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Gibraltar is a British overseas territory with many musical influences. Rock based music is undergoing a renaissance with a multitude of local bands playing original material and covers. Local venues have begun accepting Gibraltarian bands and those from nearby Spain, resulting in a varied mix of live performances every weekend as well as some weekday nights.
Musicians from Gibraltar include Charles Ramirez, the first guitarist invited to play with the Royal College of Music Orchestra, [1] and successful rock bands like Breed 77, Melon Diesel and Taxi.
The best known Gibraltarian musician is Albert Hammond, [2] who has had top 10 hits in the UK & US, and has written many songs for international artists such as Whitney Houston, Tina Turner and Julio Iglesias among many others.
Concerts in Gibraltar by well known international acts have recently given local acts a showcase for original material in their supporting roles. These include Surianne supporting Suzanne Vega, Sarah Howard supporting Steve Hogarth, Jetstream supporting Ali Campbell and Jessie J and SuperWookie supporting Marillion [3] at the annual Gibraltar Music Festival.
Marillion are a British neo prog band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becoming the most commercially successful neo-prog band of the 1980s.
UB40 are an English reggae and pop band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album four times, and in 1984 were nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Group. UB40 have sold more than 70 million records worldwide. The ethnic make-up of the band's original line-up was diverse, with musicians of English, Welsh, Irish, Jamaican, Scottish, and Yemeni parentage.
The music of Indiana was strongly influenced by a large number of German and Irish immigrants who arrived in the 1830s. A prime example is "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen" written by Thomas Westendorf, from Hendricks County, Indiana, in 1875.
The culture of Gibraltar reflects Gibraltarians' diverse origins. While there are Spanish and British influences, a result of the territory's status as a British overseas territory and its proximity to Spain, the ethnic origins of most Gibraltarians are a mix of Andalusian Spaniards, Genoese, Maltese, Portuguese and British. The main religion is Christianity, the majority group being the Roman Catholic Church, then the Church of England. There is a long established Sephardic Jewish community, a number of Hindu Indians and a Moroccan Muslim population. Gibraltarians of Genoese origin came to The Rock in the 18th century, with the Maltese and Portuguese following in the 19th century, coming to work and trade in the British military base. Spanish Andalusian origins are the result of generations of intermarriage with inhabitants of surrounding towns.
Breed 77 is a Gibraltarian rock band. The band was formed in 1996 and perform a combination of alternative metal, rock, and flamenco.
Fairport's Cropredy Convention is an annual festival of folk and rock music, headed by British folk-rock band Fairport Convention and held on the edge of the village of Cropredy in Oxfordshire, England. The festival has taken place in August annually since 1976.
Rock music has been performed and heard in Lithuania since the mid-1960s. At first, repression by the Soviet authorities meant that rock was performed only at illegal gatherings, while music from the West was available on Radio Luxembourg or smuggled records. As pressure eased somewhat, rock musicals began to be released, such as Velnio nuotaka and Ugnies medžioklė su varovais.
Rock en español is a term used to refer to any kind of rock music featuring Spanish vocals. Compared to English-speaking bands, very few acts reached worldwide success or between Spanish-speaking countries due to a lack of promotion. Despite rock en español's origins in the late 1950s, many rock acts achieved at best nationwide fame until the Internet consolidated the listeners. However, some rock en español artists did become internationally popular with the help of a promotional campaign from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s called "Rock en tu idioma". Some specific rock-based styles influenced by folkloric rhythms have also developed in these regions. Some of the more prominent styles are Latin rock ; Latin alternative, an alternative rock scene that blended a Latin sound with other genres like Caribbean ska, reggae, and soca; or Andalusian rock, a flamenco-influenced style that emerged in Spain.
Hollywood Rock was a music festival which took place in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, from 1988 to 1996, featuring both Brazilian and international acts. The festival was sponsored and organised by the Souza Cruz tobacco company, owners of the Hollywood cigarette brand, taking its name from an unrelated festival that occurred in 1975 with an all-Brazilian lineup. After a law was passed by the Senate of Brazil prohibiting tobacco and alcohol companies from sponsoring cultural and sporting events, the festival was cancelled. The festival did not happen in 1989 or 1991.
Melon Diesel is a Gibraltarian pop music band originally formed in Gibraltar in 1995, signed by Sony Music, who achieved popularity in Spain.
The music of Cardiff has been dominated mainly by rock music since the early 1990s with later trends developing towards more extreme styles of the genre such as heavy metal and metalcore music. It, along with the nearby music scene in Newport, has brought a number of musicians to perform or begin their careers in South Wales.
"The River" is a song and single by Gibraltarian band Breed 77. It was their first single to reach the top 40 — hitting the charts at number 39. It was released as a two-part CD and DVD set and on 7" vinyl.
Taxi is a Gibraltarian pop rock band founded in 2005 after the break-up of Melon Diesel. After the quintet's break-up, its members dissolved into two different bands: Taxi and Area 52. Whilst the latter moved on to play alternative rock in English, Taxi kept loyal to Melon Diesel's Hispanic fanbase, composing songs in Spanish. Their songs maintain a certain similarity to those of Melon Diesel although slightly more upbeat with more pop influences.
St. Michael's Cave or Old St. Michael's Cave is the name given to a network of limestone caves located within the Upper Rock Nature Reserve in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, at a height of over 300 metres (980 ft) above sea level. According to Alonso Hernández del Portillo, the first historian of Gibraltar, its name is derived from a similar grotto in Monte Gargano near the Sanctuary of Monte Sant'Angelo in Apulia, Italy, where the archangel Michael is said to have appeared.
Surianne Dalmedo, known as Surianne, is a Gibraltarian international singer and songwriter of acoustic Latin/Rock/Flamenco music. Described as "la niña del sur" her music style is derived from a blend of various cultures; Gibraltarian, Spanish, British and North African, inspired by Mediterranean grooves, strongly influenced by the fusion of acoustic guitar sounds and driving percussive rhythms. On 8 March 2017, Surianne was honoured as being one of seven most successful women of Gibraltar in celebration to International Women's Day.
Insects is a 2009 album released by Gibraltarian flamenco/metal quintet Breed 77.
Hayk Gyolchanyan is an Armenian-American record producer, musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the founder of the Armenian prog-rock band IF as well as a record producer and the founder of RedPoint Records. During his career he worked with many representatives of Armenian and Russian show business as a composer, session musician and record producer. After moving to New York City Gyolchanyan started his solo career in United States with his first single Melon Fields released on February 20, 2020.
The Gibraltar Music Festival, as of 2017 known as MTV Presents Gibraltar Calling, is an annual pop music festival held in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The Government of Gibraltar's Ministry of Culture confirmed on 10 August 2012, that the inaugural event would be held on 8 September 2012 at Victoria Stadium. The first festival had a British artist, Jessie J, as headlining act. The rest of the line-up consisted of Ali Campbell from UB40, and local bands Noiz and Jetstream.
Seoulsonic (SEOULSONIC), is an annual concert tour in the United States and Canada, organized by the DFSB Kollective with support from the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), which began in 2011 in an effort to introduce South Korea's indie music culture to the West. The tour includes annual stops at SXSW in Austin, Texas and the Canadian Music Week in Toronto, Canada.