More stages and Mishima's closing concert at the Vic Live Music Market

Barcelona"We are three people from Vic who have been closely linked to the Mercat since we were very young, as audiences, as musicians, and now as artistic directors," explains Joan Rial, one of the three new artistic directors of the Vic Live Music Market (MMVV). Rial, along with Jordi Casadesús and Rubén Pujol, won the competition to take charge of the strategic fair. The three detailed this Wednesday the program for the 37th edition of the MMVV, which will take place from September 17 to 21. It will open with a performance by Andalusian artist Rocío Márquez and will include some seventy concerts by The Ludwig Band, Maria Arnal, Mazoni, Sidonie, Maika Makovski, Hadas, Ferran Palau, Biznaga, Lorena Álvarez, Triquell, 31 Hunger and Ouineta, in addition to the premiere of Durruti, I love you, a musical by Guillem Caballero and writer Tuli Márquez about the anarchist leader Buenaventura Durruti (1896-1936).

At the beginning of the presentation, Rial recalled Marc Lloret, who died earlier this year. Lloret, Mishima's keyboardist, was the market's director from 2010 to 2024 with Oriol Roca, and his legacy is clearly present, especially in the organization of the professional side. "Marc and Oriol have left a consolidated market. We're here to build on very solid foundations," said Rial.

Despite the commitment to continuity in professional activity, which maintains L'Atlàntida as its central axis, and in the artistic eclecticism—which "is part of the market's identity," as Rial says—there are some changes that reflect the personality of the management triumvirate. For example, the addition of new venues, such as the Church of Los Dolores and the Plaza de la Catedral, and the programming of each venue according to a more defined artistic direction. "It's about creating the necessary contexts for the groups to shine," explains Casadesús. In this sense, the Jazz Cava will primarily host jazz and experimental offerings (Alba Pujals, Albert Cirera, Cristopher Pérez Quartet), and the Piedad Church will host the poetic electronica show by res_ & Corla Canigó. The Sucre remains the venue, but with a redefinition. Friday will be a space for the Catalan scene. queer, Fades, Svetlana Ouineta and La Francesssa, and on Saturday for the electronic music of VVV [Trippin'you], Ylia and Cora Novoa.

Another novelty is the recovery of the closing concert on Sunday in the Plaza Mayor, which this year will be led by Mishima. It is a tribute to Marc Lloret and at the same time an act of justice, because Mishima, of his own free will, never performed at the market while Lloret was one of its artistic directors.

View the distribution of programmingIt's clear that Rial, Casadesús, and Pujol want the Plaza Mayor and the Cathedral Square to become a key hub for the market. There will be concerts in the Plaza Mayor on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, with groups and artists such as Maria Arnal, Jay-Jay Johanson, and The Ludwig Band, who reflect the "aspirational component" that the market has had for so many generations of musicians in the country. "We can be brave, and Vic can be a very culturally active city," says Rial. In the Plaza de la Catedral, on Friday and Saturday, there will be performances by bands such as Brama (psychedelic rock in Occitan), Brighton 64 (beginning their farewell tour), Biznaga, Yawners, and the British group Getdown Services, "a band that will be at the major festivals" in the coming years, according to Casadesús. In some ways, the connection Rial had with the Vida Festival is evident.

All of this, about seventy concerts (which also includes what was previously theoff of the market) and intense professional activity, with a focus on relations with Portugal, France and Italy, and with a budget of 1,059,000 million, the majority contributed by the Generalitat, the City Council of Vic, the Provincial Council of Barcelona, ​​​​the Ministry of Culture and Estrella Damm.