Detailed report of the Cala Mijas Festival 2023

Cala Mijas Festival 2023 Artist Lineup

Florence and the Machine headling in the final night of the Cala Mijas festival. © Sharon Lopez

Idles, the punk rock band turn up the energy, as Mark “Bow” Bowman launches himself into the crowd. © Oscar L Tejeda

Cala Mijas Festival 2023 - 31st August to 2 September 2023

by Alex Cutts

Cala Mijas Festival returned to the Costa del Sol for the second edition, featuring a star-studded lineup of classic Spanish artists and international indie bands. From Thursday 31st August until Saturday 2nd September 2023, the Sonora Mijas venue in Cortijo Colorado, Cala de Mijas, Costa del Sol hosted the likes of The Strokes, Florence And The Machine, and many more, for three days of music and live entertainment. Cala Mijas is organised by the festival powerhouse Last Tour, who are also behind the critically acclaimed BBK Live musical festival held annually in Bilbao, north Spain and the MEO Kalorama festival in Lisbon which shared the same dates (and many artists) as Cal Mijas.

Thursday Summary

Vera Fauna kicked off Cala Mijas festival on Thursday evening, over on the Sunset stage, cast away in the shade. The four piece band from Seville drew a pleasant sized crowd for the first band of the day. Their melodic summer tunes set the tone of the festival nicely.

Over on the Victoria stage, Juicy Bae opened up to a smaller crowd in the beaming down sunshine. From Seville, her urban sound and auto-tuned vocals were high energy as she interacted with the crowd.

Crowds began to pour in as Cala Vento opened up the main Sunrise stage © Alex Cutts

Crowds began to pour in as Cala Vento opened up the main Sunrise stage. They brought a more rock and roll sound to the festival ahead of punk rockers Idles and indie rock bands Arcade Fire and Foals, set to follow on the Sunrise stage during Thursday night. Their synth sounds would be loved by fans of Mac Demarco.

Siouxsie came out on stage to a mystical Harry Potter track, setting the scene ahead of her magical set. Readers may remember her hit band Siouxsie and the Banshees, from the 1980s. Her set brought a nostalgic sound to the festival, breaking up the modern heavy line-up.

Amaia high energy performance was filled with dance routines © Sharon Lopez

Continuing the modern pop theme, Amaia featured on the Sunset stage dressed head to toe in sparkles. Her high energy performance was filled with dance routines, getting the crowd singing and jumping along.

Headline act Arcade Fire got the crowd chanting along and clapping to the beat of their indie rock anthems. The five-piece band from Montreal, Canada is fronted by husband and wife duo Win Butler and Regine Chassagne, who are accompanied by fellow band members Richard Reed Parry (multi-instrumentalist), guitarist Tim Kingsbury, and Jeremy Gara on the drums. Their combination of instruments, organic vocals, and use of a loop pedal give them an authentic DIY feel. Their set started off tame but built throughout, with the addition of strobe lighting, smoke, and a mirrored disco ball. Paying homage to their Canadian routes, Régine Chassagne voiced french lyrics during the set. Energy amongst the crowd grew deeper as Lead singer Win Butler made his way off the stage, over the barrier and into the crowd where he joined his fans in a mosh pit.

Idles took to the Victoria stage, opening with their dramatic song Colossus. It didn’t take the punk rock band long to turn up the energy, as Mark “Bow” Bowman launches himself into the crowd, clad in a long white dress, during the second song of the set. Lead singer Joe Talbot brought an abundance of energy to the stage with nonstop dancing, jumping, and stomping. Talbot even got the crowd involved during I’m Scum, encouraging everyone to crouch down low before jumping up in sync for the chorus. The band closed with their 2018 hit Rottweiler.

Foals closed the main Sunrise stage in the early hours of Friday morning. They opened their set with their top song Wake Me Up. Lead singer Yannis Philippakis interacted with the crowd throughout their set and even made the effort to address the audience in Spanish on occasion. Their set featured their popular songs My Number, and Mountain at my Gates, complete with a backdrop of colourful on-screen visuals.

Cala Mijas Festival 2023 - Thursday Day 1 full report

Friday Summary

Day two of Cala Mijas began in 'La Playa' (La Cala de Mijas village), where a showcase of free-to-watch performances took place for the public and ticket holders to enjoy. Small stages were set up by Torre de la Bateria; El Torreón stage hosted up and coming live bands such as Lord Malco. The Oasis stage situated on the sand, just metres from the seashore, had a schedule of DJs taking to the decks as the waves crashed in the background.

