Image: Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Madrid
Madrid’s Veranos de la Villa festival will spend the summer revisiting the songs and legacies of six major music figures through a series of tribute concerts presented across the city. The programme, announced by the City of Madrid, brings together jazz, pop-rock, chanson française and singer-songwriter repertoires in performances dedicated to Miles Davis, Antonio Vega, Phil Collins, Edith Piaf, Billie Holiday and ABBA.
The 42nd edition of Veranos de la Villa is organised by Madrid’s Department of Culture, Tourism and Sport. According to the festival announcement, the concerts are framed as a way to rediscover well-known musical catalogues “from a new perspective,” with national and international artists interpreting the material in different formats and venues. The series begins on 18 July and runs through 28 August.
The first concert, ‘Sketches of Latin Miles’, takes place on 18 July at 10 pm in the central courtyard of Conde Duque in Madrid. It is described as a Latin jazz performance marking the centenary of Miles Davis’s birth. The show features a group of Cuban musicians with established careers and collaborations, and is said to move from Latin jazz into other sonic territories while using Davis, the influential American trumpeter and composer, as its guiding thread.
Another concert at Conde Duque, on 28 July at 10 pm, pays tribute to Antonio Vega with ‘El sitio de mi recreo’. The performance brings together musicians from Vega’s regular band, including Basilio Martí on piano and keyboards, Billy Villegas on bass and Sefo on guitar, alongside artists and friends who shared the stage with the Madrid-born songwriter. The listed guests include Carlos Tarque, Carlos Goñi, Teo Cardalda, Shuarma, Anni B Sweet and Cira.
The same venue hosts ‘The Phil Collins Experience’ on 30 July at 10 pm. The festival describes the act as a tribute band with 12 musicians, a carefully staged production and a sound intended to remain faithful to the original recordings and live energy of the British artist’s solo career. The concert is presented as a tour through some of Collins’s best-known songs.
The programme then moves to the IES San Isidro for two evening concerts at 9.30 pm. On 12 August, French vocalist Séverine Toffano performs a tribute to Edith Piaf, accompanied by piano and accordion from Stéphane Escoms. The set is expected to include songs such as ‘Non, je ne regrette rien’ and ‘La vie en rose’. Three days later, on 15 August, American singer T.J. Jazz presents a Billie Holiday tribute, offering an intimate selection of signature songs and lesser-known moments from Holiday’s life and repertoire.
The final concert in the series is a free performance by the Orquesta Sinfónica y Coro RTVE on 28 August at 9.30 pm in the auditorium of Parque Enrique Tierno Galván. The ensemble will salute ABBA by reworking songs including ‘Chiquitita’ and ‘Dancing Queen’ in symphonic arrangements for orchestra and choir. The festival’s tribute concerts are scheduled at Conde Duque, IES San Isidro and Parque Enrique Tierno Galván in Madrid.
