If you study in Babylon Idiomas Valencia you can easily visit the festival and the city as it is only 80 kilometers below Valencia.

Primavera Sound – Barcelona:

This festival takes place nearby the beach in Barcelona. It is one of the largest music festivals in the country, with an attendance rate of more than 100,000 people over the course of the event in 2010. The festival is noted for its eclectic lineup, focus on independent music, and a showcase for newly established international and domestic acts. The range of musical genres include alternative, indie, electronic, pop, hip hop, dance, folk, jazz, metal, and experimental music. If you are into more alternative styles of music such as Grunge, Independ music, Hardcore, Extreme Rock or Electro this is where you need to go. You can already mark your calendars for 2012 when Primavera Sound will take place from the 30th of May – the 3rd of June.

Creamfields Andalucía – Jerez de la Frontera

This festival, which usually takes place in the hot month of August, is one of the most famous electronic dance festivals in Spain. Some of the best and most popular DJs and bands of Techno and Dance such as The Prodigy, Paul Kalkbrenner, Felix Da Housecat and Paul van Dyk get together for one weekend dance in Jerez de la Frontera to entertain the crowds. Electronic vibes clearly dominate this event, and the real clubber cannot miss this famous Spanish dance festival. The atmosphere is ecstatic and dancing all night long is required. The festival has its origin in the United Kingdom and nowadays takes place in different cities all over the world including Jerez. If you study in Babylon Idiomas Seville or Malaga you can easily visit Jerez for the weekend.

Classic Festivals

Guitar festival of Córdoba

If you are in studying in Babylon Seville the famous Guitar festival of Córdoba is not too far away for a visit. Every year in July, Córdoba basically turns into the “city of the guitar” with various shows and concerts in different city areas – there is definitely something in the air in the city during this time. In the last 31 years this festival has not only established a national but also an international reputation. High-quality performers and guitar teachers enjoy participating every year. There is more than just shows and concerts that make this event unique: guitar students can sign up for classes of all kinds of classical, contemporary, flamenco and modern guitar styles with the best teachers from all over the world.

Jazz Festival San Sebastian

The Jazz Festival in San Sebastian is considered one of the most important Jazz festivals in Spain and is the longest continuously running Jazz Festival in Europe, it had it first edition in 1966!. It is also known in Euskera (local Basque language) as the Heineken Jazzaldia and this year was the 46^th edition of this festival, which always takes place in July for about 5 days. It attracts a lot of visitors including many people on their way home from the Pamplona bull running.  It has established a loyal audience has over the years and people keep coming back because the artistic qualities of the performances are of such a great quality.  There are various stages in the city, some even at the beach and it’s the special groovy yet pleasant atmosphere that people love about this festival. Rumor has it that Woody Allen, who once played on this festival too, comes back every year to enjoy the good music and the great Basque city with it’s marvelous food and drink venues.

Old Music festival Aranjuez (Madrid)

This classical music festival, held in the idyllic village of Aranjuez, nearby Madrid,  even received a prize in 2005 for its outstanding quality, the Excelencia Europea. Up from its first edition, this festival is one the main platforms for the most famous classical artists in Spain. These artists come together to relive the old classical music once forgotten. All over the village there are performances in romantic settings during approximately 2 weeks in May and June. Famous classical artists play together and every year there is a tribute to one of the old masters as well. In 2006 they celebrated what would have been the 250th birthday of Mozart with special Mozart concerts and live solo performances by famous artists. If you study in Babylon Idiomas Madrid you can take the train to Aranjuez which will take about an hour.

Enjoy the festivities

Berber – Madrid.