From Soho to the Bullring: The "tardeo" Phenomenon is No Longer Just About Bars

"Being groups that can be seen for free in bars or beach bars, it's very gratifying that so many people wanted to pay for tickets to be there." Those are the thoughts of Carlos Medina Lucena, singer of Los Electroduendes, one of the bands at the Tardeo Summer festival, which last Saturday filled the arena of the La Malagueta bullring. Full of good vibes, great music, and more than 2,000 people who wanted to be at the first edition of this event, it has shown that local cover bands not only fill bars with drinks and live music in well-known areas like Soho but are also a big draw in iconic city locations like the bullring. Los Electroduendes, Sr. Mirinda, Alejados, Money Makers, 90 Roll, and DJ Tony Logan were responsible for rocking the venue.

At Tardeo Summer, promoted by SUR and Grupo Mundo with the collaboration of the Diputación de Málaga, more than eight hours of live music were also charitable, as part of the proceeds were destined for local entities such as Fundación Bisturí Solidario, by surgeon César Ramírez, and Fundación Cudeca, dedicated to providing palliative care assistance. "We were very excited to present our proposal at the bullring, a place where great concerts have been held. Also, part of our great satisfaction is having attracted so much public that helps raise money for two good causes such as Bisturí Solidario and Cudeca," evaluates Álvaro Moreno, vocalist of 90 Roll.

Hits from the 80s and 90s like 'One more time', 'Escuela de calor', 'A quién le importa', and 'No puedo vivir sin ti' resonated powerfully in La Malagueta. From above, it was evident that the audience was fully engaged in this grand tardeo: "I have photos with the arena completely full and people very motivated and excited, that was fantastic," details DJ Tony Logan, whose sessions kept the energy up between band changes.

The first band of the afternoon, Sr. Mirinda, was surprised "by the brave ones who arrived there at five in the afternoon." Indeed, tardeo lovers did not want to miss a minute of this festival that lasted until midnight: "I stayed almost until the end and the truth is, even though we play quite a lot around the city, this festival had a lot of pull; there were familiar faces, a good atmosphere, and lots of people... The heat was the least of it," recounts Adolfo Caimán, from Sr. Mirinda.

The rock of 'shubi-dubi' and 'boogie-boogie' with Money Makers unleashed madness among the audience. Also for the musicians. The band's vocalist Denice Daley assures that during their performance "people fled from the shade to stand in front of the stage." Sunglasses, hands up, drink in hand, and nothing else mattered. This festival has marked a before and after in the concept of tardeo, as José Manuel García, from Alejados, says, "in a mythical place in Málaga."