✿ Sueños de Libertad festival, 17-19 May 2018

Sueños de Libertad said:
Gracies Eivissa!!!

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Baron Wolman said:
A panoramic of the professional main stage waiting for the bands at the Festival Sueños de Libertad in Ibiza. A wonderful local festival in the spirit of Woodstock! -
“Woodstock in Ibiza” Congratulations to the tireless promoter, @adrian_wwp Adrian Rodriguez. He has given the gift of live music to the people of Ibiza!

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Producciones Vikingas said:
Prueba de sonido de The original Wailers en el Festival Sueños de Libertad.
Ibiza se prepara para bailar con los clásicos del reggae en una noche que promete ser memorable.

:arrow: VIDEO
 
The annual Sueños de Libertad festival was back with the most diverse line-up to date featuring an eclectic array of bands covering so many styles, from reggae to rock and everything in between and beyond, including twenty-two names in total.

For its fourth edition not only it changed of dates, from april to may, but also moved from San Antonio to Ibiza Town. The new locations for this year's edition (all of them within walking distance) were the Baluarte de Santa Lucía in Dalt Vila on thursday for the acoustic concerts, the commercial dock of the port on friday and saturday, the renovated Vara de Rey square on saturday afternoon, where the five local bands in the bill played for free, plus Plaza del Parque for Baron Wolman's exposition, which lasted all week.

I was well impressed with the commercial dock and its beautiful views over the old town which, as far as I know, was never used for an event before. The fact the bands were split between two stages, so as soon as one finished the next one started, and that all bands were on time made the whole thing thoroughly enjoyable.

The promoter started booking international artists last year, when he brought Fantastic Negrito and Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, and this time the list expanded to five. Certainly very good news and it says a lot about his desire to continue growing. 7000 people over the three days is a great number but it has the potential to attract much more.

As well as live music, the thee-day music festival also included live street art, food trucks, hippie market and kids area. Actually, there was lots of kids of all ages which can only be positive.

On a curios note, the legendary Rolling Stone photographer Baron Wolman (who spent these days enjoying the island and visiting friends like Tony Pike) was there every day, snapping away and receiving everybody's affection. Always a pleasure talking to him.

Too many bands to mention them all but these were my personal highlights...

Shawn James:

Best known for fronting the dark folk-rock combo Shawn James & The Shapeshifters, the Chicago native and Arkansas resident also self-releases albums under his own name in a more laid-back vein although the darkness is still there.

Accompanied by Sage Cornelius on the fiddle, he brought his blend of blues, rock and folk music and put on a powerful live show that will be remembered for that soulful voice and for the memorable cover of Bill Withers' "Ain't no sunshine" with everybody singing along. Other outstanding moments included the almost unrecognisable cover of Iron Maiden with which he started, "The wanderer" (preceded by Blind Willie Johnson's "Jesus, make up my dying bed" as an intro) or the grand finale with an acapella version of the classic "John the revelator".

People was so impressed he managed to sell all the albums he brought with him. My favorite concert of the whole festival and already on the list of best ones I've seen at the Baluarte de Santa Lucía along with The RH Factor and Medeski, Martin & Wood.

Los Bengala:

Los Bengala from Zaragoza were the first band of the second evening and, due to their early slot, they played in front of a modest crowd. Such a shame as they were easily one of the best bands of the day, probably my favourite. With only a guitar and a drum kit, the duo dressed in leopard-skin shirts delivered their kick-ass rock'n'roll with songs like "El duelo", "Máquina infernal", "Hacerte sufrir", "El guateque", "Siento ardor" or their anthem "Jodidamente loco", with which they finished.

Él Mató A Un Policía Motorizado:

The funny-named Él Mató A Un Policía Motorizado [he killed a motorcycle cop] is one of the most acclaimed bands in Argentina.

Motorizado, Doctora Muerte, Pantro Puto, Niño Elefante and Chatrán Chatrán are their original nicknames and their noise-pop is no less special. The singer said very little between songs but "La noche eterna", "Más o menos bien" or "Chica rutera" said it all.

A dream come true for the many argentinians living on the island and one of the biggest surprises of the festival for me.

Loquillo:

José María Sanz aka Loquillo was back in Ibiza after only seven months since his last show on the island to kickstart his summer tour. The biggest rock star to ever come out of Spain is already 57 years old but his voice continues almost intact and his shows are as energetic as usual. I don't know how many times I've seen him live here and in mainland Spain but I never get tired of hearing once again "Rock'n'roll actitud", "El rompeolas", "Cuando fuimos los mejores", "El ritmo del garaje", "Quiero un camión", "Esto no es Hawaii", "Feo, fuerte y formal", the inevitable "Cadillac solitario", "En las calles de Madrid" and the rest of classics from his four-decade career.

