Asking young Spanish music fans where we should go to film bands was, in retrospect, not the greatest of ideas. We vacillated between Madrid and Barcelona for the most part, and then two months before shooting we were tempted to do so at a little film festival in Galicia.

The result was a kind of civil war with everyone fighting for his region, talking up both the cities themselves and their local music scenes. So we listened to bands, flip-flopped back and forth, and were finally enticed by the idea of one city’s beaches and good spirits. Barcelona it is.

We came across an abundance of remarkable bands; there was garage rock, silky pop, electro-rock and some weepy songwriters, but always the same feeling of sunny relaxation, carefreeness, lightness. The bands on Barcelona’s scene have also found a way of successfully culling from myriad influences without smothering their unique Spanish sound.

And the city was the best of companions: sunny, laid-back, colorful and full of hidden beauty. The people were generally ready to let things slide, taking the time to listen to a band fooling about on a busy street, to exchange love stories in Park Güell, to sunbathe and enjoy the enthusiastic trumpeting of a nearby brass band. It was an early taste of summer, a return to youth.

Chryde – La Blogothèque

• Barcelona Rocks One of the most thorough sites on current music in Barcelona: concert calendars, venue guides—it’s all here. Visit this site if you don’t want to miss a thing.
• Sala Apolo One of the main concert venues in Barcelona, Sala Apolo has held on to a certain retro feel over the years. There’s a second one, Apolo “2,” that’s more modern, more independent and known for hosting the famous “Anti-Karaoke” nights.
• Venus Pluton A video magazine reporting on Barcelona’s cultural life that includes concert footage and acoustic sessions with local artists. A good reference.
• Waaau TV A site where Spanish music fans can share videos of their favorite artists. An excellent way to discover new bands.
• El Clandestino According to numerous Barcelona residents, El Clandestino is not to miss. They bring in top notch DJs, some smaller bands, and have the best cocktails in the city to boot.
• Sala Razzmatazz A huge club that transforms itself on weekends into five different clubs with five different feels and also regularly books concerts. One of the top night spots in Barcelona.
• Recasens One of the best restaurants in the city, period!