Rock and flamenco concerts to bid farewell to summer in Vélez-Málaga

The town hall has announced the ‘Noches del Cerro’ for 25 and 26 September, starting at 9pm: two evenings with free entry and a variety of musical performances.

The councillor for culture, Alicia Ramírez, said, “We want to bring the cultural summer to a close in a special way, reviving the Auditorio del Cerro as a venue for music and providing a platform for artists and genres that have a great deal to offer but are not always featured in our programme,” said Ramírez.

The programme will therefore combine an opening night featuring a guest performer with a second night centred around a group performance.

On Friday 25th it will be the turn of José Luis Jaén, a singer from Almeria with a career spanning several decades and a style that blends flamenco, copla, bolero, tango, jazz and other traditional genres. The artist gained wider recognition after reaching the final in two series of Canal Sur’s programme ‘Tierra de Talento’ and subsequently appearing on TVE’s ‘Cover Night’.

Throughout his career, Jaén has shared the stage with or collaborated with artists such as Zenet, María Peláe, Arcángel, Estrella Morente, Tomatito and Israel Fernández.

The second night will have a more local flavour. On Saturday 26, ‘Concierto en el Paraíso’ will take place, an event conceived as a tribute to musicians and bands linked to Vélez-Málaga and the surrounding area who have been performing for years in genres such as rock, blues, soul and jazz.

The line-up will feature Funkonauts, Jazz Fusión All Stars, La Custom Band and Estación Zero, as well as musicians such as Antonio Lagos and Javier Paixariño.

The aim is to bring together performers from different generations and styles on the same stage and to celebrate a part of the town’s contemporary musical history.

One of the standout participants is Javier Paixariño, a musician based in Vélez-Málaga with an extensive professional career. According to the council’s press release, throughout his career he has collaborated with artists such as Kevin Ayers, Gerardo Núñez, Miguel Ríos, Joaquín Sabina, Luis Eduardo Aute, Víctor Manuel, Ana Belén and Luis Pastor.

The evening will also include a special tribute to Eduardo Arroyo, co-founder of La Custom Band who passed away recently, during the band’s performance. The musical direction and coordination will be in the hands of Jesús Aranda, a musician and director of the Axarquía School of Modern Music, who has been involved in organising the event and bringing the artists together.

The event will draw to a close with a joint jam session featuring the musicians who have performed throughout the evening. This will bring to an end two days of events designed to expand the cultural offering at the end of summer and once again put the Cerro de San Cristóbal in the spotlight as a venue for live music.

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