On May 22 and 23, the third edition of FESTIAL will be held in Alcázar de San Juan (Ciudad Real), one of the places associated with the Don Quixote Route! The La Mancha festival, family-friendly and welcoming for around 5,000 people, brings together some of the most prominent names on the national scene without losing sight of emerging proposals. Promote consolidation in the coming years, with a good artistic line in which Amaia stood out last year, for example.
Friday and Saturday will concentrate the main programming, with performances by headliners such as Rigoberta Bandini and Lori Meyers. There will also be shows in the town, in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, similar to popular festivals. Additionally, on Thursday, the festival will welcome the public with an opening party that will include exclusive concerts. JENESAISPOP is the official media of the event, and in this article we review the poster through 10 key names, including two recommendations.
Julia’s Smile
The FESTIAL! welcome party, on Thursday, May 21, will feature several names, including one as notable as La Sonrisa de Julia. With more than 20 years of experience, the Madrid band helped define a more melodic and emotional Spanish indie at the beginning of the century, with essential anthems like ‘Me gustas tú’. They will present their new album, ‘ENEMIGOS’, just released.
Rigoberta Bandini
Still immersed in the ‘Jesucrista Superstar’ tour, which has deployed its peculiar format of surreal musical theater over the last year, Rigoberta will arrive at Alcázar de San Juan with new material to present live, such as the guitar-playing ‘Siete Días’, advanced at the Goya, or the most recent ‘Cançó de Primavera’, in addition to, of course, her already extensive repertoire of hits.
Guadiana leeches
Sanguijuelas del Guadiana has been one of the meteoric rises of the last year, with several of its songs exceeding the border of 5 or 6 million streams, from ‘Revolá’ to ‘Amapolas’. The best? It is not usual for a group from Extremadura to do it this way, but the quartet from Casas de Don Pedro (Badajoz) has achieved it, using heat and electronics.
Polish Girl
‘La Platería’ is the latest single from Niña Polaca, but when FESTIAL! arrives, their long-awaited album ‘Where is the UN when you need it most?’ It will already be on the streets, since it comes out on April 17. Singles like ‘William Wallace in Lancaster’ continue to rely on a powerful and emotional guitar indie style, marked by the raspy voice of Álvaro Surma and the effectiveness of his choruses.
Lori Meyers
Eternal headliner, Lori Meyers once again figures prominently in the programming of numerous Spanish festivals this year, among them FESTIAL!, where the Granada-based group led by Antonio López will tour their songbook of great national indie classics, from the apotheotic ‘Eborracharme’ to the frenetic ‘My reality’, which never fails.
marlena
Their instant melodies, good-natured spirit, everyday lyrics and variety of musical styles have catapulted the duo Marlena to the top of the national indie, helped by their time at Benidorm Fest, taking their single ‘Meknows bad’ to gain listens equivalent to Triple Platinum in Spain. In Ciudad Real, Ana and Carolina will continue to present their album ‘Between four walls and a truth’, the most synthetic to date.
Oslo UFOs
One of the emerging names to discover on the FESTIAL line-up! is Oslo Ovnies, a quintet from La Rioja that explores elements of pop-rock, post-rock and hardcore in their music. Watch out for the screamo of ‘Istmo’ and the guitars of ‘NEPT’, but also the fury of ‘Lynch Tango’ or the electronic hip-hop of ‘Bonzo’. They have two albums published and an identifiable style: don’t lose track of them.
The Petunias
You’ve seen them performing on Carolina Durante’s tour, but Las Petunias are climbing the ranks on their own merits: it’s very difficult to get their punk songs and fun lyrics out of your head, going from ‘I don’t need to be alone (I’ve been alone all my life)’ to ‘Tirant lo Blanc’, from urgency to intensity. They are very good at the former and ‘Marcelo Criminal’ proves it.
Sexy Zebras
Garajeros as well as tough and seductive, Sexy Zebras have earned an important place in the Spanish festival circuit. In fact, they are usually a national attraction in the early hours of the night or even in the early morning, thanks to their great guitar songs capable of reviving a dead person. «Baby, let it happen» or ‘Marisol’ convey a carefree style, but one that is serious.
Jaguayan
Another not-so-obvious, but not emerging, name from FESTIAL! What to discover is the Cantabrian Pablo Gómez, better known as Jaguayano, who writes catchy ukulele songs as nice as ‘Encarcelado’ or emotional as ‘Mother of my children’. With echoes of rumbita and a touch of Manu Chao and Carlos Sadness, Jaguayano published the album ‘Botas de aguacate’ in 2025, which in cuts like ‘Yuka Penela’ is an explosion of joy and surrealism.
