Summer Concerts in Pontevedra Recap: Green Hot Chili Peppers, Jennifer Lopez, and BigSound
Summer in Pontevedra hit a different kind of high note this year—three, in fact. From the nostalgic riffs of the Green Hot Chili Peppers to the pop spectacle of Jennifer Lopez’s jaw-dropping performance, and the urban music explosion of BigSound that literally shook my neighborhood, this season turned our quiet Galician city into a full-blown concert capital.
I didn’t plan for it to be a summer of music, but somehow, it became one—and each show brought its own energy and stories worth telling.
Green Hot Chili Peppers (June 22, 2025)
On the first Sunday of the World Triathlon Multisport Championships in Pontevedra, something unexpectedly magical happened—not in the water or on the trails, but on a cozy outdoor stage under a starlit Galician sky. A tribute concert to the Red Hot Chili Peppers turned a quiet evening into a groovy one.
The Green Hot Chili Peppers, a fiery three-man tribute band, lit up the night with riffs and rhythms that made it easy to forget English wasn’t their native tongue. You’d never guess they were Spanish by the way they nailed every lyric and bassline.
I joined Andrea and her mom for the show, and to our surprise, the crowd was intimate—only around 200 people, maybe half of whom were international athletes. Considering there were over 3,500 multisport athletes in town, this was not much! The concert kicked off at 9:30 p.m.—hardly a late start by Spanish standards, though probably too late for those needing early recovery sleep.
What made the night even better was that it was free, and the weather was absolutely perfect. Not too hot, not too cold—just the kind of evening where the music flows through you, and you’re glad to be exactly where you are.
This was also the first time I tried out some Loop Experience 2 earplugs, which I’d bought specifically for concert season. Honestly? A total game changer. They took the edge off the volume enough to protect my ears without muting the experience. Conversations were clearer, sound quality actually felt enhanced, and when I popped one out briefly, the difference was shocking. The raw, unfiltered volume was nearly maddening.
Now, here’s the twist—the audience was possibly the most subdued group I’ve ever witnessed at a concert. When the Green Hot Chili Peppers finished their set and left the stage, there was such a polite hush that I wasn’t sure they’d even come back for an encore. A member of the band’s crew literally had to gesture wildly to the crowd to get louder. At least when the encore dropped, the crowd cheered jubilantly.
The cherry on top? Javier Gómez Noya—yes, that Javier Gómez Noya—the five-time ITU World Triathlon Champion and Pontevedra’s own hometown hero, showed up unannounced during the second encore. Guitar in hand, he jammed with the band for several songs during the “second encore,” making the night feel truly surreal. Seeing him—off the podium and on the stage—was one of those rare, pinch-me moments.
For a quiet concert on a Sunday night, with a small crowd and no ticket prices, this event hit all the right notes. It wasn’t massive or chaotic—it was beautifully close, personal, and full of surprises. And hey, not every day do you get to say you sang along to Californication with a world champion triathlete playing the guitar right in front of you.
Jennifer Lopez (July 8, 2025)
“Jennifer Lopez in Pontevedra?” our neighbor/friend Robin posted on Facebook in April, clearly baffled. “And, right next to our apartment! I need to bug out of town on July 8th…”
Guess she wasn’t a J.Lo fan. I am. I still remember buying her On the 6 compact disc at Target back in 1999—26 years ago. So when I heard that Lopez would be kicking off her Up All Night European tour in Pontevedra of all places, I could hardly believe it. She doesn’t tour often, and this was one of only six stops in mainland Spain. Cádiz, Fuengirola (near Málaga), Madrid, Barcelona, Barakaldo (near Bilbao)… and Pontevedra. And not just Pontevedra—Tafisa Park, a mere 400 meters from home.
I didn’t hesitate too long. I bought front-stage tickets for Andrea and me. They weren’t cheap, but the fact that we didn’t need to travel or book a hotel offset the expense. Andrea, however, wasn’t nearly as excited as I was, later professing that she, like Robin, wasn’t a J.Lo fan.
“We can just open our windows to hear her sing,” she said. While true, I suppose we could have also listened to her music on Spotify, or watch concert videos on YouTube. All that simply doesn’t compare to the atmosphere of a live performance.
As the concert date approached, excitement built—and so did the noise. Fences went up along the river and the street in front of our building, rerouting traffic and frustrating locals who had to navigate detours just to get to work. The stage itself, an impressive 16 by 25 meters, went up quickly, but the sound checks were relentless. Some nights they went on until 1 or 2 a.m. One night, around 12:30 AM, I stepped outside to toss recyclables and was met with pounding techno music from the park. No dancers, no performers—just security guards and a loop of background beats echoing through the night.
Sunday before the concert was the loudest. “On the Floor” blasted on repeat all afternoon. Even with our double-paned windows shut, I could hear every lyric.
Meanwhile, Lopez was living it up. She flew overnight from Los Angeles to Vigo on a private jet, stayed at a five-star hotel in A Toxa, bought a bikini, and relaxed before the big night. She kept posting on social media about how excited she was to perform in Vigo, which sparked confusion and debate among fans. Pontevedra and Vigo are close, sure, but they’re not the same city. It was like saying you’re performing in San Jose (California) when the venue is in Palo Alto.
But she was definitely in town. The night before the concert, she dined at Ultramar, a restaurant by Pepe Vieira, a two-Michelin-starred chef. Andrea and I have had dinner and drinks there many times. Good choice, J.Lo.
On the day of the concert, fans lined the streets for hours. But with our front-stage tickets, we strolled in just 40 minutes before showtime, encountered no line, grabbed a beer, and found a spot about six rows from the stage—dead center. If we’d arrived an hour or two earlier or been more aggressive, we might’ve snagged the front row, but we were happy with our viewing spot.
