A free concert by Pioneros Madrileños del Pop is scheduled for Madrid’s Plaza Mayor at 6 p.m. on Friday, October 9. The lineup includes Los Relámpagos, Los Mismos, Pekenikes, Los Mustang, Formula V, Los Íberos and Los Brincos.
The performance is expected to last about two and a half hours and is part of Hispanidad, organized by the Community of Madrid. The Pioneros Madrileños del Pop association was founded in 2016 and began with a concert at Teatro Rialto.
Pekenikes drummer Félix Arribas told ABC that the band plans to perform two songs, “Hilo de seda” and “Cerca de las estrellas.” Arribas sings the latter. He said the producer chose his voice after auditions among band members.
Arribas joined Pekenikes in 1967 and remembers the group’s early years as part of the musical upheaval of the 1960s. He said younger listeners tend to choose music from their own era, though audiences still sing along to the older bands’ songs. Some younger concertgoers, he added, are surprised by the musicians’ sound and repertoire.
The musician has performed at Plaza Mayor before. His first appearance there was at a Spanish Communist Party rally in 1977, soon after the first elections following Francisco Franco’s death. He last played the square with Los Brincos at last year’s San Isidro festival.