Summer Afternoon: How to Turn a Concept into a Festival and 'Smash It' in the Attempt

The road to La Malagueta draws a smile. It's June, the weather is pleasant, the light takes on a different quality, people begin to shed their winter paleness, and the shadow of a new summer, in one of the best places in the world to experience it, the Costa del Sol, is sensed to be long. This is the context for what happened this Saturday.

In recent years, a concept has been integrated into the lives of the people of Malaga with the naturalness that comes when there is a full agreement that it is something positive for all involved. It goes by the name of "tardeo" and, in brief, it is nothing other than starting the party at five in the afternoon and seeing how far it goes.

This Saturday, in La Malagueta, it went very far. Specifically, until midnight, which was the stipulated closing time for the first edition of Tardeo Summer.

A festival conceived by SUR and Grupo Mundo to merge two ideas that work very well: the tardeo itself and live performances by the best local bands, who played the greatest hits of the 80s and 90s, when music was still music and there was no such scourge as 'autotune', which now turns noisy people into artists.

The result: about 2,000 people filled the arena of the bullring, many hours of partying, a good atmosphere, and wholesome fun that left everyone wanting more.

When you gamble on something new, there is a presumption to consecrate the event in question. Thus began this Tardeo Summer, at four-thirty, in a place groomed for the occasion and with more than enough infrastructure to provide shade before the Malaga breeze cooled the temperature. Señor Mirinda opened, with a display of their repertoire mixing classics with some indie band covers like Lori Meyers or Vetusta Morla.

Money Maker took over on stage, with their known 'shubi-dubi' and 'boogie-boogie' style rock. Songs like 'Tainted Love' and 'Billie Jean' were playing. By this time, in an arena that was filling up more and more, it was already clear that the night would be one to remember. Turning a concept, a way of going out to party, spending a pleasant time with friends, into a festival materialized as a great achievement. To return to that aim of consecrating the event, it was clear that there is plenty of material to withstand future editions.

There was an energy full of authenticity in Tardeo Summer, without giving in to that relativism where everything seems the same. Contributing to this, of course, was the live, quality music. But also an aesthetic far from those places with a minimalist zeal (impossible in a bullring), where everything looks white and complicated names are used for difficult-to-grasp cocktails.

Without VIP areas and unnecessary posturing, but with a bar service featuring top brands and minimal waiting times, the tardeo was taking shape and the arena, around eight in the evening, was already bubbling.

When 'Jump' by Van Halen played, it was time to jump. When the first chords of 'It's my life' by Bon Jovi came on, that too. There were also no concessions for awkward silences or anti-climaxes between band changes and setup logistics. DJ Tony Logan, the disc jockey from the legendary Bobby Logan room, prevented the lows with his songs from then and always.

In this concept of partying while it's still daylight, there's always a critical moment. When night falls, many leave, usually more inebriated than when they entered, each with their reasons or excuses.

There were no dropouts this Saturday. A good sign. The band Alejados took over, followed by 90 Roll. The night was grandly concluded by Electroduendes. They covered a setlist true to the style of Mecano, Hombres G, Loquillo, or Duncan Dhu.

At midnight, the speakers were turned off. More due to noise ordinances than a desire to leave the venue among the audience. It was a successful day that now calls for more.