A multi-coloured big wheel revolves on stage. One cabin rises as another descends, with the encircling lights shifting to the pulse of electronic beats. It forms part of the scenography with which musician Asra3 presented his project at Barcelona Acció Musical (BAM), during the concerts held this weekend at the Antiga Fàbrica Estrella Damm to mark La Mercè. Yet this small, vibrant big wheel is far more than a mere scenic element: its colourful cabins, shifting lights, and perpetual motion lend it an almost hypnotic presence on stage.
Indeed, Asra3’s big wheel neatly encapsulates, almost unintentionally, the relentless movement experienced at the Antiga Fàbrica Estrella Damm during this weekend of concerts as part of La Mercè. One act after another – each driven by its own tempo, sonic palette, and creative outlook – took to the stage: Argentine folk, Afro-Latin grooves, electronica, urban music, and experimental pop. It was as if each of the twelve concerts staged over the weekend occupied a single cabin on this wheel: following one after the other, each entirely distinct, yet coming together to form a rich and diverse snapshot of Catalonia’s emerging music scene, where varied styles and idioms coexist in the same space.
The line-up at the Antiga Fàbrica Estrella Damm is designed precisely to bring this rich diversity to the public and provide visibility to some of the projects revitalising the Catalan music landscape. This desire for connection also extends to the way the concerts are experienced. Far from the sprawling scale of La Mercè’s mass-audience arenas, here performers and audiences share far more intimate quarters. It offers musicians a chance to put faces to their fans, and allows listeners to discover the person behind the songs they have had on repeat – perhaps even striking up a conversation once the set comes to an end.
It is only in such close proximity that moments like the one delivered by Maig can truly happen, as she brought Sunday’s programme – and with it the musical bill at the Antiga Fàbrica Estrella Damm for La Mercè – to a close. Heading into the final bars of her set, delicate and tinged with nostalgia for the summer just slipping away – as expressed in signature tracks like Pluges d’agost and Tres estius més – the singer stepped down from the stage to mingle with the crowd, singing her closing lines encircled by voices singing every melody by heart.
It is a scene that captures the essence of these sessions: compelling projects that require neither lavish stagecraft nor massive crowds to connect with listeners, paired with an audience eager to surrender to whatever unfolds around them. While some had come specifically to catch a favourite artist, others were simply drawn in from the street by the sound drifting out from the courtyard, stepping inside on a whim and discovering a new act in the process.
All this unfolded as the atmosphere across this landmark Eixample complex – the historic Estrella Damm brewery, opened in 1905 and today converted into a cultural venue – invited visitors to linger on. Encouraging them to stay were the enticing aromas drifting from the sweet and savoury food trucks, as well as the beers available to sample on site during the complimentary tastings organised between performances.
Another turn, another sound
The sets by Maig and Asra3 – two emerging voices defined by distinct artistic identities and contrasting sonic worlds – were not the only showcases taking over the stage at the Antiga Fàbrica Estrella Damm across the weekend. Over two packed days, a succession of artists completed a musical journey spanning a wide spectrum of genres, rhythms, and aesthetic visions.
On Saturday, Carmen Aciar opened proceedings, drawing on the singer-songwriter tradition and Argentine folk, while Angela Blackburn brought Afro-Latin rhythms to the fore with a set fusing tropical electronica, salsa, and sounds of the African diaspora. With Admire, the performance integrated physical movement, as Mireia Gómez Rullan shared the stage with her dancers to make intricate choreography an essential pillar of the live show. The day also made room for the urban sounds and electronica of Cristina Len, alongside an immersive performance by Bofirax.
On Sunday, the bill kicked off with Arar, the duo formed by Barcelona composer and performer Marina Tomàs Amado and saxophonist Maria Cruz Millet. Combining guitar, saxophone, and vocal harmonies, they shaped an intimate, experimental live show with a delicate soundscape that rewarded attentive listening. They were followed by Mala Freixura, who completely transformed the tempo of the Antiga Fàbrica Estrella Damm through an energetic blend of afro, house, disco, tropical bass, and funk that turned the venue into an expansive dance floor.
The contrast returned with AL-V, who brought an intimate performance exploring themes of death, memory, and legacy. For her part, Mercè Segura, performing under the moniker MERCÈ, lived up to her name and could hardly miss the occasion. “Mercè couldn't miss La Mercè,” the artist quipped between numbers, playing on the shared name with the festival hosting her set.
For Segura, who turned the stage into an electronic realm of video games, dance, and virtual avatars, performing at BAM was “a complete dream” and “an honour”, sentiments she echoed throughout her set and which were shared by other performers across the weekend. Across both days, the audience was able to transition – much like the cabins on Asra3’s stage wheel – from one idiom to another: from Argentine folk to tropical electronica, from dance to urban music, and from experimental pop to digital metaverses. It was a rich tapestry of performances revealing, with every rotation, the many facets of a thriving Catalan emerging music scene that keeps turning.