BCN EN CONCIERTO a benchmark blog for rock concert reviews in Barcelona, created by a group of passionate writers who, for over a decade, have captured the unique energy of live performances and the heartbeat of the local scene.
On December 12, 2020, its authors —David Luciá Aznar, Antonio Sánchez García, and Antonio Jesús Collado Bolívar, known as Mr. Wolf, Mr. Sheep, and Mr. Bull— published the book Under the Spotlights: Rock Chronicles from bcnenconcierto (2008–2020). In it, they pay tribute to the artists, promoters, and venues that have shaped the cultural life of the city.
Among its pages is an interview with our vocalist, Ángel Jaraiz, where he reflects on the evolution of rock, the authenticity of today's music, and his journey as a veteran of the scene. In a candid conversation, he shares thoughts, emotions, and frustrations from someone who has long inhabited the underground with conviction.
While he acknowledges that authentic music is still being created, he laments that rock has lost its connection with younger audiences. In his view, this is due to aesthetic factors, changing consumption habits, and the diminished role of the music industry.
"Music is the Cinderella of culture, and rock is the wayward child."
Regarding the local scene, he highlights that it is experiencing one of its best moments in terms of quality, but that the lack of venues and audiences seriously hinders its growth.
The bands, although veteran, have developed the best of themselves, but they are dying in an insular circuit where there isn't enough audience.
Regarding the rise of tribute bands, while he understands their economic and personal logic, he believes they do not add artistic value. He also criticizes a cultural management that responds more to personal interests than to the need to diversify and renew the scene.
Rock must return to young people, to schools, to being sexy... for someone to pick up a guitar and believe that through rock they can find their form of expression in the world.
Despite the diagnosis, he does not lose hope. He believes in the genre's constant transformation and its ability to reinvent itself.
Rock is energy, and as such, it is not destroyed, it only transforms.
Regarding the most memorable concerts, Jaraiz doesn't pick just one, but he emphasizes the strength of national talent:
"The artists that surprise me the most are the national ones, perhaps because my expectation towards the closest ones still carries that complexity so characteristic of us."
An essential read for those who live rock from within and for those who know that sometimes, the spotlight shines much more than just a stage.
