Free live music and stuff in Las Palmas, August 2023

Culture-wise, August here is dead. Dead. And after the incredibly busy July, it felt especially dead. Enter LPA Groove Summer, a two-day (or should I say three-night?) mini-festival organised by Miguel Ramírez. This is a second edition of the cycle: the first was last summer in Miller. Thankfully, this year they moved LPA Groove Summer outdoors, to Parque Doramas: better ambience and closer to me.

• 11 August: Los Jinetes del Groove / Mirla Riomar @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos, Parque Doramas, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  According to our City Hall notice, Los Jinetes del Groove were “born in La Laguna as a response to the lethargy caused by the health crisis”. A healthy dose of jazz-funk interspersed with humorous intermissions. I really liked all the songs but if I had to choose my three favourites, they would be Freedom, No More Passport and Slow, Bro. Featuring Pablo Galán (drums), Pablo González (keyboards), Diego Jiménez (sax) and Jonay Mesa (guitar).
  The second part did not disappoint: an exuberant celebration of Afro-Brazilian music and dance by Mirla Riomar (vocals, percussion, dance) accompanied by Antony da Cruz (bass), Marcelo Montenegro (drums), Cra Rosa (percussion) and Marcel Valles Perpinya (guitar).
• 12 August: Nymura / Gisele Jackson & The Shu Shu’s @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos
  Nymura is a solo project by Ruyman Franco (DJ, rap, keyboards, bass guitar), on this occasion accompanied by Tana Santana (bass guitar, keyboards), Pablo Queu (guitar), Juan Pérez (drums) and Alba Gil Aceytuno (alto sax, flute, rap), plus a guest Devitha Pradinda (vocals, keys).
  And a cherry on the cake: the concert of Gisele Jackson, supported by Dave Wilkinson (guitar), Abel Boquera (Hammond) and Caspar St. Charles (drums). Mixing her own songs with standards such as I Put a Spell on You, Son of a Preacher Man and Chain of Fools, she made everybody dance.

And a bit of art:

• 10 August — 7 September: «Concurso Gran Canaria de Series de Obra Gráfica 2022» @ Centro de Artes Plásticas (CAP), Calle Colón, 8
  A small collective exhibition of winning and selected works of the last year’s contest. My favourites were Equilibrio. Simetría. Armonía by María Carmen Eizaguirre Santana and Memoria del Suelo by Nadia Brito Melado.

  

Looking forward to more life in September.