The Valencian music Fair Trovam, closed its tenth edition last Saturday after four days of professional and artistic activities. First of all, the high participation of the sector’s agents must be highlighted, with the presence of more than 500 people who gathered in Castelló de la Plana to analyze and debate the industry’s challenges. On the other hand, more than 10,000 people have attended the more than 40 musical performances that have been held in the different stages of the event.

As the Minister of Education, Culture and Sport, Raquel Tamarit, pointed out at the opening ceremony of the Fair, that this meeting has become a tool for revitalizing the sector. Thus, Trovam has been the driving force behind the Valencian Music Office, a platform born from the collaboration between the Institut Valencià de Cultura (IVC) and the Federació Valenciana de la Indústria Musical (FEVIM) to promote and give visibility to the importance of Valencian music in the national and international circuits.

Also, Raquel Tamarit highlighted Trovam’s participation in the most important fairs in the State: BIME (Bilbao), Mercat de Música Viva de Vic, Fira Mediterrània de Manresa, Fira B! of the Balearic Islands and Feria Hispano Lusa de la Industria Musical (FHLIM) in Zamora. In addition, this year two presentation parties of the Fair took place in Madrid and Valencia. The first, held at Sala Siroco on Tuesday, October 18, featured live performances by Julio Bustamante and Sandra Monfort. In the second, held in La Marina on Saturday 22 October, Los Fresones Rebeldes, Mateo Morral and Semana Santa played. In both cases, the high attendance of the public must be mentioned.

For four days, the Valencian Music Fair addressed issues such as the internationalization of Valencian music; audiovisual production in the musical field; the importance of music in prisons; the training of professionals in the industry; or the example of the city of Benicàssim as a precursor to music tourism in our territory, an activity that was part of the Tiim – Tourism and Music Industry Conferences. In addition, technological projects applied to the music business were presented; the musical yearbooks of various entities; and some editorial proposals working on books about music. The professional program has also included around 200 quick meetings between festival programmers and the Valencian cultural circuit and with agencies and artists from all over Spain, as well as the presentation of gender studies by the Asociación MIM (Women in the Music Industry) and the theater and venues circuits, and also the announcement of the finalists of the 5th edition of the Premis Carles Santos de la Música Valenciana.

For a few years now, the Fair has developed the initiative Les Converses del Trovam, dialogues with artists to review their careers and explain how they see the creative act. In 2022, the protagonists of this project have been Martirio; Amparo Llanos, guitarist from Dover; Jorge Martí, singer and composer of La Habitación Roja; Chill Mafia and Los Xavales; and audiovisual director Joana Colomar.

All these activities have been monitored by various media. Thus, the Territori Sonor program of À Punt Mèdia radio traveled to Castelló on the 3rd and 4th to do the program live from the Auditorium. In addition, Radio 3’s Que parezca un accidente last Thursday was also broadcast from the capital of La Plana Alta.

The musical program

As every year, La Fira Valenciana de la Música has offered an artistic line-up, which is diverse in terms of genres and genuinely combines established proposals with emerging projects. The epicenter of the performances was the Castelló Auditorium, where the public once again demonstrated its loyalty to Trovam as a space to discover soloists and bands. Valencian performers such as Smoking Souls, Tito Pontet, Marala, Tesa, Tenda, Neus Ferri, Clara Andrés, Novembre Elèctric, La Pepa, TWIN, Colomet, Elena Játiva, Xiomara Abello, Malparlat, Valmuz, Ghost Transmission, Semana Santa, Nueve Desconocidos and Capricornio Uno have passed through the various rooms of the Auditorium. Among the state artists we should mention DePedro, Chill Mafia, Maria Hein, Muerdo, Maruja Limón, La Ludwig Band, Habla de Mí en Presente, Vic Mirallas, Alba Armengou, b1n0, Merina Gris, Verde Prato, Ernest Crusats, MDMAR and Lucia Gonzalo.

However, the live shows have also been moved to other parts of the capital of La Plana Alta. Thus, the Teatre Principal has witnessed the electro-opera Manifest Antiromàntic and the live shows of Carraixet, Els Germans Penalba and Tomàs de los Santos. On the other hand, thanks to the collaboration of the Universitat Jaume I (UJI), Castelló has been able to see the show Viaje al centro de un idiota by Enric Montefusco.

As a collaborating entity, the Valencian public television, radio and web organization organized the “Experiences À Punt” in Castelló with activities for all audiences in the Parc Ribalta. In the morning, Scorcia & Big54 and Ramonets gathered hundreds of fathers, mothers and children. Later, the attendees enjoyed the demonstrations of the Conlloga Muixeranga de Castelló and the Muixeranga de Guadassuar. In the evening, Xavi Sarrià, Cactus and Niuss put the icing on the cake at the Fira Valenciana de la Música in front of 2.000 people.

It should also be noted that this tenth edition has transformed the Pro Weekend section into a parallel circuit of venues that has featured around twenty performances in the city’s main venues such as Because Pop ‘n’ Roll, Escuela de Calor, Pub Terra, Raspabar, Salatal Club and Teatre del Raval.

Finally, La Fira Valenciana de la Música wishes to express its condolences for the death of Mimi Parker, drummer and vocalist of the American band Low. The group had to perform last Wednesday at the Teatre Principal de Castelló as part of Trovam. However, the concert had to be suspended due to health problems that ultimately led to this fatal outcome. The Fair wants to send a hug to the family, loved ones and fans of the music and the group and, modestly, dedicates the tenth edition of this event to their memory.

The eleventh edition of the Fair

The Trovam organization has already started designing the contents of next year’s edition. The dates and areas of work will be announced shortly to consolidate the work of the Fair as a structuring tool for the sector and a meeting place for the music industry.