To the relief of many a local, the larger-than-life, simultaneously inclusive and exclusive, multi-million-dollar networking and tech orgy that was the 2021 Web Summit (humbly self-described as “an exciting event with a global reach”) officially ended yesterday. Moreover, the weekend is here, the weather is improving, it’s Guy Fawkes Day, and Lisbon is, therefore, ready to party. Here’s what’s happening around town this weekend as those hilariously obnoxious out-of-place name tags start to be a thing of the past again:
Nov 5
AFROBEAT CONCERT:
This Guy Fawkes Night, humble cultural space in Benfica Com Calma welcomes to their stage Siwo, the alter ego of Mozambique-bred and Barcelona-based musician/producer/performer Simonal Bie. Simonal describes his most recent stuff as ‘electronic Afrofuturist with notes of hip hop, punk, soul, and Afrobeat,’ and wants to share it with you. Entry is 3€.
WORLD MUSIC CONCERT:
Also this Bonfire Night, local musical duo Al Tar comes to Camones CineBar in Graça, along with their clarinet and traditional Portuguese guitar, to play some ‘fragmentos de memória’ for you; entry is also 5€.
FUNKY CONCERT:
And also this Fireworks Night, Amazon-bred and Lisbon-based ensemble Jhon Douglas and JungleBoys come to BOTA in Intendente to remind us, with song and dance, of “the luxury of laughing about what’s out of place to live life in a more peaceful way.” 5€ for this one too.
Nov 5-6
LIVE MURAL PAINTING AND ROCK CONCERT:
Spanish artist Toni Marmota and his rock band with clout La Frontera come to Fabrica Braço de Prata this Friday night and Saturday day for some live mural painting and some old-school rock-and-roll, and you’re invited too. The aptly titled mural ‘El día de la marmota/Groundhog Day’ will then remain in the space until early 2022. Entry seems free.
Nov 5-7
SURF FILM FESTIVAL:
It’s surf season here in Portugal, and so, after a bit of a duck dive last year due to the pandemic, SAL — aka the Surf at Lisbon Film Festival — hit Cinema São Jorge yesterday night for its 10th edition. It brings with it dozens of nightly short and feature-length films, a bunch of art, a few awards, and general tubular fun to get you totes stoked. It runs through Sunday night, and tickets start at 3,50-4€.
VINYL MARKET:
Meanwhile, the fifth edition of the annual Feira do Vinil de Lisboa hits Campo de Santa Clara this Friday, bringing with it three consecutive afternoons of rousing browsing for vinyl enthusiasts of every variety.
Nov 6
BEST MARKET IN LISBON:
Speaking of markets, did we forget to mention that Lisbon’s biggest-by-far and coolest-by-lots weekly outdoor market, aka Feira da Ladra, has triumphantly risen from the ashes of the pandemic recently? Well, it has, and it’s happening alongside the vinyl all day Saturday (and then on Tuesday, Nov. 9, too).
PERFORMANCE FINALE:
Uma História Chamada Lisboa is a collaborative project between two locals — an actress/poet and a singer/songwriter —with Lisbon as its central character. It ends this weekend but does so with a bang — in the final performance, “all previous chapters are revisited, on a trip to Lisbon from its foundation to the present day,” and there are still a few 5€ tickets left for Saturday morning.
Nov 6-7
WEIRD MULTIMEDIA PERFORMANCE:
Local artist Rogério Nuno Costa’s Missed-en-Abîme at Museu Coleção Berardo is part homage to Marcel Duchamp and part an invitation “to accept failure, estrangement, invisibility, and oblivion, perhaps disappearance, not as rituals of victimization or self-inflicted oppression, but as gestures of resistance/survival.” You can check it out Saturday and Sunday eves for 5€.
Nov 7
ELECTRONIC MUSIC CONCERT:
And, finally, Spaniard who, according to the organizers, has been “invited by renowned festivals of electronic and experimental music, with his environmental and new age music with tropical and whale-like details being very well received by younger and more demanding audiences,” Suso Sáiz comes to Museu do Oriente this Sunday night to make some noise. Tickets are 15€.
See our full calendar of events for what else is on through November and onwards, don’t forget to rememebr remember the fifth of November, have a good bonfire night and weekend, and stay safe and warm, friends.
