Music and Madrid form an inseparable duo, and not only because of songs and albums like La Puerta de Alcalá by Ana Belén and Víctor Manuel, El Madrileño by C. Tangana or Te dejo Madrid by Shakira. Also because the capital is like a pentagram full of experiences for those who seek the best independent music, delight themselves with renowned artists or explore the most innovative beats of the local scene. And the fact is that the plans with music in Madrid offer something for all music lovers, including you!
Experience a live concert at the Teatro Real or the Teatro de la Zarzuela for less than 15 euros.
It’s all about theaters. Especially if we are looking for some of the best destinations for lovers of live music without the wallet asking for help. And a perfect example is Domingos de Cámara, an initiative of the Teatro Real in which to listen to the soloists of its Orquesta Titular on selected Sundays starting at 13 euros. So if you don’t have a Sunday musical plan, the Teatro Real makes it easy for you.
But if you work on weekends or you are one of those for whom a live concert is a good plan for any day of the week, the Teatro de la Zarzuela has an extensive program of concerts in which, during almost every month, you can enjoy great works of zarzuela by the Orquesta y Coro Titulares del Teatro. The best (if it can be improved)?Tickets from five euros.
2. Enjoy a free evening of music in a famous museum in Madrid.
In some of Madrid’ s most important museums, the melodies of a string quartet, the delicate touch of a piano or the vibrant echoes of contemporary percussion transform historic halls into authentic musical temples. All thanks to ‘MusaE. Music in State Museums’, the cultural project of the Ministry of Culture and Acción Cultural Española, which has returned for the eighth consecutive year to such evocative spaces as the Museo del Romanticismo, the Museo Cerralbo and the Museo Arqueológico Nacional.
Why settle for just enjoying your favorite music… when you can do it in a different environment, surrounded by art and, moreover, for free? Check out the program and let yourself be surprised by this unique series of acoustic concerts and micro-concerts, designed to dialogue with the themes, periods and atmospheres of each space. Just note: some evenings require prior registration, so you will need to reserve a place so as not to miss one of the best plans with music, starring young talent!
📆 Until March 29th
3. Attend your date with the most outstanding annual fairs of the music scene.
Madrid can boast of hosting events that any music lover would want to have just around the corner. The International Record Fair, with more than 100 stands at the Casa de Campo Fairgrounds, brings together sellers from all over the world with real gems in the form of vinyls, cassettes or CDs. But it’s not just about buying: here you can find collector’s items, exchange stories and share musical secrets with real experts. It’s a paradise for diggers.
And for those who prefer the six strings to the grooves of a vinyl, the VII International Guitar Festival of Madrid is an absolute must. And not only because great figures of the six strings bring their chords, arpeggios and plucking to such iconic venues as the Círculo de Bellas Artes. Also because of the seminars and master classes that will contribute to the city becoming the capital of this instrument so much ours, at least for a few days.
📆 International Record Fair: May 10th and 11th.
📆 Madrid International Guitar Festival: June 6 to 19
4. Listen to a live organ concert at the Auditorio Nacional.
It’s called Bach Vermut, and it’s an initiative of the Auditorio Nacional with one goal: to bring symphonic music closer to the general public. How? With an organ concert (usually on the third Saturday of every month) featuring live performances of some of Bach’s best-known works, as well as other classical and contemporary compositions. A totally different experience with a price just as worth listening to, because the entrance only costs six euros.
But this is not the only programming offered by the National Auditorium at a low price. They also have other proposals in which to listen to concerts by composers such as Rachmaninov, Strauss or Brahms by the National Orchestra and Choir of Spain with the Symphonic Cycle from 12 euros. Or Ciclo Satélites, which offers concerts in which to enjoy chamber music by Beethoven, Piazzola or Handel… all tickets at 12 euros. Symphonic music for your ears and your pocket!
5. Connect with music in its many (and very different) vinyl stores.
If you are in search of gifts for music lovers, the record and vinyl stores in Madrid are the perfect choice. Because there are many, yes, but each one has its own essence. From the 15 years that Recycled Music Center has been selling electronic music vinyls (mostly out of print) from private collections, to the Liquidator Music with which Toni Face has brought his Jamaican signature record label to Dos Hermanas de Lavapiés street in the form of vinyl.
More than stores, these establishments are temples of connection and learning whose owners are also, for the most part, music lovers. And that means that each one has its own aesthetics and history that make it different from the vinyl store next door. But if you are one of those who want to create music from listening to it, places like the Víctor Espirós Music Library help you to do so with its loan of instruments including violin, cello or ukulele, among others.
6. Visit the most legendary alternative bars and concert halls.
Every concert, no matter how small, needs an audience and, of course, also a space. Luckily, Madrid has hundreds of bars with live music whose spotlights give light to emerging artists. Places like Café Berlín, Toni 2 or Café El Despertar have long been a refuge for those who, like you, are looking for new voices… And jazz, indie or blues rhythms.
