Our wonderful friend Jorge (our Portuguese professor) loves live music of almost any variety. Jorge had been telling us and other students in his classes that Festival Med in the nearby town of Loulé is an amazing event, he was going and offered to have us join his group if we were interested.
The festival offers three days of world music spread out over five plus stages in addition to a variety of food and entertainment from all over the globe. This sprawling event takes place in historic Loulé which is closed off for the party. Loulé is an ancient city (founded in 1249) and provided jaw dropping stage backdrops such as castles and cathedrals.
Compared to music events in Oregon the festival was a crazy bargain. A three day pass purchased in advance is €30, beers come in two sizes for €1.50 or €3, and foodstuff ranges from €3-8 for most options.
The first day started with sparse crowds and was very casual. It was just us and Jorge in our group and we started the event by peeking into the Jazz stage. From there we’d start our whirlwind tour of the world. One of today’s highlights was Amadou & Mariam (also known as The Blind Couple From Mali, seriously):
Jorge had two other (more advanced) students join us for the trip on day 2. It was fun to hear people who have been through B levels speak, and of course nice to become acquainted with some new friends. On Saturday the crowds were increasing in size.
Not all of the music was to our tastes, but each new act was a crazy adventure. One of my favorites of the day was a duo from Japan called Tomoro, this linked video showcases many of the songs they performed at the festival!
The final day of the festival was definitely more crowded. Only one other student of Jorge’s joined us and I spent a portion of the day trying to convince him that we are not CIA agents (I don’t think I succeeded). We also briefly met up with our friend Anna but due to the noise and chaos it wasn’t the best time to be in a medium sized group.
Oddly enough one of our favorite acts of the day was an American songstress, Sarah Mccoy:
We also loved a Spanish duo, Caamaño & Ameixeiras who spoke a more ancient form of Portuguese which was very interesting to listen to.
Overall the whole event was a wild time, if you visit us when it is happening in the future you should be prepared to get your festival on!