The concert started right on time at 10 PM. The first song? “On the Floor.” The second? A new song called “Save Me Tonight,” that was leaked only a month ago. And from that moment, I was hooked.
Lopez turns 56 in just two weeks, and she looked absolutely stunning. I thought she looked amazing at 50 during her Super Bowl halftime show, but seeing her up close at 56 was jaw-dropping. Andrea even said it was inspiring.
Turns out Lopez was always athletic. Growing up, she thought that one of her sisters was the singer and the other one was the smart one, whereas she was the athlete. She did gymnastics, played soccer, and even went to nationals with her team. Andrea later sent me an Instagram video of her doing pull-ups. At 55. Have you ever seen a woman in her mid-fifties do multiple pull-ups? You can now.
The energy throughout the concert was electric. Lopez danced, jumped, stood on a piano, and never missed a note. She changed outfits multiple times, and while there were two giant video screens for those farther back, we didn’t need them. We were close enough to see every detail.
One odd thing, though—she spoke almost entirely in English. At one point, she tried to get different sections of the crowd to make a specific sound, but many people didn’t understand her. Someone even kept shouting “¡Español!” but she didn’t switch languages. Despite being born to Puerto Rican parents and reportedly fluent in Spanish, she kept it English-only.
She skipped several fan favorites, too. No “El Anillo,” which was a hit in Spain. She also didn’t sing the Spanish versions of her songs, even though she had released a couple of record-selling Spanish-language albums over a decade ago. I didn’t mind missing “El Anillo,” but I would’ve loved to hear “No Me Ames” or “Could This Be Love.”
She did sing a couple of Selena songs, which I was very happy about. Her role in the 1996 docudrama Selena was arguably what launched her to worldwide stardom, and the week before, Andrea and I had watched it on Apple TV in anticipation of the concert. Jennifer Lopez did not sing, however, Selena’s best ballads like “Dreaming of You” and “I Could Fall in Love.” Well, at least the tejano songs she did sing were in Spanish. In any case, the music was solid.
She even debuted a new song to the world, “Wreckage of You,” right here in Pontevedra. The lyrics were about emerging from her breakup with Ben Affleck earlier this year. She didn’t name him, but everyone knew. At least, those who understood English did!
Just before midnight, she and her dancers took a bow. The crowd roared for an encore. But she never came back. No encore. That was a first for me. Even the Red Hot Chili Peppers gave two encores in June, despite the crowd being not much louder than that of a Wimbledon tennis match.
Maybe J.Lo was jetlagged. Maybe she needed her beauty sleep. Or maybe the city told her to wrap it up by midnight after all the noise complaints.
Then again, she was reportedly dining at O Xesteira in Sanxenxo from 2 to 3:45 a.m. after the show, so maybe sleep wasn’t the priority. More likely, she simply is a diva on a rigid schedule.
A Spanish friend knew someone who paid $2,000 for VIP backstage access—$300 for front-stage and $1,700 for five minutes with Lopez. So clearly, she had a packed schedule.
It’s ironic that the tour was called Up All Night, yet the concert ended earlier than the sound checks. But maybe the name fit her lifestyle more than the show itself.
She didn’t seem to take much from the post-concert criticism, either. At her third concert days later in Fuengirola, she reportedly called the crowd “motherf**kers” (she addressed Pontevedra like that too–see 1:11 in my video a little farther below) and only sprinkled in a little more Spanish, “as if it were her first day using Duolingo.”
Still, despite the quirks, the confusion, and the missing songs, I’m glad we went and so was Andrea. Seeing Jennifer Lopez live, just steps from home, was unforgettable. And for all the noise and chaos leading up to it, I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
Below are some video clips I took. They are brief because I was determined to not be like an older dude in front of us who was recording 90% of the show instead of enjoying it!
BigSound (July 11-12, 2025)
After the whirlwind of Jennifer Lopez’s concert just days earlier, I was ready for silence. The fences, the sound checks, the late-night techno loops—my ears needed a break and I wished for some peace and quiet. Robin, our neighbor, felt the same. She fled to Porto to escape the noise. I stayed put, but I wasn’t exactly eager for another sonic invasion.
So when BigSound rolled into town, I barely paid attention. I didn’t research the lineup, didn’t check the schedule, didn’t even glance at the posters. That turned out to be a mistake. Because if I had known Abraham Mateo was performing “Quiero Decirte”—despite duet partner, Ana Mena, not being there—I probably would have gotten tickets. That is one of my favorite songs by a Spanish artist.
Here’s part of Mateo’s performance, posted by OuVill Live Music on YouTube:
It turns out that plenty of other people did not underestimate the event. Over two days, more than 35,000 people packed into Tafisa Park to see musicians like Nicky Jam, Juan Magán, Rels B, Amaia, Omar Montes, Tanxugueiras, and yes, Abraham Mateo.
The festival didn’t just bring music—it brought money. According to the city and organizers, BigSound generated an estimated €14 million in economic impact for Pontevedra. Hotels were booked solid, restaurants were buzzing, and the city felt alive in a way that was both exhilarating and exhausting. The mayor himself called it “a complete success,” praising the collaboration between the city, organizers, and the ever-patient residents who live near Tafisa Park.
And the success wasn’t fleeting. Within hours of announcing the 2026 edition, discounted, one-year-in-advance tickets were already sold out within six hours. The early bird gets the worm.
Looking back, I kind of regret not being ready for, or taking part in, the event. Not just for Abraham Mateo, but for the sheer energy that seemed to pulse through the city. Pontevedra isn’t usually on the map for big urban music festivals, but BigSound changed that. It carved out a new identity—one that embraces reggaetón, electro-latino, and pop with open arms.
So yes, I was tired of the noise. But maybe next year, I’ll be part of it.
