Spain’s most unconventional music festival adapted concerts and activities to a weekend of heavy rain and an orange weather warning, while keeping its three pillars intact: music, gastronomy and beer culture.
You had to check your phone, look at the sky and then check your phone again.
The 10th anniversary of SON Estrella Galicia Posidonia, held in Formentera from October 2 to 4, had an impossible-to-ignore guest this year: rain.
An orange weather warning for heavy rainfall forced the organisers to change schedules, move concerts indoors and cancel some of the activities originally planned outdoors. The programme stopped being a fixed roadmap and became almost a statement of intent.
The organisation adapted its plans as the forecasts changed, doing everything possible to ensure that festival-goers could continue enjoying the event safely.
At times, it seemed the skies were offering a brief reprieve. At others, it was time to run for cover.
But between the downpours, the music kept playing.
Rain changes the festival — and creates unexpected moments
Friday offered an early glimpse of what the weekend would bring.
Hinds had to pull out of their scheduled concert, but the band members did not disappear from the festival altogether. Instead, they stepped behind the decks and took on DJ duties, helping to warm up an atmosphere that needed very little encouragement to come alive.
Later, they joined León Benavente, whose concert was eventually moved indoors.
What began as a logistical necessity ended up creating a much more intimate setting than expected: musicians, singers and festival-goers sharing almost the same space, with barely any boundary between stage and audience.
On Saturday, the weather continued to keep everyone guessing, but once the music started, it quickly became a secondary concern.
Jungle by Night brought sophistication to the day, while Angola’s Pongo dispelled any remaining temptation to stand still.
Their infectious energy got the crowd dancing. After so many consultations of weather apps, festival-goers seemed particularly grateful for the chance to forget about rain maps for a while.
The festival programme also featured TootArd, Gigi Girls, Cora Novoa, Raoul Vignal and Ombligo, alongside local DJs Marco Holtman, Flow da Low and Will Be Franco.
The audience was small compared with the crowds at major festivals — and privileged for precisely that reason — and responded to the constant changes with patience and a desire to keep the party going.
Gastronomy and beer remain at the heart of Posidonia
If some activities could not be saved from the weather, the food kept coming.
Gastronomic offerings appeared throughout the weekend, with an abundance of small plates and finger food: food designed to be picked up with one hand while the other holds a drink and your feet keep moving to the music.
The presentation was informal, but the attention to quality, variety and quantity remained.
Beer culture was another essential part of the festival, with different varieties from the brand selected to accompany each dish.
Explanatory signs and members of the bar teams suggested the ideal pairing for each dish and each moment.
The festival’s commitment to sustainability also remained part of the formula.
SON Estrella Galicia Posidonia reaches its 10th anniversary after securing the TRUE Zero Waste Platinum certification for the third consecutive year, the highest recognition awarded by Green Business Certification Inc.
Ten years of music, gastronomy and a deliberately intimate format
Over its ten years, more than 140 companies and local organisations and more than 30 restaurants and chefs from Formentera have taken part in the festival.
The event has made its deliberately small-scale format part of its identity.
This year’s anniversary brought changes, dashes for shelter and plans that had to be postponed until another occasion.
But it also produced unexpectedly intimate concerts, plenty of dancing and a crowd that kept smiling despite the rain.
In the end, those moments are part of what festival memories are made of.