Music is the lifeblood of our Gozitan people and as an island Gozo has its own distinct musical rhythm. Whatever style of music you enjoy, pop, rock, jazz, opera, dance – Gozo’s hugely diverse local music scene has plenty to get your toes tapping, your hips wiggling and your fingers clicking.
The islanders have an inherent talent, appreciation and enjoyment for music. Every village has their own community band, along with numerous choirs and orchestras who showcase their talents in highly elaborate open-air concerts staged throughout our year.
Walk through the back streets of Gozo during a hot and balmy summer evening and its commonplace to hear a band strumming up during rehearsals or the angelic sounds of a choir singing.
It’s not even just our local homegrown talent either; the island puts on a diverse mix of festivals and live music events featuring top international performers. Our month long Gaulitana Festival of Music in May features international musicians and groups performing a mix of classical, jazz, folk and world music styles.
Gaulitana’s highly renowned fully staged operatic production which closes the festival is always a definite must do event for local music lovers.
This summer’s free live open-air concerts ‘Leone Goes Pop’ and ‘Rock Astra’ were highly coordinated musical extravaganzas featuring orchestras and musical stars offering a unique twist on rock and pop classics. These annual events are always a popular way to enjoy exceptional musical talent in marvelous outdoor venues.
As was ‘Gozo Alive’, Gozo’s new music and arts festival whose headline act this year was international music star Craig David, alongside local musical legends Tribali.
‘Abode on the Rock’ is Gozo’s new dance music festival, involving international dance DJ’s spinning tracks locally, with house and techno music lovers jetting in from all over the world to visit our golden shores whilst they party.
Throughout the summer season in Gozo you can always guarantee a great mix of music, performed in our busy resorts and live music bars and clubs. Giving visitors the chance to savor exceptional sounds from talented artists.
With so much music on the island, it’s no surprise then that Malta’s first ever X-Factor winner came from Gozo. Singer Michela Pace, who made Gozitans hugely patriotic earlier on this year when she opened 2019’s Eurovision Song Contest with her song ‘Chameleon’ and who’s now taking on the charts after securing a Sony Music record deal.
The Travellers are another of Gozo’s hugely talented musical exports. In fact, their name references the amount of journeying the musicians have to do spanning our islands’ and beyond as they perform to their wide fan base. Their music is an edgy and energetic mix of Pop, Reggae, Folk and Dance which uniquely blends Maltese lyrics with a pop inspired brass mix.
The band got together in 2013 wanting to create a different kind of sound in Gozo’s already highly diversified local music scene. Clayton (Bassist), Joseph (Trumpet), Chris (Main Vocals) and Andrew (Guitarist), were the original members who started playing together while, Sylvano (Saxophone) and Michael (Drummer) joined the rest of the band later on in 2013. With contrasting influences from brit-pop to reggae, punk to dance music, the band was well equipped to bring its edgy, pop sound to the music scene. The Travellers’ debut EP included their songs Sempliċità’, ‘Dak li Int’ and ‘Xemx u Xita’ which all topped the charts. VisitGozo spoke to the band, who told us:
“Growing up in Gozo brought us together in order to create something special. It inspired us and helped us realise that we needed to strive for the best and always do what felt right. There is always a sense of solidarity and welcoming spirit present in Gozo. We are very thankful for the constant support we receive locally and we always try to stay true to our roots and always remember where we came from.”
The group says: “Our success with our recent tracks means that we are having to travel more and more. But we always really enjoy playing back home in Gozo. It’s good to reconnect and really nice to get the chance to visit our families.”
The Travellers are headlining the Calypsoed summer concert on the 31st of August at 21:00 hrs in Xaghra, Gozo which also includes emerging Gozitan talent Grove Street and one of Malta’s top DJs, Pierre Cordina.
Check out the Travellers’ debut album launch ‘Iljuni fis-Silġ’ here:
There’s a wealth of music events taking place throughout September; The Gozo Youth Wind Band & Orchestra bring their 5th edition of the ‘Stage and Proms on the Sea’ open air concert to Mgarr Marina on 9th and then the Jazz Do Festival takes place on 13th September. On 21st September Malta’s Armed Forces Band are staging an inspiring Independence Day concert and then be sure to remember October is our Opera month!
Check out forthcoming events in Gozo’s busy music scene by clicking here:
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