From the hills of Alentejo in Southern Portugal to the lakes of Beira Baixa in the center of the country, nature is where music festivals and contemporary architecture play out in sync and at large.
Exit big cities.
Contemporary architecture development and music festivals both require space and the freedom to invent, experiment, and expand. They are the new havens and human spaceships in rural landscapes. They are also captors of a clear change in lifestyle with fewer things and more breathing space, with stillness and the right to be oneself out the mundane. While working practices are changing in priorities, the rural landscapes of Portugal become a blueprint ground for re-invention.
If festivals are bubbles of collective warmth, architecture enhances interaction, shades humans in the deserts, offers viewpoints on hills and expands dreams under magic constellations.
Live arts and architecture are in Portugal, guests of honor this Summer, in nature. Let’s go for a tour!
Boom Festival, the 20-27 July 2023, Idanha-a-Nova in Beira Baixa in the Centre of Portugal
Boom Festival [20-27 July 2023]
In the lake district of Idanha-a-Nova in Beira Baixa [Centre of Portugal], Boom is a biennial festival celebrating art, culture, and music with a focus on sustainability, spirituality, and community. Defined as a "truly psychedelic global gathering," the festival cemented by Portuguese Good Mood Productions has built a cult following since its inception in the early 1990s, with tickets selling out as soon as the lineup pops online. Follow Boom on Facebook.
Casa Azul in Alentejo by Bak Gordon Architects
Casa Azul in Alentejo
Who wouldn’t find refuge in the shade of Casa Azul, the Blue House conceived by Bak Gordon Architects? In the dry and blond landscapes of Alentejo, this architectural wonder developed in 2021 recalls the Berber villages of the High Atlas in Morocco. For a reason. The architects used ancestral building techniques to honor the Alentejo region, with inside walls covered in pigmented lime mortar and outside walls isolated with cork from the magistral cork oak trees of the region. Between shade and light, Casa Azul lets the vertical sunlight enter along its geometrical structures, yet multiple spaces have been conceived to escape from the sun. [Source]
Nature Festival in Madeira Island, Portugal
The sound of escapism
In her article, "Music festivals: the sound of escapism," Guardian journalist Louise Tickle writes: "There was a sense of release in being able to drift aimlessly and not feel guilty while inside the protected 'world' of the festival site. Some said they tried to 'disappear' into a festival and would purposely leave their mobile phones at home."
This quote invites us to reflect on the role of music with its wrapping structures and ripples of emotions that helped sustain urban life within soundscapes of communal spirituality... until cities became unreachable in pricing for festival too.
The countryside is the new frontier.
Music has always translated and echoed in frequencies the immensity of natural spaces triggering human imagination for wide-stretching spaces made of dwarf shrubs, grasses, and lichens. Now it resonates with even wider reaches around castles and beaches.
Festival Forte in Montemor-o-Velho
The electronic Festival Forte [30.08–2.09.2023] situated in the scenic Montemor-o-Velho Castle is another example of a well-established live event. This historical village of Alentejo of pure beauty is still untapped. It is where Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei has his Casa Alentejana. At the close of August, electronic music will infuse the ancestral walls with a unique blend of music, art, and technology by local and international DJs and artists.
Fancy an authentic Quinta Alentejana covering 1.03 hectares? Mojo has a rare and fine opportunity on the market in the village of Montemor-o-Velho.
For those with an international lifestyle similar to Ai Wei Wei, the village is located less than 30 minutes from Evora, just over one-hour drive from Lisbon, and 45 minutes from Setubal. This means that from Montemor-o-Velho, simultaneously an historical landmark and emerging artistic hub, you can also drive and swim in the 'luxury simplicity' of Melides and Comporta on the Troia Peninsula.
Now, lean back and imagine this... At your feet, a castle and its historical village, the sun-kissed fields of the Alentejo region, at less than an hour, the Atlantic Ocean with a VIP luxury pass, and within walking distance, the electro beats of Umwelt's "Reflections on A Strange Existence" LIVE! Über suave, right?
