Urban music takes center stage at the most expansive edition of the B Festival
If Festival B's DNA lies in musical discovery, this year it went a step further by opening the door to the youngest artists on the local scene, mixing flamenco, emo, hyperpop, and many other words with artists like BBTrickz, Rojuu, Judeline, Amore, and Disobey. Always new sounds flowed from expectant calm to festive chaos in an energetic cocktail seasoned with many firsts, both for the artists debuting their shows last night and for the nearly 10,000 attendees yesterday. Among them were many festival newcomers and just as many dressed up in out-of-office styles among a young audience where it was hard to find anyone over 30 who wasn't at the venue for work.
With a more European schedule than usual in these parts—much to the delight of the neighborhood—the music kicked off at 5 p.m. with the vibrant Ouineta, who, dressed in white, pink, and electric blue, offered a sense of boldness accompanied by an imaginative dance troupe, as expected, accompanying the woman responsible for creating choreographies for Rigoberta Bandini and Amaia. The Catalan singer decided some time ago to embark on her own musical project, and from there came the cheerful, mainstream flavor that emanates from DMs and its chorus "tan, tan, tan...", Otra cara (Another Face)—for which she invited Jimena Amarillo on stage—and Bikini Kill , a kick in the butt of those who criticize her style, much praised by the early risers.
BB Trick during his performance this Friday at the B Festival
Gisela JaneMore forceful was Disobey's proposal, four voices and a DJ who played drill with a hard drum beat and lots of sirens and who served as a link between Ouineta and Amore, languid bedroom pop and ethereal melodies like Last María on Earth , which the keyboardist with a conservatory education performed without any help on stage.
Dressed in strict black and accompanied by three dancers in white, María Moreno didn't forget to call for a free Palestine before performing Infinity in a performance where the audience seemed left wanting to dance a little more, as demonstrated in Delirio or the castanets of Querió.
Greta, the third of the Farelo sisters to become an artist, continued the party with a traditional band (guitar, bass, drums and keyboard) to offer pop, salsa, reggae, ballads, some unreleased songs and, as a bonus, a version of Paulina Rubio's "Ni una sola palabra" at a slower, psychedelic pace based on keyboards and autotune. Moved and happy, Greta had to wipe away a tear as she sang "codo con codo" , her first single, before Mushkaa came on stage to sing a duet of "Seña de respeto" (Sign of Respect) and round off the party, which also included a tribute to the flotilla hijacked by Israel.
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The energy of little BB Trickz, Spain's baddest girl, took over the festival as night fell, raising the barre from the opening Bambi of the artist's first performance at the Raval del Rey home. "Viva Catalunya!" she shouted as she opened her provocative show, followed by singing, "I smoke more weed than coke, Lana, I am a king. Who does that bitch think she is?"
Alone on stage, barefoot and writhing in sexual poses while a dozen people crowded behind the DJ table, BB Trickz strung together words at such speed that they became incomprehensible while encouraging the audience to dance “because there is only one life” as a preface to One Note , accelerated to the point of paroxysm.
More deliberate was Leche , a track from her new EP for which the term explicit falls short, although the frenzy soon returned with Pepa or Maldita , where she declares that "I also know how to be a whore." Provocative in spirit, much more punk than some retirees still on tour, Belize Kali—who knows what it's like to perform at Coachella—ended the concert abruptly while admitting her nervousness. "I always wanted to play in Barcelona," she declared.
The cauldron continued to boil with Rojuu, who performed with a Doraemon headband strapped to his forehead and many stories of heartbreak to tell, using vocal distortion. Roc Jou, who at 22 has released 10 albums, demonstrated his power of attraction with songs ranging from emo to hyperpop. Completely at ease, he shouted "Viva Camela, hijos de puta" (Long live Camela, sons of bitches) before covering the Madrid band's K tiene K no tenga yo (K has K no tenga yo), and he broke the bank by accelerating the rhythm with a quarter-note bass drum with Umi, 22 , and Twilight , sung along and jumped in massively.
There were no shortage of songs from his new album iNuiNuiNu (dog, dog, dog in Japanese), such as the rapped "Luck ," where he brags about having 10 Nintendos and, instead of a girlfriend, "an ex." Or the drill "Quién ama mi alma" from the final stretch, which he sang sweaty, torso exposed after not stopping moving throughout the entire performance, which concluded at full speed with the hyperpop of "A tu lado stare," turning into a prolonged techno party. with the audience dancing wildly to the commands of the Barcelona musician.
From the ashes left by Rojuu in its wake, Judeline emerged just after 10 p.m., swinging on a swing in the middle of the stage to start the show based on her first album, Bodhiria , which has turned her into a budding star with its flamenco-pop and spiritual airs that end up becoming love stories.
In her second performance at Festival B, the artist from Los Caños de Meca featured a trio dancing on stage, but above all, she relied on her voice, which stood out from the opening "Tánger," always accompanied by two musicians who played keyboards, bass guitar, and drums. The result combined flamenco vocals with pronounced percussion in "mangata" or faster ones in "Tu et moi," where she adds verses in Portuguese.
Shakira and Alejandro Sanz's torture crept into the evening more gently than in the original, in keeping with the syrupy "Heavenly ," which filled the Forum with lights. And the audience filled it with voices when they sang along to the Latin American-inspired "Joropo, " before returning to electrified flamenco styles with the lullaby "4 Angelitos" and the "tabernaria" "Canijo ."
The surprise came in the final stretch of the performance when Judeline sang the verses of her new song, " Com você ," giving way to Amaia, who completed it as a preview of her performance this Saturday at the festival. "Zarcillos de plata ," accompanied by thousands of arms gently swaying in the air, brought the performance to a close, during which Judeline didn't forget to sing "Viva Palestina," which has become the unofficial motto of the festival and the entire city.
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