Fantastic Negrito:

The 2017 winner of the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album was back by popular demand after last year's debut at Sueños de Libertad. Being a huge fan of the late Chris Cornell, the fact he chose Xavier Dphrepaulezz to open for a couple of his solo tours and shortly after for the reunion tour of the super group Temple Of The Dog is enough credential for me.

With his charisma and stage presence, not to mention the use of many words in Spanish, the Californian won the sympathy of the audience straight away. We heard songs from his self-titled EP, like "An honest man" or "Night has turned to day", from his awarded first album The last days of Oakland, like "Scary woman", "Working poor", "Lost in a crowd" or "Rant Rushmore", but also brand new material that will be included in his new album Please don't be dead out next month, like the first single "Plastic hamburgers". But it was the spine-chilling rendition of the classic "In the pines" by Leadbelly (also known as "Where did you sleep last night?") the one that made everybody fall in love with his heartfelt gospel-infused blues.

Special mention to the beast behind the drums, a pure joy to see in action. A concert that will be remembered on the island for many years to come.

Vurro:

A little calm after the storm with the best music played by an one-man boogie band wearing a cow's skull I've ever heard. The mysterious Vurro plays the keyboards and drums while he hits the cymbals with his horns and sings about cows. The multi-instrumentalist from Ávila, who is currently recording his first album, seems possessed by the spirit of Jerry Lee Lewis, Screamin' Jay Hawkins and Tom Waits. Some people loved it, some people hated it but his honky-tonk blues didn't leave anyone indifferent, that's for sure. A bit too long for my liking but very funny nonetheless.

Orishas:

Not a fan of the Cuban band but, surprisingly, I actually enjoyed their show and it was impossible not to dance.

Orishas' fusion of hip-hop and traditional Cuban sounds worked a treat. Hits like "Represent" or "A lo Cubano" gave way to some snippets of "Smoke on the water" and "Are you gonna go my way", followed by their curious latin version of "Seven nation army". But the icing on the cake was the cover of Tito Puente's "Oye como va" with the thousands of people in attendance going nuts, dancing and singing. Pure madness.

No wonder it was the concert that pulled a bigger crowd.

Guadalupe Plata:

Guadalupe Plata were one of the main attractions for me. I love them but I can understand that their noisy, distorted blues-rock with screamy vocals might be a bit too much for some. The smoke made it difficult too see the trio from Jaén during most of their show, adding to the intensity of songs like "Hoy como perro", "Huele a rata", "Serpientes negras", "Lorena", "Milana", "Calle 24" or "Baby me vuelves loco". A band that sings about storms, death, eating dogs, cemeteries, rats smell, black snakes... what's not to love? Absolutely delightful.

The Original Wailers:

The 28th of june of 1978 Bob Marley & The Wailers played for the very first time in Spain at the disappeared bullring in Ibiza Town featuring a young guitarist called Al Anderson (the second and last time would be two years later in Barcelona). Fourty years later he was back with The Original Wailers, the band he formed in 2008 with former Wailer Junior Marvin. Although Marvin isn't part of it anymore, Anderson continues paying tribute to the legacy of one of the most influential artists of all time.

Some might say the name is a bit misleading since there isn't any truly original Wailer in the band but it was as good a way as any to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of that much talked-about event. As expected, they played some of the greatest classics from the reggae legend like "Stir it up", "Three little birds" or "Buffalo soldier". Due to the extended length of some of them, we didn't have the chance to hear "Redemption song" or "Exodus" or... but hey, it was fuun-tastic and I couldn't think of a better way to finish the festival.

The big smile on everyone's face while leaving was more than enough confirmation that people had a blast and that all the hard work by the Sueños de Libertad team was well worth it.


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El Kanka and his fans
 
Shawn James setlist:
The number of the beast (Iron Maiden cover)
Flow
The wanderer
The thief and the moon
Ain't no sunshine (Bill Withers cover)
Son of a wolf
Who did that to you (John Legend cover)
Through the valley
Delilah
Hellhound
Hunger
John the revelator (Son House cover)

The Original Wailers setlist:
I shot the sheriff
Stir it up
Could you be loved
Is this love
Three little birds
Buffalo soldier
Jamming
No woman no cry
 
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