Free access on the 19th, tickets available on the 21st, and very limited capacity for the grand weekend of February 27th and 28th.Following the success of the first gatherings of the VIII edition, the MUV! Festival is heading into its final two intense weeks before the great “musical tornado” of February 27th and 28th, when more than twenty activities will transform the Poblados Marítimos into a sonic journey open to the entire city.

The 2026 programme combines local, national, and international artists and seamlessly transitions from blues, soul, and jazz to ska, Afrobeat, classical music, rumba, electronica, and Mediterranean fusions. The neighborhood is once again the stage and meeting point, with concerts at La Fábrica de Hielo, La Batisfera, Burning House, Stonecastle Brewery, the Sociedad Musical Poblados Marítimos, the Teatre El Musical (TEM), the Centre Cultural Reina 121, and the Centre Cultural Escorxador del Cabanyal, as well as several local businesses.

The festival’s kickoff on February 5th confirmed its connection with the public. More than 200 people attended the opening of the exhibition “Las penas se van cantando” (Singing the blues away), open until March 2nd at the Centre Cultural Reina 121, accompanied by the intimate concert by Lili del Sol and Aliya Cycon, whose fusion of Arabic and Latin American sounds moved attendees of all ages. Days later, on the 19th, the mini-series of concerts in shops once again demonstrated the accessible nature of MUV!: Macarena Piedrahita (singer-songwriter), Robert Grayd (acoustic folk), Blow C (reggae), and Sanse (indie-pop) performed in small local businesses that quickly filled up, with the public waiting in the street for access. The initiative, developed in conjunction with the Sesión de Micros Abiertos (SDMA) and ACIPMAR (Asociación de Comerciantes, Industriales y Profesionales del Marítimo – Association of Merchants, Industrialists and Professionals of the Maritime district), strengthened the bond between culture and the neighborhood’s commercial fabric.

The official opening will take place on February 19th at the TEM with Maria Carbonell Blues Mood, one of the most promising blues and rhythm & blues proposals in Spain. Access will be free until full capacity is reached. Two days later, on February 21st, the festival will arrive at La Pérgola de la Marina with Helen Helen – rock, country, and punk with American roots – and Aurora & The Betrayers, a Madrid-based soul and R&B reference point with an analog sound and powerful live performances. That same day at 5 pm, the Centre Cultural Escorxador del Cabanyal will host the round table Valencia Music City – within the radio programme La Tertulia del Cabanyal, integrated into the live recording of the Radio Malva podcast. The meeting will bring together institutional representatives and key players in the city’s musical ecosystem, establishing itself as a space for dialogue and reflection on the present and future of music in Valencia, within the framework of the València Music City 2025-2030 strategy.

Friday, February 27th, will mark the start of the central days with simultaneous concerts that reflect the diversity of the festival: Anna Dukke will bring her blend of blues and soul to Burning House; the Orquesta Filarmónica Martín i Soler will bring classical music to La Fábrica de Hielo; the New York Ska-Jazz Ensemble will unleash its explosive fusion of ska and jazz at the Sociedad Musical Poblados Marítimos, followed by Baodub’s Dub to Jungle electronic session; and Valencian Andrés Belmonte quartet, will present his project of dialogue between Valencian tradition and Arabic and Mediterranean music at the TEM, together with composer and multi-instrumentalist specialized in Mediterranean and Oriental music, Efrén López.

Saturday the 28th will combine daytime and nighttime programming. The Centre Cultural Escorxador del Cabanyal will host the A dos pasos (Two Steps Away) illustration fair, accompanied by the groove and jazz manouche of the LUQ trio. A musical composition workshop based on the body as an instrument will be held at the Centre Cultural Reina 121. La Fábrica de Hielo will welcome Raízes, a children’s batucada project, while the Sociedad Musical Poblados Marítimos will bring together the Big Band Session of Sedajazz, a benchmark of Valencian jazz, together with different swing and big band formations.

In the afternoon and evening, the journey will continue with proposals that cross styles and geographies: Umpah! (fusion of Indian classical music, jazz, and funk), Le Grand Miércoles (surf, western, and Jamaican roots), La Fiesta de la Rumba (Valencian rumba for dancing), Looping Greis (electronics, voice, and body percussion), Migue De La Rosa and Yaíma Orozco, together with Jonás Estefen, exploring Cuban song between bolero, son, and jazz. There will also be space for blues-rock with the Stevie Ray Vaughan Tribute by Triple Trouble, the R&B and neo-soul reinterpretations of Blackbird Trio, and the vibrant closing by Ogún Afrobeat, one of the benchmark Afrobeat bands in Spain.

Many of these concerts are held in spaces with very limited capacity, which allows for a close experience between artists and the public. Several sessions are close to selling out, so the organization recommends not waiting until the last minute.

MUV! has the collaboration of cultural entities of the Valencia City Council and the Generalitat, neighborhood associations and businesses, as well as the support of Caixa Popular, ACIPMAR, Cerveza Tyris, and La Fantástica Soda. The festival thus consolidates a model rooted in the Poblados Marítimos and open to the entire city, turning the neighbourhood into a musical meeting point without labels.

Report by ‘24/7 Valencia’ team

Article copyright 24/7 Valencia

More info: https://www.muvfest.com/