Major Reggae Festival in Valle Gran Rey

A major Reggae event is coming to the port of Vueltas in Valle Gran Rey this Saturday, Sept. 28th 2019 from 8 pm. Several bands will perform during the night. The fifth edition of the 'Reggae Can' festival is touring the Canary Islands and is the largest event of its kind here. This year the theme is 'Reggae Against Plastic' and no single use plastics will be allowed at the event. No cover charge and all are welcome.

A previous 'Reggae Can' event.  Image: eldia.es (click for more info)

Reggae night

Second Gomera Sound Fest

Rock band 'Ni 1 Pelo de Tonto' aka 'N1P' (Archive image)

The second edition of 'Gomera Sound Fest' will take place tomorrow night, Saturday 26th of August 2017, and will feature three bands plus the Canary Islands' most successful DJ, Quique Serra will play a set to finish the night. The bands are 'Kuarembo' (ska/reggae/world music), 'Trezo' (latin pop/rock) and the well known rock band 'Ni 1 Pelo de Tonto'. The event will take place in San Sebastian de La Gomera's main square Plaza de Las Americas and is free of charge.

Fiesta del Carmen 2017 starts today

Summer time is the main fiesta time in the Canary Islands and now it is the turn of the 'Fiesta del Carmen' which is celebrated in many seaside towns, harbours and fishing villages. This fiesta involves a procession by boat and here in Valle Gran Rey, La Gomera, it is one of the major fiestas in the sheer endless fiesta calendar. Carmen is the patron saint of the fishermen of Vueltas harbour where the fiesta is celebrated in the port from this morning and festivities continue all next week. 

The boat procession is today, July 16th 2017, from 5pm and you can join in the fun by just queueing for a place on one of the many participating boats, but be prepared to get wet - not only on the outside - as the drink flows freely. There'll be a fireworks display in the harbour just before midnight tonight, followed by salsa-dancing all night until the early hours of the morning. Highlights on other days include a reggae night with two bands on Thursday, children's amusements, DJs, folklore groups, etc., during Valle Gran Rey's largest fiesta. 

New music festival

A welcome new music festival is being held for the first time in La Gomera's capital San Sebastian this Saturday, September 10th 2015, from 9pm. There will be six bands performing music from from around the world including Reggae, Roots and Rumba (see poster above). The new event called 'Gomera Sound Fest' will be held in the town's main square (Plaza de las Americas) and is free of charge.

Live music returning to Valle Gran Rey

Guitars are for playing - not shelving !
...nice idea, though, spotted in a bar in V.G.R.

There's been a notable and most welcome increase in small live music gigs all around Valle Gran Rrey on La Gomera lately. Some bars such as 'Ramiro's' at the bus station in La Calera, the Cacatua in Vueltas, Manolo's bar 'Teguerguenche' in La Puntilla and the Gomera Lounge in La Playa (they even invested in sound proofing) are hosting live music fairly regularly again and other bars and restaurants have followed suit. La Gomera's best and most eclectic live venue is once again the social club 'Casa La Familia' where they now hold concerts and spontaneous sessions as private parties, but all are welcome to attend and become members for the night. This cosmopolitan place is just off the main track towards the statue along the beach in La Playa, up a bit beside a rough looking builder's yard. Their facebook page usually lists the main events and highlights the bohemian atmosphere with a distinct 70's hippy touch. You never know what may happen there musically, and a few years ago I met a well known jazz musician from the US who joined an impromptu session in dusty Casa La Familia in his expensive suit and was very happy to have found live music in those days when it had almost died here due to the repressive interpretation of some regulations which made it almost impossible to play music.

Local musicians still find it hard though to get paying gigs and legendary music bar and meeting place Bar Maria is still closed and for sale. Also some bars and venues remain fearful of a sometimes over-enforced law and/or punctilious and jealous  neighbours.

The once very promising Valle Luna Festival is still not happening officially again this year, but many musicians and groups such as the 'Gomera Street Band' will descend into Valle Gran Rey in February again this year and will surely find spots and venues to treat us to their performances. 

Overall it appears that the situation has greatly improved but it still is not back to the times when the slogan for the island was 'La Gomera es Musica !'. It is time to take the dust off the 'Musicians Welcome' signs - after all it simply is good business and most tourists and visitors are forever asking for live music.

We're keeping our fingers crossed while enjoying a bit of music again...

I've newly included an Events tab in my menu bar above. This will direct you to a website listing some events on La Gomera. It is not a complete list of events here and i found it to contain some errors (e.g. location of bars, etc), but hopefully they will correct that and improve this welcome service. 

Reggae & Dub night on La Gomera

As part of the Fiestas Lustrales there will be a Reggae, Roots and Dub night in San Sebastian de La Gomera this Saturday, Sept. 21st 2013. The event is free of charge, begins at 11pm on the main square (Plaza de las Americas) close to the beach and hosts  two bands from Tenerife: Eclipse Reggae and Pachumba. Below two videos to give you a taste: