Cala Mijas Festival 2023, Thursday detailed report

Idles, the punk rock band turn up the energy, as Mark “Bow” Bowman launches himself into the crowd. © Oscar L Tejeda

Cala Mijas Festival 2023 - Day 1 Thursday report

by Alex Cutts

Vera Fauna kicked off Cala Mijas festival on Thursday evening, over on the Sunset stage, cast away in the shade. The four piece band from Seville drew a pleasant sized crowd for the first band of the day. Their melodic summer tunes set the tone of the festival nicely.

Juicy Bae opened on the Victoria stage, her urban sound and auto-tuned vocals were high energy. © Oscar L Tejeda

Over on the Victoria stage, Juicy Bae opened up to a smaller crowd in the beaming down sunshine. From Seville, her urban sound and auto-tuned vocals were high energy as she interacted with the crowd.

Crowds began to pour in as Cala Vento opened up the main Sunrise stage © Alex Cutts

Crowds began to pour in as Cala Vento opened up the main Sunrise stage. They brought a more rock and roll sound to the festival ahead of punk rockers Idles and indie rock bands Arcade Fire and Foals, set to follow on the Sunrise stage during Thursday night. Their synth sounds would be loved by fans of Mac Demarco.

Back over at the Victoria stage, Cupido’s upbeat indie-pop songs really get the crowd going. Singing in unison, the crowd chant along and create an amazing atmosphere.

A more dramatic tone takes the Sunset stage, contrasting with Cupido’s upbeat tunes. Their combination of electric guitar and the cello brings a similar sound as Stereophonics and Muse.

Siouxsie brought a nostalgic sound to the festival. © Oscar L Tejeda

Siouxsie came out on stage to a mystical Harry Potter track, setting the scene ahead of her magical set. Readers may remember her hit band Siouxsie and the Banshees, from the 1980s. Her set brought a nostalgic sound to the festival, breaking up the modern heavy line-up.

Amaia was dressed head to toe in sparkles. © Sharon Lopez

Continuing the modern pop theme, Amaia featured on the Sunset stage dressed head to toe in sparkles. Her high energy performance was filled with dance routines, getting the crowd singing and jumping along.

Baxter Dury bringing a fusion of Brit-pop, New Wave and spoken word. © Oscar L Tejeda

Baxter Dury, son of Ian Dury, appeared on the Victoria stage, bringing a fusion of Brit-pop, New Wave and spoken word, paired with some spiritual looking dance movements. For fans of The Streets’ Mike Skinner.

Tucked away between the trees, La Caleta stage brings a nightclub to life outdoors in nature. With back to back DJs, strobe lighting and on-screen special effects, taking the audience through the day right until the early hours of the morning.

Arcade Fire, five-piece band from Montreal, Canada headlining on the Sunrise Sstage on Thursday. © Oscar L Tejeda

Headline act Arcade Fire got the crowd chanting along and clapping to the beat of their indie rock anthems. The five-piece band from Montreal, Canada is fronted by husband and wife duo Win Butler and Regine Chassagne, who are accompanied by fellow band members Richard Reed Parry (multi-instrumentalist), guitarist Tim Kingsbury, and Jeremy Gara on the drums. Their combination of instruments, organic vocals, and use of a loop pedal give them an authentic DIY feel. Their set started off tame but built throughout, with the addition of strobe lighting, smoke, and a mirrored disco ball. Paying homage to their Canadian routes, Régine Chassagne voiced french lyrics during the set. Energy amongst the crowd grew deeper as Lead singer Win Butler made his way off the stage, over the barrier and into the crowd where he joined his fans in a mosh pit.

Idles took to the Victoria stage, opening with their dramatic song Colossus. It didn’t take the punk rock band long to turn up the energy, as Mark “Bow” Bowman launches himself into the crowd, clad in a long white dress, during the second song of the set. Lead singer Joe Talbot brought an abundance of energy to the stage with nonstop dancing, jumping, and stomping. Talbot even got the crowd involved during I’m Scum, encouraging everyone to crouch down low before jumping up in sync for the chorus. The band closed with their 2018 hit Rottweiler.

Idles, a punk rock band from Bristol formed in 2009, bring their anti-establishment lyrics and rambunctious hardcore rhythms to the stage on Thursday evening. The five-man band is fronted by Welsh singer-songwriter Joe Talbot, whose lyrics aren't shy of criticism from the right-wing media for their political nature. The band’s music often mentions issues such as toxic masculinity, racism, and depression. Their fourth studio album Crawler, released in 2022, won the Libera Award for Best Rock Record.

Foals closed the main Sunrise stage in the early hours of Friday morning. They opened their set with their top song Wake Me Up. Lead singer Yannis Philippakis interacted with the crowd throughout their set and even made the effort to address the audience in Spanish on occasion. Their set featured their popular songs My Number, and Mountain at my Gates, complete with a backdrop of colourful on-screen visuals.

Foals, the indie rock band from Oxford, England is fronted by lead singer Greek-born Yannis Philippakis, who is accompanied by guitarist Jimmy Smith and drummer Jack Bevan. Since they founded their band in 2005, the boys have released seven studio albums, their latest entitled Life is Yours released in 2022. They are currently signed to Warner Records. In their 18 years as a band, they have received many awards, including the NME Award for Best Track, for their song Spanish Sahara in 2011, and the Brit Award for Best Group in 2020.