The opening act of Friday’s Cala Mijas line-up was Compro Ora, an all male four-piece band from Almería. They played homage to their routes by performing flamenco tunes with an electronic twist to a small audience on the Sunset stage.

British indie-folk singer Charlie Cunningham opened up the Victoria stage as the hot summer sunshine beat down on the crowd. His chilled melodies display an English folk meets Spanish flamenco fusion. After living in Seville for three years Cunningham took inspiration from Spanish flamenco guitar and implemented the sound into his indie-folk tunes. For fans of Ben Howard.

Alicia Ros, vocals and bass guitarist of female trio pop band Cariño on the Victoria stage © Sharon Lopez

Three piece, all female, pop band Cariño from Madrid warmed up the crowed with their fun, high energy set. Their Spanish love songs are reminiscent of 90s pop and would be loved by fans of Dua Lipa or Charlie XCX.

Australian punk rockers Amyl and the Sniffers. © Sharon Lopez

Australian punk rockers Amyl and the Sniffers really got the crowd going on the Sunrise stage, with a mosh pit forming towards the front of the crowd and head-banging all the way to the back. The band’s brash sound, their shouty lyrics and unapologetic style, from their bold drums to lead singer Amy’s bleach blonde mullet, the audience was transported back to the height of the punk movement. They gained recognition in 2018 when their debut album had them placed at number 9 in Happy Mag’s list of “The 15 Australian female artists changing the game right now”. Amy’s energy didn’t wither, some may say she only got livelier throughout their set, with nonstop jumping and stomping around the stage. Loud and absolutely bonkers. For lovers of Sleaford Mods and The Chats.

Lori Meyers drew perhaps the Victoria stage’s largest crowd yet, ahead of headline act The Strokes. The 3 piece band from Loja, Granada performed a set of Spanish indie rock anthems including live instrumentals, with drums and guitar, alongside some funky synth. The entire crowd sang along to the group’s songs, creating a complete community feel.

The crowd eagerly awaited headline act The Stokes to take to the Sunrise stage. After making their fans wait an extra ten minutes for their arrival, in true rock and roll style, the New Yorkers, dubbed the leaders of the new rock revolution, finally arrived and the audience erupted into applause. Alleged top fan Pedro Sanchez, the president of the Goverment, was amongst the masses watching his favourite band perform. They played a set of indie rock anthems, both new and old, from the course of their 25 year long career. Lead singer Julian Casablancas swayed to the beat behind his microphone, eyes hidden by his aviator sunglasses. The Strokes amassed a huge crowd and performed for an hour and a half, closing with their 2003 top hit Reptilia, before returning to the stage for a much desired encore.

Cala Mijas Festival 2023 - Friday Day 2 full report

Saturday Summary

La Plazuela opened up the main stage on Saturday, to say they were the third act of the day they drew a fairly big crowd. Their electronic flamenco music takes inspiration from their hometown of Granada and proved to be a top hit with the Spanish audience. Their hour long set had the crowd singing, dancing and jumping along. The front man of the Duo made performing look easy as he puffed on a cigarette whilst playing along.

On the Victoria stage José González mellowed out the crowd with his indie-folk tunes played on the acoustic guitar. The Argentinian-Swedish singer performed in English and was joined on stage mid-set by a trumpet player. His music is reminiscent of the UK’s indie folk artist Ben Howard.

Another local artist showcased on Saturday’s line up - Judeline from Caños de Meca, Cadiz, once again her urban-Latin songs went down well with the Spanish audience. Her heavily auto-tuned vocals give her flamenco pop tunes a trap influence, following on from her feature on a hit from Latin trap star Bad Bunny.

Metronomy took the stage on Saturday, a British electronic music group formed in 1999. Metronomy have released seven albums, their latest entitled ‘Small World’ released in 2022. The band have toured around the world at many international festivals, including Glatonbury, Primavera Sound, and Rock Wertcher, and have supported acts such as Coldplay and Kate Nash on UK tours.

