1975-2025: This is how different generations have experienced Canet Rock

Barcelona"If you still have a voice when you get home, it means you haven't experienced Canet Rock the way you should have," says the festival's current director, Gemma Recoder. To mark the fiftieth anniversary of a musical event that in 1975 became a major countercultural celebration while Franco was still alive, the documentary is being released. Canet Rock: Before the sun risesDirected by Xavier Sanjuan and produced by Alrevés Productions and 3Cat, the documentary premiered on Monday at the Aribau Cinema and will be broadcast on TV3 this Tuesday. Non-Fiction and it can be viewed on the 3Cat platform.

"Canet Rock is a unique festival because, although it was not held for thirty-five years, it maintains the essence of its first editions. It takes place in the same space, everything happens on a single stage, it's located in the same place, and it maintains the spirit of experiencing a magical night until sunrise.

Canet Rock was the first festival to be born during the dictatorship and also the first to choose to program exclusively bands from the Catalan Countries. It was held from 1975 to 1978, and returned in 2014. Since then, it has also served as a showcase for many Catalan bands. The documentary follows different generations, from a couple who attended the festival fifty years ago and remain faithful to the event, to some young people who are discovering live music for the first time with Canet Rock. The camera seeks to reflect how the festival is above all an experience that goes beyond listening to music. "The festival still has the same spirit of freedom, celebration, and good vibes that it had fifty years ago." "It's a major festival and a place where human rights are championed," Recoder affirms. One of its unique aspects is the mix of different generations: "We program artists for all generations, because many young people come who are experiencing jumping and dancing until sunrise for the first time, but also grandparents with their children and grandchildren," explains the festival director.

Dharma Electric Company was one of the groups that participated in Canet Rock in 1975, and is the only one that has returned in the 21st century. The documentary captures the audience's experience, but also includes how different artists who have performed have experienced it, such as Mushka, Suu, Figa Flawas, The Tyets, Los Catarras, Buhos, and La Fúmiga, as well as historical testimonies from figures like Josep M. Mainat, the festival organizer and one of the artists who performs every year, and the artist himself. It also includes archival footage and the story of what it was like in 1975 when the country didn't even have loudspeakers powerful enough. No powerful acts, no grand stages, no legislation, no experience in this type of festival. Recoder doesn't shy away from criticism, such as the fact that some names are repeated several years in a row. "We have an immense culture and incredibly talented artists, but there are groups that, if we didn't book them, people would demand them. And there are artists who are very good, but perhaps don't fit in at a festival with 25,000 people in the audience ready to party," says the director.

The documentary shows "not only the spectacle on stage, but also everything that happens behind the scenes: the setup, the nerves, the arrival of the audience, the personal stories, and the transformation of the town," the filmmakers explain in a press release. "And, above all, we wanted to capture how this magical day is experienced today."