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Barcelona, Catalonia.  The fifteenth edition of the Euskal Herria Sona! Festival will begin tomorrow, a showcase of contemporary Basque music until December 1.  Fifteen groups and soloists, one for each year of the festival, will bring as many styles and offerings to the Catalan capital.

The festival poster features the names of groups with a large following in the Basque Country as well as in Catalonia -- Doctor Deseo, Sociedad Alkoholika, We are Standard, Ruper Ordorika, Jabier Muguruza...while other less known artists will also be given the opportunity to make their music known in the city (complete program here).

“While society is suffering budget cuts, we have opted for more groups, more styles, more rooms and more concerts,” explained festival coordinator, Aitor Arruti, during the festival presentation.  Some concerts will take place at the clubhouse, while other will be in various locales in the city.  The festival “has been a part of the Basque music circuit as well as the Barcelona music scene for years,” according to organizers.

Basque music platform

Precisely due to the success of EH Sona! and as one of the more than 120 events that the Euskal Etxea organizes annually, the club has decided to take it a step further and from now on serve as a platform for Basque music in Barcelona and Catalonia.  One the one hand it will function as a concert hall for Barcelona and Catalonia, and on the other it will be the meeting point for producers and venues wishing to schedule Basque groups.

The director of the Etxepare Basque Institute, Aizpea Goenaga, stressed the special relationship that exists between Euskal Herria and Catalonia, a relationship that is should be strengthened and taken care of.  Additionally, she added that “the Euskal Etxea’s initiatives should be cloned in the Basque Country,” and stressed the leap in quality of the entity which “has left the protected environment of its members,” and is now open to the city.