Six former Ministers of Culture of the Generalitat (Catalan Government) have signed a letter calling for the creation of the Ateneo de la Cançó (Athenaeum of Song) in Barcelona. The signatories are Ferran Mascarell, Juan Manuel Tresserras, Santi Vila, Luis Puig, Laura Borràs, and Àngels Ponsa. They all support a proposal by Pere Camps, the founder of the Barnasants festival, who has long urged institutions to work towards establishing "a leading institution dedicated to preserving, studying, developing, and promoting singer-songwriter music."

A serene emotion, great performances, and the desire to stand firm against cultural destruction and wars characterized the tribute he received. Joan Ramon Bonet Saturday at the Teatro Principal in Inca. "It was very exciting and I had a great time," Bonet said at a brief press conference after the event, seated between Maria del Mar Bonet, his younger sister, and Joan Manuel Serrat, a friend since the days of Setze Jutges.

Brams singer Francesc Ribera (Berga, 1967) needed time to respond to the disillusionment following October 1, 2017. At the beginning of that same year, the group released Tomorrowan album steeped in hope. A few months later came "the defeat." "For Brams, the discursive content is fundamental. In fact, it's the defining characteristic of the group's existence," recalls Ribera, who understands that "every defeat gives rise to disappointment, to disillusionment." "We wanted to express our own feelings, but we know that nothing can be built from rage and anger, from the depths of despair. That's why we waited so long to figure out what we should say and how we should explain it," he says. The result of this time spent digesting the disenchantment is five songs brought together under the title Come back, come back, come back! (2026), which aim to offer a positive reflection and include a direct critique of the far right.

"Look at the validity of Litany. Railway history of Spain“Wow!” exclaims Borja Penalba (Valencia, 1975). Indeed, more than sixty years have passed since Lluís Serrahima, Miquel Porter, and Jaume Armengol wrote this song, back in the days of Setze Jutges. “Everything changes, nothing changes, / look at the train, look at the track. / If you think about it and observe well, / you’ll already know philosophy. / A thousand speeches, few resources, / it’s the daily bread,” say the first verses of that litany that no one had released on a record until Joan Manuel Serrat included it on the album From a time, from a country, the recording of the concert at the Palau Sant Jordi in 1996.

The Barnasants Festival presents a special concert this Sunday, February 22nd, at the Paral·lel 62 venue (9 pm), featuring Italian artist Carmen Consoli and the Catalan Root Music Orchestra (OMAC). The performance brings together two expressive forces with distinct yet complementary trajectories. Together, they will perform, for the first time, material from the album... Amure luci (Narciso Records, 2025) by the Sicilian artist, who intensely explores her cultural and linguistic roots, uniting tradition and modernity. "I wanted to go back to the roots. Linguistically, from ancient Greek and Latin to Sicilian. And literarily, the album also traces the entire history of the island, including the Arab period," explains Consoli, who, in addition to her own verses, sings of Latin poets like Ovid, Sicilian poets like Nina de Nina from the 20th century, and draws inspiration from others such as the 12th-century Arab-Sicilian poet Ibn Hamdis, as she mentioned this Friday at a press conference in Barcelona. Consoli, born in Catania in 1974, is combative by nature and politically opposed to the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, with whom she has had more than one verbal clash. She defends Sicilian as a "language of protest." "When I sing in Italian, I'm more poetic," she asserts. Regarding Sicilian, she explains that it is "a minority language with a rich literature and wonderful poetry." "It's talked about, it's very much alive, and it's taught at the university, although not in schools," he reports.

Lluís Llach returned to the stage of the Palau de la Música to participate in the opening of the 31st edition of the Barnasants festival. It wasn't just any concert, but a tribute to the recitals that Llach performed at the Sports Palace in Barcelona on January 15, 16 and 17, 1976when the dictator Franco had not yet been dead for two months. Despite being the guest of honor, and despite singing some songs, Llach maintained a secondary role, applauding and acknowledging the formidable work done with his songs by the singers, Gemma Humet and Joan Reig (the drummer from Els Pets), as well as the band led by Manel Camp on piano.

Between January 15 and 17, 1976, Lluís Llach gave three historic concerts at the Palau d'Esports in Barcelona that became a cry for freedom and a milestone in Catalan singer-songwriter music, and were immortalized in a vibrant live recording on the album January 76Fifty years later, Barnasants 2026 will commemorate those concerts with the voices of Gemma Humet and Joan Reig. Llach - January 1976. 50 yearswho already has the tickets for saleFinally, two concerts will take place at the Palau de la Música on January 27th and 28th. The singer from Verges will be at the Palau de la Música that evening. Details of his participation in the concert will be announced soon by the festival. Llach has also received the festival's Lifetime Achievement Award.

"It was a fantastic spring in Paris," recalls Maria del Mar Bonet about April 27, 1975. On her 28th birthday, the Mallorcan singer performed at the Olympia. "It's a somewhat cumbersome theater, not as welcoming as the Palau de la Música, but you still feel the weight of history, of all the musicians who have passed through," she explains at a luncheon with the press at the Moka restaurant on Barcelona's Rambla. On the table is a vinyl copy of the brand-new, in both form and substance, reissue of the album. At the Olympia recorded on April 27th fifty years ago. There is also a copy of the vinyl that Ariola released in 1975. They look similar, but they are not the same because María del Mar Bonet wanted to make "a new vision of the album."

The rapport and respect are evident. The artistic and personal connection between the two is evident on stage and when they speak to the press. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that Meritxell Gené (Lleida, 1986) and Ivette Navidad (Granollers, 1988), all ten poets and singer-songwriters, have revived the Les Kol·lontai project. Together they have made Adeleradas (Under the Palm Tree, 2024), an album they're performing live in concerts like the one on May 24th at Barcelona's Paral·lel 62, as part of the Barnasants festival program. "Although we live in very different geographical locations, we've been friends on and off stage for many years. The most feminist act we have is our basic friendship. We understand each other very well," Nadal states.