Unlike the bloated and mis-named public servants in high and powerful office, it is the poets, writers and musicians who can take us on that beautiful 12” journey from our heads to our hearts, thereby shifting us from the endless mundane and upward to the realms of hope and freedom. And if not providing us with a full-on Renaissance-style reset of our consciousness, should we not anyway turn to the entertainers, often unfairly rewarded and relatively undervalued, for at least a brief distraction from the threat of war, be it civil or global, in the basic diet of worldly living?
I’d say we are due for such a shift and will suggest that looking harder and deeper into the quagmire of incessant political sludge will not bring the revolutionary or transcendent results our hearts desire. No, it’s time to refer to those who, throughout history, have been known to think differently, tangentially and other-worldly – suggesting scenarios and outcomes that seem impossible in the everyday streets and corridors of power. Yet through entertainment, enjoyment and repetition, they can bring about social change in a way that can turn blue and red politicians green with envy.
In Portugal, we are well-served by musicians who can distract us from our woes throughout the festa season, which is effectively all-year, but especially noticeable in the warmer months. Portugal’s pimba sound and Quim Barreiros’s bawdy lyrics can’t fail to turn up the corners of our mouths as we shimmy through our local town square, a beer in one hand and a bifana in the other.
At society changing level, Portugal is also well blessed with musical inspiration and power. Think no further than José Afonso, known as Zeca Afonso, the Portuguese singer-songwriter whose song “Grândola, Vila Morena” was the ‘spark’ for the 25th of April Carnation Revolution in 1974, when it was played on the radio and mobilised the armed forces to lead their coup.
Need I say more to impress upon you the vital importance of the arts and creativity when society needs encouragement to change, get up off its knees and head back to the ‘dancefloor of life’? And if music is on the manifesto for mankind, as our belief in the politically-creative becomes increasingly worn, it’s my pleasure to share with you, this week, great news about incoming international artists.
These legends, who seem to be favouring our country in greater numbers, will not only complement Portugal’s already rich music scene, but might also bring back some great memories (and moves) for those of a certain age, who stand the chance of recapturing the life-enhancing and world-changing spirit of the music they have always loved.
At NOS “one of the best festivals in Europe” Alive this year, in July and near Lisbon, you will – at just this one festival – be able to see Foo Fighters, Florence + The Machine, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, (The) Pixies and Lorde. Among these five acts alone, and they are just a tiny sample of what can be enjoyed at the three-day extravaganza, which features tons of bands with more to be announced, there must be so many wonderful memories and feelings of youthful passion and exuberance, waiting to be rekindled!
A month earlier, at Rock in Rio Lisboa, you’ll be able to enjoy Linkin Park, Cyndi Lauper, Cypress Hill and (The) Kaiser Chiefs as well, incidentally, as national favourites Xutos e Pontapés and ‘GNR’ (the band, not the police force). I’m also delighted to see, as part of this almighty line-up, 4 Non Blondes (could you wish for a more prescient tune in these times than “What’s up?”) and soulful-beyond-her-years Joss Stone from my native UK and the county we have in common, Devon.
Interestingly, founder of this event, first in Rio, Roberto Medina said: “I have realised that my weapons to make the world a little better are music and the festival. This is what I know how to do well.”
In a world where nearly everything seems to be being weaponized, this is perhaps among the most forgivable and positive applications, where casualties will have hangovers and ringing ears as their worst injuries – a small price to pay for explosions of goodwill and detonations of unconditional love.
For rock fans, you should note that Iron Maiden are coming to the capital in the summer as part of their ‘Run For Your Lives’ (obviously) tour, and also be aware of the Vagos Metal Fest in August in Vagos (Aveiro district), where metal heads of every kind will descend for five days of leather-clad, ear-splitting joy.
Of particular pleasure to me, if I may indulge for a moment, is the booking of UK funker Jamiroquai, who’s heading to the Cascais Ageas CoolJazz event this summer, where a man known for epitomising cool and visionary for many of us in the 80s will also appear.
I speak, of course, of David Byrne who will be among us, in his unique way, for a standalone show on July 14 at the Hipódromo Manuel Possolo. This performance will feature tunes from his 2025 album ‘Who Is The Sky?’, other solo material and no-doubt, in-demand Talking Heads numbers.
Up in Porto, in June, and the Primavera Sound event will host Gorillaz, Massive Attack and The xx, plus The Viagra Boys, an act I haven’t had the pleasure to encounter, but no doubt upstanding members of the musical community who are keen to perform. In smaller settings, see (and hear) The Weeknd at Estádio do Restelo, Lisbon, in September; Biffy Clyro in February at Sagres Campo Pequeno in the capital, and for contemporary jazz fans a treat in the shape of GoGo Penguin, in May, at the Teatro Tivoli, Lisbon.
Let us then feast on the ‘food of love’ as Shakespeare put it, and enjoy the music these artists are gearing up to bring us in 2026, and the messages and magic contained within it – in a world that might have us believe there is a famine of soul-enriching nourishment. And whilst it’s not true, it turns out that Churchill said, when asked to cut arts funding in the last ‘great’ war, “then what are we fighting for?”
He did say: “The arts are essential to any complete national life. Ill fares the race which fails to salute the arts with the reverence and delight which are their due.”
So let’s salute the artists this year. Buy (yes buy) their music. And go see them live as the great, communal antidote to an increasingly dismal world that appears preoccupied with anything other than the hope, inspiration and joy that musicians can bring to our lives.
Carl Munson’s previous article: Pills, Wills & Thrills – A rough guide to ageing as a 50+ foreigner in Portugal
