Mercat de Música Viva de Vic kicks off its 30th anniversary edition on Wednesday 12th September at the Atlàntida Theatre with a unique concert where musicians with special links to the Market’s history take the stage. Miquel Gil, Núria Graham, David Carabén, Kiki Morente, Chicuelo, Andrea Motis, Marinah, Lluís Gavaldà, Alba Carmona and Mercedes Peón, accompanied by Jaume Manresa on the piano, will all perform together in a live show presented by Dolo Bertran, a groundbreaking event in which the Market stakes its claim as one of the main movers and shakers of the music industry in Catalonia.
From 12th to 16th September more than 70 artists, hand-picked with open and diverse criteria in mind, will appear in Vic, aiming at both public and private-sector promoters and, above all, in an independent and chilled atmosphere. The program also shows the two sides of the MMVV: the market and the festival, with pre-releases and new releases, concerts inviting you to discover new acts and shows for a wider public like those in the Plaça Major and Sucre.
Artists road testing forthcoming releases and showing off brand new discs at the Market include Joan Miquel Oliver, Clara Peya, Ivette Nadal, Chicuelo, Alba Carmona, Xavi Lloses, Joan Colomo, Guillamino, Joana Gomila, Nyandú, Toti Soler and Gemma Humet, Eva Fernández, Alma Afrobeat, Falciots Ninja, Barbott, Marcel Lázara & Júlia Arrey, The Penguins Reggae per Xics, Marc Parrot, Mercedes Peón, Miquel Vilella, Orpheus XXI, Mavica, Salfvman, Sr. Canario, the Calidos Project featuring Nølah, Panellet, The Pinker Tones & Quartet Brossa and Xebi SF.
Clara Peya brings us her eighth album, Estómac (Stomach), with a beguiling mix of jazz, pop and electronic music deconstructing romantic love as we know it. Alba Carmona, ex-vocalist of Las Migas, makes her debut as a solo artist, and Eva Fernández returns to the fray with Yo pregunto (I ask you), a collection of poems by Pizarnik, Storni, Costafreda and Cortázar set to her own music. Poetry also stars in the first joint set by Toti Soler and Gemma Humet, Fins la fi del temps (Till the End of Time), with songs featuring lyrics by Joan Salvat Papasseit, Ovidi Montllor, Maria Mercè Marçal, Joan Vinyoli, Boris Vian and Claude Vence, Jacques Brel, Léo Ferré and Georges Brassens, amongst others.
Flamenco guitar wizard Chicuelo offers us a foretaste of his upcoming album Uña y carne (Hand in Glove), due in November. The Market also hosts the premiere of Joan Colomo’s new songs featuring a band and Joan Miquel Oliver’s follow-up to the acclaimed Atlantis; also Xebi SF and his combo take the wraps off De los delfines sólo nos cuentan maravillas (They Only Tell us Tall Stories about Dolphins) at the Jazz Cava.
After his sojourn with Txarango, Marcel Lázara returns with fellow musical traveller Júlia Arrey, presenting a road diary of simple songs. Another act born out of wanderlust is Perotá Chingó, the Argentinian duo coming back to European stages to offer us their new album at the MMVV, a musical journey titled Aguas (Waters).
The most distinctive Market
Since 1989 Vic has played host to unique projects like this year’s Refugi (Shelter) by Marc Parrot, an intimate, personal set directed by Los Galindos, which breaks the barriers of the stage; Calidos with Nølah, who fuse the blockchain concept with music; and Orpheus XXI, the band of immigrant and refugee musicians from across the Mediterranean.
El Quartet Brossa and The Pinker Tones unveil their new show Leon, winner of the 2017 Puig-Porret Prize, at the Atlàntida Theatre. On the threshold of 2019, the centenary of the theremin, we present this tribute to Leon Theremin, father of the eponymous instrument and one of the forerunners of electronic music. The Brossa string quartet intertwines its own compositions with electronic music under the guidance of the Pinker Tones.
And as an added plus, this year the MMVV has doubled its family music program with both morning and afternoon concerts: Basket Beat, Black Music pels Més Menuts, Reggae per Xics and Xiula all perform on Saturday 15th September.
Plaça Major and Sucre
The biggest arenas at the MMVV offer music in full festival style. Here Dr Calypso launch their farewell tour, you can enjoy Nyandú’s new album and women-fronted acts Paula Valls, Roba Estesa and DJ Txako, and the mystery of Valtonyc’s concert at the Sucre will be revealed. Els Amics de les Arts, Obeses, Els Catarres, Ebri Knight and Smoking Souls round out the program with the widest appeal in Mercat de Música Viva de Vic’s 30-year lifespan.
