The Weekender Festival - Friday 31st July at the Arena Stage, O’Reilly's
Local and UK bands and singer-songwriters will come together for the free Weekender music festival at the Arena Stage at O’Reilly’s in Ocean Village next Friday 31st July.
Local band cedar will headline the festival. They’re joined on stage by The Sway from Liverpool (U.K) who have payed a small stage at Glastonbury in 2025 and the Isle of Wight festival in 2026, Nothing Rhymes With Orange (known for live performances in Bristol) who also played at the Isle of Wight festival, and Little Juke from the Midlands who released their debut album late last year to good reviews.
Singer-songwriters Colm O’Sullivan, who plays Irish folk, and Gibraltarian Nikolai Celecia and band complete the bill.
Festival organiser Wayne Meenagh says that the event only involves bands that play original music, separating the event from other gigs in Gibraltar that feature cover bands. He says the idea is to give a platform to young, breakthrough bands from the UK and Gibraltar rather than established, well-known musicians.
From folk to Americana, from Indie to Alt Rock, Wayne says the festival has “something for everyone.”
“This is a free community event so it’s at no cost to either locals or tourists. It’s taking on ace in the OV area which is the hub of nighttime activity in the summer so it adds to the sense that Gibraltar is a vibrant place to come and spend time,” he adds.
As for the organisational duties behind an event of this nature, Wayne says that helping to book flights and accommodation, dealing with bands and managers, working with venues and sorting out social media and tech problems is “great fun” but also “particularly stressful” especially as he’s a “one man band” doing this as a hobby.
“No one apart from other event organisers will know what I mean. Funding is always an issue and inevitably I always have to put my own hand into my pocket to an extent, even if it’s on a small scale,” he says.
He says the sponsors “are the lifeblood of the music scene in Gibraltar, not just for The Weekender, but other organised music events…there are some great people and companies out there willing to support young talented musicians. I wish there were more.”
Wayne urges people to get down to Ocean Village next Friday: “Where else do you get to see the best in young Gibraltar / British talent, playing original music for free? You might get to see the next big thing. The atmosphere will be fantastic, but get there early !”
CEDAR
YGTV also caught up with Daryl Pallas from cedar who are headlining the event.
He says the Weekender has been a event which the band is always proud to be part of as it’s a festival which brings upcoming UK acts to Gibraltar which we’ve never really had before.
“It’s given the band an opportunity to meet other bands who are trying to do the same thing as us and it’s very refreshing for our music scene. This year we (cedar) are very fortunate to be headlining the festival, it’s going to be a mad show which fans can expect new songs and our usual very chaotic nature,” he says.
The cedar member says it’s always a pleasure to share the stage with the UK and local bands that come over as they “bring a fresh sound to Gibraltar.”
“A lot of these bands are also trying to make music a career so it’s always inspiring to see the work they put into their projects.”
Daryl says cedar have been busy recently: “We’ve had a lot going in the past year, we went on our third UK tour which was a massive success, we released a few singles and there are still more to go, with some big news coming out very soon too.”
He’s confident the festival will appeal to many and say’s it’s well worth popping down next Friday: “I definitely think the festival will give live music a boost in Gibraltar! It gives the community an opportunity to watch some of the best local and UK upcoming bands right on their door step. It shouldn’t be taken for granted and everyone should come and check it out.”
The event is free and starts at 5pm with live music as from 6pm until midnight.