Wrapping up the weekend of music is headline act Florence + The Machine. The British indie rock band formed in London in 2007 and released their first studio album ‘Lungs’ in 2009, featuring hits such as ‘Dog Days Are Over’ and ‘You’ve Got The Love’. The band is fronted by female vocalist Florence Welch, her ethereal stage presence and powerful vocals often have her compared to Kate Bush and Stevie Nicks. Florence + The Machine are no strangers to performing at festivals; in 2015 they became the first female fronted band to headline Glastonbury festival and have played at countless other festivals across the globe.

Florence and the Machine, barefoot and clad in a long, sparkly, copper gown with a flowing cape to match. © Sharon Lopez

Other up-and-coming artists filling the line-up over the weekend include Cupido and Charlie Cunningham, as well as Delaporte and Niños Luchando, who both played at Andalucia Big Festival in Malaga last year.

Over on the La Caleta, or “The little Cove”, stage, tucked away in the trees, a summer rave took place with speakers blasting with tunes from DJs such Axel Boman, James Holden, and Palms Trax.

Cala Mijas Festival 2023 - Saturday Day 3 full report

La Playa - Afternoons at La Cala beach

From 12.00 to 17.00 on Friday and Saturday at ‘La Playa’ (La Cala de Mijas village), a showcase of free-to-watch performances took place for the public and ticket holders to enjoy. Small stages were set up by Torre de la Bateria; El Torreón stage hosted up and coming live bands such as Lord Malco and Ben Yart. The Oasis stage situated on the sand, just metres from the seashore, had a schedule of DJs taking to the decks as the waves crashed in the background.

Tickets

Tickets are available to purchase from the official Cala Mijas festival website; calamijas.com and other online agents. A 3-Day ticket was priced at 150€ and daily tickets were 75€. Camping tickets were 30€. Campsites open from Wednesday 30th August at 12:00 until Sunday 3rd September 15.00 hrs. Attendance was expected to be about 100.000. This is metric of gate entries over the three days rather than number of atendees.

Camping

The festival campsite is located a few kilometers away in the grounds of the old Mijas Hipodrome. Camping tickets were 30€ per person but spaces sold out on the first day. This site works well, tents are pitched under a sunshade on the repurposed horse racing course and using all the facilities (bar, lockers, phone charging stations, shady rest areas, toilets showers. Free shuttle bus is provided to both La Cala and festival site. If camping isn’t your style a more refined ‘Glamping’ experience was available, with options starting at an additional 99€ for an “Easy Tent’, and increasing up to an additional 750€ for an “Emperor Tent”.

Access

There are free festival shuttle buses from the festival car park (signposted from La Cala de Mijas), from Las Lagunas Mijas (near Fuengirola) and from the Campsite at the Hippodrome. Plus special busses from Malaga Airport, Costa del Sol and other cities. From La Cala de Mijas village the festival site is good 20 min uphill walk. Service busses that stop in La Cala de Mijas are M-119, M-224 and M-220.

Hotels

In La Cala de Mijas Hotels and Holiday apartments were available in nearby La Cala de Mijas village however since this is the peak holiday season prices are high and availability is limited. Hotels in Fuengirola or Apartments in Fuengirola town are more plentyful.

Food and Drink

Food and drink will be available to purchase on-site at the festival in the restaurant area. Guests can expect vendors to sell street food such as pizzas, noodles, and burgers, with vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options available. Cala Mijas is a cashless festival so all purchases must be paid for using a pre-paid credit-loaded wristband. Drinks are available to purchase in a reusable cup for a refundable deposit.

Transport

The festival is an 18-minute walk from the beach in La Cala, and can be accessed by shuttle buses operating throughout the day and night. The surrounding area of Cortijo Colardao is a residential area of Mijas Costa, and its nearest airport is Malaga - Costa Del Sol.

Cala Mijas Festival 2024

The organisors of the Cala Mijas festival announced at the end of the 2023 edition that the dates of the Cala Mijas Festival 2024 will be same weekend, Thursday 28th August to Saturday 30tt August 2024.

The Cala de Mijas 2022 international festival

The first edition of the music festival in 2022 welcomed headline shows from the Arctic Monkeys, where they showcased their most recent album The Car, ahead of its release in October later that year. It was recently announced that the 2023 Iberian Festival Awards awarded Cala Mijas the Best Live Performance award for the Sheffield band’s show at their 2022 edition, as well as winning the award for Best New Festival. More >

Cala Mijas Festival report 2023