Ai Carai San Carlos Music Festival 2016

There were no DJ’s, no dance music, no glitter-coated bikini models, not a single VIP area, the San Carlos Music Festival was all about world music, creativity, alternative culture, family fun and best of all the ticket price was totally free.

Located in the idyllic little northern village of San Carlos this festival promised to be fun from the start. San Carlos is a renowned gathering place for hippies, artists, musicians, bohemians and all around alternative people and has been since the 1960’s. The town did not disappoint; the festival was a riot of music and colour and creative energy that started before the 3pm kickoff and carried on into the night.

The festival consisted of eight strategically placed stages encircling the town with market stalls, food carts, bars, street vendors and pop up restaurants filling in the gaps in between. The eclectic line up of bands featured 150 performers and covered many genres of music; rock, blues, reggae, flamenco, soul, jazz, choral, Indian and classical amongst others and alongside the bands there were also street artists, dancers, theatre groups, magicians and circus acts showing off their skills.

The town and festival arena was small enough that a person could wander at will from one great sight to the next with aimless ease and no real need to consult a time table, nothing was very far away from anything else and no matter where you stood you were always in a perfect spot. The organisers had done a great job of locating not just the stages but chill out zones and shaded areas too. Food and drink was cheap; a beer cost €2 a bottle of water €1. With a choice of street food, pizza slices and empanadas were available for around €3 and there were many restaurants in town where you could head for a sit down meal. Most still had great views of the festival action and the people watching opportunities were endless.

True to alternative Ibizan form there were characters everywhere. Anything goes at the Ai Carai festival and there were knee length dreadlocks, piercings, facial tattoos, fairy wings, floaty dresses, patchwork top hats, chequered uni-tards, Spanish traditional dress, and one fully clad medieval knight. The clothes got stranger as the day progressed and boho chic met vintage steam punk in every direction. Anyone who wanted to could top up their look from the market stalls who specialised in hand made jewellery, quirky accessories and unique fashions, and more than one parent was spotted wearing a new ‘accessory’ hand crafted by their budding hippy child.

The village green area in front of the church was set up as a creative fun zone for the kids and chill out area for adults and was a perfect blend of the two; parents camped out on the grass with picnics, rugs and bottles of bubbly and let their children run free amidst the creative chaos around them. Circolar, the circus skills school, took pride of place on the grass and all day long taught an ever growing crowd of excited children how to climb silks, swing on trapezes, stilt walk, hula hoop, juggle, and tightrope walk. When eventually exhausted by this the kids could move on to the more mellow arts and crafts tents and create their own masterpieces.

As the day progressed the vibe became just a little more adult, the dancing started early with Jahbless, the first band to get the crowd moving with their reggae beats on the Curva stage, shortly after them My Generation swung the crowd into action with their classic rock covers including Proud Mary, Summertime blues and Highway to Hell.

As the sun went down and more alcohol was consumed, the crowds got bigger and the dancing became more energetic. The picnic rugs were abandoned for spots directly in front of the stages and the bars surrounding the dance floors filled up with revellers. The crowd was made up of locals and tourists alike, with many accents and many languages blended in the evening air as people talked, drank, ate, laughed, made friends and danced their flip flops or steel toed boots off.

The Ai Carai Annual Music festival in San Carlos is definitely one for you calendar, a brilliantly organised, free event that’s simply perfect for a summer day and night. Mark it in your diary, practice your juggling and your dance moves and we’ll see you there next year.