Beyond Fado: Discover Portugal's Musical Gems -Portuguese Music discovery

From Cape Verdean rhythms to experimental sounds Portuguese Music artists you need to know and discover

In Portugal, people like to say there are three sacred F’s: Football, Fátima, and ohh yes you already guess it the third Fado!

As any one visit and experience traditional Fado night, we can’t not consider Fado as genre, it has more meaning its reflecting of love, pain and mostly saudade. It is one of the most powerful experiences that you can feel inside of you-even though you don’t follow the lyrics- a faddists strong voice with ups and downs, in every breath the emmonition that she shares with us. If you ever visit Lisbon in June, the sacred month of Santos populares you probably also met with “Pimba” Its the most popular music that we always listen at festivals which I will avoid this article. I promise to return this to very fun, playful but also sometimes naughty or even vulgar lyric music in another time.

However, I want to talk something different, I want to take this opportunity to share more Portuguese artists and genres.

Today I want to share another richness that surprises and amuses you, not only the food but with the music. It would be such a shame if only limited Portuguese music the genres with fado and pimba. All the richness of interactions from Brazilian and African roots, there amazing diversity in music, and I will leave to talk about this to experts. But I would love to share one of my small selection that I usually play in the dinner experiences I do in Lisbon. Once again, I would like to underline that this selection is totally based on my likes!:)

Dino D’Santiago

I started with Portugal’s well known activist and musician. His family has Cape Verde roots, so he chose his stage name tribute to his parents’ homeland: Santiago. A small popular gossip note, he was also the one who introduced Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) music to Madonna, and inspired the core of Madonna’s Madame X concept.

A Garota Não

She is absolutely my favorite! Cátia Mazari Oliveira, her stage name comes from; one day in a concert, an audience member kept shouting for “Garota de Ipanema.” She finally fed up, and said: “Not Garota, please!” and later adopted “A Garota Não” as a statement of artistic independence.

Dead Combo

The foodies will most probably remember their name quickly from No reservation,! Their international career clearly changed after they appear at Anthony Bourdain’s fascinating television program at Lisbon episode.

Deolinda

If you know fado, how about neo-fado? That’s where Deolinda comes in. The band built their identity around a fictional Lisbon woman, Deolinda, who lives with her cats and goldfish. Their songs mix tradition with social and political commentary, bringing together young adults, grandparents and children. You might even enjoy them more if you check the lyrics!

If you’d like to dive deeper into Portugal’s music scene and discover Lisbon through unforgettable sounds, drop us a message we’ll create an experience just for you.