The legendary artist, considered the godfather of punk, greets his fans in a video in which he announces his return to the European stage. Iggy Pop will perform on July 21st at the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències for the Diversity València Festival. Iggy Pop turns 75 by announcing his European tour with a special concert at Diversity Valencia!

“I’ve waited several years, but I’m coming back. I’m coming back to Europe in June”. With this phrase and a brief greeting to his European fans, the legend Iggy Pop announces in a video the start of his new European tour starting in June with a stop in the Valencian capital. He does so on the verge of his 75th birthday. And the fact is that 21 April is the birthday of a universal icon who will be remembered in the history of music as the undisputed and genuine “godfather of punk”.

After more than a decade without setting foot in Valencia, La Iguana’s return to Valencian soil will take place on 21 July at the international Diversity València Festival to be held at the monumental Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències. The legendary artist will share the musical journey with groups with whom he is united by a certain intergenerational transgression, as is the case of Måneskin.

The Italian band, who have just sealed their American projection with their recent performance at Coachella, have openly declared the influence that Iggy Pop has had on their career. In fact, the version of their well-known song I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE with Iggy Pop has been compared to the American musician’s song I wanna be your dog.

‘Nobel Prize’ for Music for Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop embarks on his tour after being awarded the prestigious Polar Music Prize 2022. Considered the Nobel of Music, the international jury recognised Pop’s career from his leadership of the legendary band The Stooges to the present day, shaping the rock era and blazing a trail both in his 19 studio albums and his powerful and memorable live performances.

The official press release issued to announce the recipient’s name stated that Iggy Pop’s aura and attitude “have helped light fires that have blazed trails through the worlds of punk, grunge and generations of alternative music”. The bare-chested icon will collect his award in Stockholm on 24 May.

Part of these reasons have also led Diversity València Festival to include the figure of Iggy Pop in its headliner, as one of the objectives of the great event is to bring together in the same event figures who have been or are inspiring social movements around the world in favour of diversity. Thus becoming the music scene that mixes popular phenomena from mainstream culture with international presences that have been a revolution in their genres and that, in most cases, are attached to some kind of social message, as is the case of Pop.

The most equal festival
Diversity València Festival, which will be held from 21 to 23 July, has among its names – together with the aforementioned Måneskin, who will give his only concert announced in Spain for 2022 – the mysterious phenomenon H.E.R., for the first time in Spain and the only concert that the artist will give in 2022 in the whole country.

The young multi-instrumentalist, winner of 5 GRAMMYs and an Oscar, is one of the current top representatives of R&B. Remembered for her powerful performance at the last GRAMMY Awards gala with Lenny Kravitz and Travis Barker, H.E.R. also stands out for her strong social commitment and her active role in the anti-racist movement Black Lives Matter: The video for her song I Can’t Breathe won the MTV VMA for the best audiovisual production with a social message.

Alongside her, transgressive presences such as the queen of Afrobeats, Tiwa Savage. A musical genre -Afrobeat- that was born linked to a strong social movement in Nigeria and Ghana and that has subsequently spread throughout Africa and the world with Savage as its greatest female exponent.

In the same vein of breaking the mould in her genre is Koffee. The very young artist, who has also just performed at the renowned Coachella, holds a GRAMMY for Best Reggae Album. She is the only woman in history and the youngest person to win this award. Koffee’s concert will also be an exclusive performance in 2022 for Diversity València Festival.

Ezra Furman, queer icon of contemporary pop music for having composed and performed the original soundtrack of the hit Netflix series Sex Education, is confirmed as another of the most transgressive presences. The artist, who has recently started naming herself as a proud trans woman, has become an icon for oppressed identities. According to the prestigious newspaper The Guardian, Ezra Furman’s performances are “the most powerful live performance you can see at the moment”.

Strong international acts such as Christina Aguilera, Martin Garrix, Black Eyed Peas, Nicki Nicole, Armin van Buuren and AURORA make up a line-up that, without doubt, has the distinction of being the most equal and diverse of the year.

The Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències will witness the biggest international mix to date. Added to this attraction is the expectation of seeing Iggy Pop make history on stage at the age of 75. Singing in unison the countless anthems of his long career and being contaminated by his irreverent intensity.

As music journalist Carlos Pérez de Ziriza writes in this article dedicated to the artist, Iggy Pop is the man of a thousand lives. And what better than music to celebrate him and to celebrate us.

Tickets for the Diversity València Festival can now be purchased through See Tickets and on the festival’s own website: diversityvalencia.es

Report by 24/7 Valencia

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