Paredes de Coura 2026 opens with four days of Underworld, Kneecap, Bloc Party and M.I.A.

Opening day

The Vodafone Paredes de Coura 2026 festival opened on Wednesday, August 12, at the Praia Fluvial do Taboão in the Minho village. The first concert on the Coura sem Paredes stage was given by Miramar, the project of guitarists Frankie Chavez and Peixe, at 4:45 PM, playing jazz-rock to a few dozen people. Most festivalgoers were still resting on the lawns and in the waters of the River Coura. British band Westside Cowboy opened the Vodafone stage with indie-rock before hundreds of people, including Manuela Azevedo and Hélder Gonçalves of the Portuguese band Clã, who watched from the grass amphitheatre. The Manchester quartet, releasing their first album this month, won over the early-evening crowd.

Four days of music

The festival runs through Saturday, August 15, with an additional Jazz na Relva stage programme on Sunday, August 16. The daily lineup includes: August 12, Kneecap, Wet Leg, The Horrors, CMAT, First Breath After Coma with Salvador Sobral, and Capitão Fausto; August 13, Underworld, Hermanos Gutierrez, Kurt Vile & The Violators, Aldous Harding, and A Garota Não; August 14, M.I.A., Bloc Party, Benjamin Clementine, and Sérgio Godinho e os Acessores com amigos; August 15, Amyl and the Sniffers, Thundercat, Júlia Mestre, Meute, Cate Le Bon, and Patrick Watson solo piano. Headliners across the edition include Underworld, Kneecap, Bloc Party, Benjamin Clementine, and M.I.A.

More than a festival

João Carvalho, the festival's director and head of promoter Ritmos, described Paredes de Coura as a place of emotions, complicity, and well-being. The programme extends beyond the main stages with "Sobe à Vila" community performances in the village, book exchanges, and podcasts addressing misogyny, equality, and inclusion. The river beach of Taboão is itself part of the programme.

From Coldplay to million-euro headliners

Carvalho recalled the festival's early years. The first edition took place in 1993, and international acts began appearing in 1997. In 2000, Coldplay made their Portuguese debut at the festival for 25,000 euros, when their album "Parachutes" sat at number one on the British chart.

“I knew the band was going to be big, because that album, 'Parachutes', was a very well-made album that I liked. They were at number one on the British chart and they were no longer so cheap for an unknown band... 25,000 euros. Today a headliner can cost two or three million, depending on the artist.”

Coldplay (2000)25,000

Headliner 2026 (low)2,000,000

Headliner 2026 (high)3,000,000

Coldplay (2000)

25000 €

Headliner 2026 (low)

2000000 €

Headliner 2026 (high)

3000000 €

Data from the article text

The audience

Spanish visitors from Galicia form a significant contingent among festivalgoers. Micael, a 31-year-old from Galicia, first came five years ago for one night and has returned every year for all four days. He noted that new people come each year and that he has met other Spaniards in previous editions. Two 19-year-old students from Porto, Renata and Mariana, attended for the first time after friends told them about the festival. They highlighted the river setting and the empathetic atmosphere. Both admitted they knew little of this year's lineup and saw it as an opportunity for discovery.