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Estrella Damm celebrates its 150 years with 45 concerts in venues across the territory
Estrella Damm wants to celebrate its 150 years away from the format of a single big party. The brand is launching Directes Estrella Damm 150, a series of 45 concerts that will tour venues in Catalunya, the Balearic Islands, Castellón and Andorra between 18 September and 30 October. The idea is to focus on live music and the spaces where many artists begin to build their audience.
The project is being promoted together with the Associació de Sales de Concerts de Catalunya, which is also celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. This is no minor detail: the series seeks to champion the role of venues as local cultural facilities, places where music is not experienced from afar or in a festival format, but a few metres from the stage.
The programme will mix established artists and emerging acts, with styles ranging from pop to indie, electronic music, urban music and fusion. The announced names include Miki Núñez, Queralt Lahoz, Macaco, Quimi Portet, Suu, Alfred García, El Petit de Cal Eril, Maruja Limón, Joe Crepúsculo, Svetlana and Al·lèrgiques al Pol·len, among others.
The series will begin on 18 September with three simultaneous concerts: JULS at Sala Liverpool de Be Disco, in Molins de Rei; Joe Crepúsculo at Club Mutante, in Palma; and Ketekalles at Unnic, in Andorra la Vella. From there, the programme will move through large and small spaces, from landmark venues to local establishments that sustain the scene throughout the year.
The concert network will add more than 22,000 places and will pass through venues of different formats, such as Razzmatazz, Salamandra, La Paloma, Es Gremi, Els Pagesos, Terra and Slàvia. The aim is not only to fill capacity, but to spread cultural activity across different territories and remind people that venues are much more than a place to buy a ticket.
The closing event will be on 30 October at Sala Apolo in Barcelona, with a final party whose line-up still has names to announce. That closing will have a symbolic element: Apolo is one of the city's most important venues and neatly sums up the spirit of the series, between musical history, nightlife and popular culture.
For Barcelona and its surrounding area, Directes Estrella Damm 150 arrives at a time when venues need visibility, audiences and recognition. Major festivals fill headlines, but much of the music is made in smaller places, with technicians, programmers and loyal audiences who sustain the scene when there are no mass spotlights. Celebrating an anniversary like this may seem like a brand campaign, but it also leaves a more interesting interpretation: if venues are alive, the city listens better.