The Majorcan rapper Valtonyc heads off the lineup on Friday 14th September at the Sucre, followed by Roba Estesa’s protest folk. Smoking Souls bring a memorable day to a close on the same stage. Els Amics de les Arts roll out the hits of their disc Un gran poder (A Great Power) on Friday 14th September at the Plaça, followed by veteran crowd-pleasers Dr. Calypso, who embark on their farewell tour at the MMVV after 30 years in action.
On Saturday at the Plaça Paula Valls sets the ball rolling with her new album I am, a mix of black music and American folk. After their debut in 2015, Nyandú return to the stage with their new disc, and Obeses stop over with us on their tour titled Fills de les estrelles (Daughters of the Stars). DJ Txako, the pioneering female DJ from the Japanese mixed-race scene gets the evening under way at the Sucre, followed by Els Catarres with the brand new songs from Tots els meus principis (All My Beginnings/Principles), and Ebri Knight, performing the straight-talking, hard-hitting tunes from their latest album Guerilla.
Vic, City of Music
In the last 30 years Vic has positioned itself as a true city of music and one of the Catalan music industry’s main hubs for creativity, artists and enterprises. It is here where the two faces of the MMVV meet: the market boosting the business area and the festival which brings together the city, the public and the community. The role that Vic’s own residents and their network of associations have played in the success of the MMVV over these 30 years is acclaimed with a cycle of concerts prior to the Market’s opening in Vic. These shows began in March with Nyandú at the Ram Market, followed by the Zephyr Bones at Vic University, Marc Parrot unplugged at the Casino and Flamingo Tours’ concert in the modern music program at So de les Cases in June.
The cycle continues on 5th July with Matthew McDaid, who plays a show in the Pati de l’Ós of the Seminari de Vic including a celebratory toast with the Market’s artistic director. The MMVV also presents the musical finale of the Nights of Eastern Cinema Festival on 21st July, with a special concert by the Pakistani-French group Markus & Shahzad Santoo Khan. Also, Marcel Lázara & Júlia Arrey perform at the Plaça del Carbó on 22nd July as part of the Jazz Cava program in association with the MMVV.
From 3rd to 16th September the Vic Contemporary Arts Centre (ACVIC) houses a sonic installation by the artist Vincens Vacca. On 5th September the Seminari de Vic inaugurates an exhibition of photos looking back over the history of the Live Music Market, open to visitors throughout September. At the beginning of the month and before the MMVV gets under way the documentary Ciudadano FG: Baila o muere (Citizen FG: Dance or Die, voted best national documentary at the 2017 In-Edit festival) airs at the CineClub, with a round table discussion afterwards joined by the Market’s artistic director.
MMVV, a key trade fair for the Generalitat of Catalonia
In the last five years the Culture Department has worked hard to balance and coordinate the main markets of music and performing arts in Catalonia, aware of their key role as events for meeting and exchange and as ideal platforms for new projects and professional networking. These markets are crucial to the promotion of the different fields of art, as they encourage contracting and expand audiences. In 2015 the Sismògraf in Olot (19th-22nd April) was added to the Mostra in Igualada (12th-15th April), the Trapezi in Reus (10th-13th May), the Fira in Tàrrega (6th-9th September), the Mercat de Música Viva in Vic (12th-16th September) and the Fira Mediterrània in Manresa (4th-7th October), thus completing the map of essential music and scenic arts markets in Catalonia.
Mercat de Música Viva de Vic is the main music market in Catalonia and principal pole of attraction for live music, with an economic impact of 3.6 million euros according to data from the Open University of Catalonia’s 2016 study. The forecast for the 2017 edition exceeds even this record figure, since last year the MMVV succeeded in bringing together bodies with a total budget of €48,490,826, appreciably more than the €43,285,233 achieved in 2016. This has already impacted on contracts signed solely while the Market was running, reaching almost 3 million euros (€2,930,607). Especially important was the rise in the spending power of state bodies, up to €23,527,500 in 2017 from €17,758,558.56 the previous year.
At an important moment for the creative arts in Catalonia, where new musical and entrepreneurial projects are constantly seeing the light of day, the Market continues to spread these new ideas, providing an arena for agreements and collaborations, bringing together emerging projects and boosting the country’s music industry after some particularly difficult years.
The budget for the 30th edition of the MMVV is €826,900.00