Without forgetting some of the most legendary concert halls, which have written entire chapters of the musical history of Madrid. Sala El Sol, Sala Clamores, Moby Dick… Here the meetings between friends are extended to the sound of electric riffs and choruses chanted at the top of their lungs that mark the beat of what is sure to be an unforgettable night. True altars for those for whom music is almost a religion.
7. Experience a classical music concert by candlelight.
That Candlelight takes live music events to another level is as true as the sky is blue and the chords of a good song give you goose bumps. The key? Reimagining the most beloved songs of geniuses like Vivaldi and Mozart, and contemporary legends like Queen or Coldplay, in classical format and under the light of thousands of candles. A complete blast. So discover its extensive program in Madrid and get ready. Because if something is clear is that music has many ways to conquer us, and Candlelight has found one that leaves no one indifferent!
🎟️ More information and tickets here
8. Immerse yourself in the worlds and music of the Tomorrowland festival in an immersive experience.
Technology allows us to listen to music with maximum clarity and quality, see live concerts that are happening thousands of miles away … and even immerse ourselves in the essence of a festival. This is what happens at the Tomorrowland Immersive Experience.
This experience was created to celebrate the twenty years of the Belgian festival, specialized in electronic and experimental music. Each year, Tomorrowland creates its own “Worlds of Tomorrow”, which give the festival its name: decorations, environments that seem to come out of the most magical dreams. The immersive experience, located in the Movistar Arena’s Crystal Room, immerses us in these dreamlike worlds of giant plants, infinite vines, concert libraries… 45 minutes of virtual reality and music.
🎟️ Every day. More information and tickets here
9. Feel Broadway in Madrid and attend a Grammy Award-winning musical.
There are the music fans who watch the Grammys, and those who have a passion for Grammy Award-winning musicals. For the latter, three words: musicals in Madrid. And what musicals. From The Book of Mormon, awarded Best Musical of 2024 in three different awards and Best Album by a Musical Theater at the 2012 Grammy Awards; to Aladdin, with the same Grammy in its 2015 edition and six Broadway World Spain Awards. And let’s not start with The Lion King, that we don’t finish.
Are you more of an immersive experience where music and spectacle are also key? WAH Madrid. Musical shows for all tastes and ages that make life in the capital a little more fun. Because, let’s be honest, it’s cooler to sing Mamma mia, here we go again than to simply say “Here we go again with the runrún”.
10. Join the Madrid party with a beat, no matter the time.
Music lovers in Madrid can’t be music lovers at all if they don’t have a corner in their hearts reserved for techno, electronic music or reggaeton. And if our city also stands out for something, it is for having a spectacular nightlife, with clubs like Fabrik, Changó Club or La Boite. Although, let’s be honest, not all of us are up for that kind of thing. For those looking to enjoy DJ sessions -whether on an improvised Wednesday or a Saturday party- without sacrificing hours of sleep, the late night is the solution and Florida Retiro, with its party options until midnight, is your ally.
11. Make your favorite festival the best plan of the summer
The dust on your shoes, the event bracelet on your wrist, a plastic cup in your hand and the echo of your favorite songs resounding under big colored strobe lights. This is the soul of the festivals in Madrid, from the multitudinous Mad Cool, famous for its impressive stages and productions, to the Rio Babel Festival, where Latin jazz, reggae and indie transform every chord into pure good vibes.
Although if there is one that deserves a separate applause, that is Noches del Botánico. Considered one of the best festivals in the capital, every summer brings to the Royal Botanical Garden of the Complutense a line-up that breaks it. We are talking about Zahara, Morrisey or Roxette, great artists that make their magic in a perfect encounter between music and nature. Doesn’t it suddenly seem like such a bad idea to stay in Madrid in July?
12. Immerse yourself in high quality music in their listening bars and HI-FI bars.
Born in Japan in the 80s, audiophile bars have now become one of the best music experiences for music lovers in Madrid. While listening bars are spaces where you can listen to records (mainly vinyl) in a quiet and deep way in environments that favor musical immersion, HI-FI bars are more specialized in high fidelity sound systems.
The centrally located Tempo Audiophile Club, with its two Mc 2205 power amplifiers and its Accuphase amplifiers, is a perfect example of a HI-FI bar. Also Proper Sound in Chamberí or one of the best known listening bars in Madrid, Los 33 whose menu, combined with its JBL loudspeakers, is more than music to the ears of high quality music lovers.
13. (Re)discover dances and musical genres with We call it
As Paquita Salas said in the series of the same name on Netflix, “a 360 actress is an actress who dances, who sings, but who also has a plus”. And within the activities for music fans, We call it could be exactly that: an experience where you not only enjoy a show of live professional dancers and musicians, but also (the plus) a stage set to create a magical atmosphere.
“Shall we see live music?”, “don’t you prefer live dancing?” For the undecided, We call it comes with the solution: both, together. From We call it Jazz to We call it A Cappella to We call it Tango, these experiences have received rave reviews in cities around the world. And that includes, of course, Madrid.
This article has been written by Carla Palenzuela and Marina Carrasco.