Andancas in Castelo de Vide
In August 2023, the itinerant festival Andancas, focusing on traditional music and dance, returns to Roda Viva on the streets of Castelo de Vide. For five days, participants will be able to wander through the streets, squares, and gardens of the village, dance in the church or along the horizon line, try local products, visit spaces and monuments, learn about culture, peek at crafts, rest on the grass overlooking the mountain range, climb to Penha or go to Póvoa e Meadas and stroll through nature. Immerse yourself in its vibe with this showcase for a sense of place and time. Check out the Andancas showcase and Facebook page.
Less than a 20-minute drive from the festival, there is another castle town called Marvão. Perched on the highest peak of the Serra de São Mamede, white houses idly rest safely enclosed in the well-preserved walled city.
Situated at the edge of the medieval village of Porto Espada, another spacious Alentejo-style house is on sale. This genuinely traditional house of over 200m2 for €280,000 hosts fig trees, rose bushes, citrus trees, and a chestnut tree. In one of the most charming hinterland regions of Portugal, the sheer expanse of the landscape will make you acutely aware of the grandeur of nature and your own place within it.
The beautiful village of Marvão at twilight
FIMM in Marvão
Marvão, with its fascinating history and medieval castle, narrow streets of the old town, wrought iron balconies, windows with Manueline decorations, and Gothic arches, is a fairy-tale within reach. And Marvão is famous for hosting an annual classical music festival called Fimm [21-30 Jul. 2023]. Standing amidst the open fields, with human structures and noise suppressed, music reaching majestic summits, a glass of tinto 'Encostas de Marvão' in one hand, you might wonder where on earth you stood in life just a minute before.
Casa no Tempo in Sabugueiro via www.thedriftonline.com
Casa no Tempo in Sabugueiro
To get a first taste of Alentejo, stay at Casa no Tempo. Located in Herdade do Carvalho [which means Oak Farm] in Sabugueiro [elderberry], near Evora, its 'silent living' design is inspired by a New Mediterranean lifestyle, steeped in the simple frame of the region.
"Minimalist design and nature take center stage at Casa no Tempo; a rustic four-room retreat in Portugal's lesser-trodden Alentejo region. An elegant palette of white linens and clay-tiled floors embraces the farm's raw natural surroundings. The property's 900 acres can be explored through horseback riding, fishing, and star watching, or by lounging at the 4,000-square-foot swimming pool designed to reflect the landscape's natural streams and ponds."
[Source: https://www.thedriftonline.com/hotel/portugal-silent-living-casa-no-tempo/]
Festival Músicas do Mundo [FMM] in Sines
Festival Músicas do Mundo [FMM] in Sines
In Sines, musicians from different parts of the world showcase their cultural heritage at the Festival Músicas do Mundo [FMM Sines 22-29 Jul. 2023], with performances taking place in various venues across town, from the beach to the castle. Folk, jazz, alternative music, fusion, and urban music will reach out to the firmament, with "music marked by associations between performers from different geographic and cultural origins, arising from the movements of ideas and people which define contemporary society."
Check out the incredible lineup and build a 'Summer of Love Playlist' to bring the world closer to your ears with the scent of cut grass. Smile and book a flight ticket to Lisbon. It'll cost you less than an Apple XR kit. And why scuba dive in your living room when real magnificent lifestyle is awaiting for you within reach? Even Coldplay sings 'Viva la Vida' – in Portugal!
A joyful moment of togetherness at festival Imminente by dandyvagabonds.com If you wish to invest in the Alentenjo Region of Portugal, reach out with your questions and check also out our properties for sale.
Mojo is a Boutique Real Estate guiding and assisting investors and buyers in Portugal, scouting and cherry picking the perfect property within specifics and budget. We manage and coordinate the purchase process and renovations as well as the property for short and long-term rent striving optimal yields for our investors. Tell us about your dream and we'll scout for you! More on our Instagram page | whatsapp: +351.962.621259