This is a sight that is not very common: a live music concert at a church. However, this has become a tradition in the last years, in the small town of Cem Soldos, in Portugal.
There's a music festival every year - Bons Sons (Good Sounds) - which takes place all over the town and various stages are set, from outdoor public squares and gardens to the interior of old buildings.
One of the most peculiar venues is a small church, which becomes the stage for a few concerts. Usually, there are no more than two concerts per day in the same stage, one during the afternoon and the other at the evening / night.
I attended this festival in 2012 and on this particular day (August 18th), the music coming from the church attracted a lot of people. The sound of Jazz could be heard from the street and we followed it...
The sitting places were quickly occupied and the rest of us had watch the concert by standing up by the door.
Joana Espadinha was singing, accompanied by a guitar player whose name I don't know.
Here's one of the songs she played during this concert. This one is titled "Petrified":
Joana Espadinha is a Portuguese singer and she has already collaborated with other Portuguese artists who you probably never heard of, unless you're Portuguese. I'm talking about artists like Afonso Pais, João Hasselberg, André Santos and João Firmino.
She graduated in Jazz in the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and spent the earlier years of her career steering away from Pop and from the Portuguese Language.
Over the years she made a 180º turn and nowadays she only sings Pop songs, in Portuguese. Check out the difference in styles:
The name of the song is "O Material tem Sempre Razão", which translates to: "The Material is Always Right." One can't argue with that. While she performed Jazz, her albums were not very well known and the sales were low. As soon as she started venturing on Pop, her popularity and sales skyrocket. Hence the name of this song... The Material is Always Right!
If you ever come to Portugal in August, try to go to this festival in Cem Soldos. They make an amazing job promoting new artists in Portugal and the village becomes a non-stop party for 4 days. Bring your tent, because there aren't enough hotels nearby to accommodate everyone.
| Camera | Canon IXUS 210 |
| Location | Cem Soldos - Portugal |
| Photos | 2 (Edited with GIMP) |
