The Mercat de Música Viva de Vic 2026 will return from September 16 to 20 with a programme that once again places Vic at the centre of the live music industry in southern Europe. Now in its 38th edition, the event combines public concerts with professional showcases, meetings and sector-focused activities, while maintaining its role as a place where new projects are presented, artists begin new stages and programmers discover future touring proposals.
This year’s programme includes 72 artistic projects and 35 premieres of albums, tours, live shows or new productions, a figure that underlines the MMVV’s position not simply as a festival but as a market for live music. The event received 1,751 artistic proposals for 2026, its highest number to date, and roughly half of the final programme comes from the Catalan scene. At the same time, the line-up opens strongly towards the rest of Spain and Europe, with a continued focus on exchanges with Portugal, France and Italy.
The edition begins on Wednesday, September 16, with a special inaugural production directed by Lucia del Greco at L’Atlàntida. Conceived specifically for the Mercat, the performance will reflect on what live music means today at a time when artificial intelligence, digital formats and changing audience habits are reshaping the relationship between performers and listeners. The same opening day will also bring one of the programme’s most anticipated appearances, with Marina Herlop returning to the stage for an exclusive preview after two years away from live performance.
Wednesday will already show the variety that runs through the entire edition. Antonio Arias and electronic project B1N0 will perform at L’Atlàntida, while the free programme outside the main halls includes Pelados, Socunbohemio and Italian band Il Mago del Gelato. Elsewhere in the city, audiences will be able to discover projects such as Milkweed, HIST OG, Enmatu, Nahoomie, Villa, Redhead and Irenegarry, alongside professional-only showcases by emerging artists.
Thursday expands the international character of the programme. Amaro Freitas & Momi Maiga bring together Brazilian piano and Senegalese musical traditions, while Mar Pujol presents new work at L’Atlàntida. The bill also includes Gaia Banfi, María Marín, Begut, Giorgio Poi, Dressed Like Boys, Irene Reig Quartet, Bikôkô, Badiola i Datzira and the collaborative project Sara Zozaya + Ke Lepo. Free performances at the Carpa L’Atlàntida will include Ivan Herzog, Dressed Like Boys, Giorgio Poi and Lluki Valverde, keeping the public side of the Mercat closely connected with its professional programme.
The festival moves into one of its busiest days on Friday, September 18. Nacho Vegas will perform at L’Atlàntida, followed later by Valencian folk singer Pep Gimeno “Botifarra”, while Remei de Ca la Fresca, Cervatana and Swiss instrumental band L’Eclair will take over the Carpa L’Atlàntida during the night. Other stages will feature Rebe, Clara Mann, Rachid B, Surma, Marta, Whitemary, ÀO, Romàntic Dimoni and several other projects that move between singer-songwriter music, alternative pop, electronic experimentation and contemporary folk.
Friday is also when the Plaça Major becomes one of the main public focal points of the MMVV. The free evening programme begins with Dan Peralbo i el Comboi, followed by Mama Dousha and Lia Kali. Together they represent three very different strands of the current Catalan scene, from guitar-led rock to contemporary pop and urban music, and their concerts are expected to draw some of the largest crowds of the week.
Another major free stage will operate at La Catedral DICE, where Friday’s programme includes Irnini Mons, Marte Lasarte, Sereias and Parquesvr. The combination of established artists, emerging acts and unusual projects is central to the MMVV model: the aim is not merely to programme recognisable names, but to create a meeting point where audiences and industry professionals can encounter music that may later circulate through festivals, venues and cultural programmes elsewhere.
On Saturday, September 19, the Plaça Major will again host one of the strongest sequences of the edition. Queralt Lahoz opens the evening before Ginestà, who will present new material, and Baiuca, one of the leading names in the fusion of Galician traditional music and electronic production, closes the night. At La Catedral DICE, the free programme moves from family music with Els Atrapasomnis to contemporary acts including Cloe Riembau, Hofe, Mujeres and Tarragona punk band Crim.
The late-night programme at the Carpa L’Atlàntida will feature Maig, Baya Baye and Malifeta, while Del Gesù and Vito Blasu will perform at the Església de la Pietat. Once again, the Saturday programme makes clear how deliberately the Mercat avoids a single stylistic identity, moving between indie, punk, electronic music, roots music, urban sounds and experimental songwriting over the course of a single evening.
The MMVV will close on Sunday, September 20, with two free concerts in the Plaça Major. Family band Ambauka will perform in the morning, while Quimi Portet will bring the 2026 edition to an end at 19:00. His appearance carries particular resonance in Vic, not only because of his long connection with Catalan music but also after the recent reunion activity surrounding El Último de la Fila.
Beyond the concerts, the professional dimension remains fundamental to the Mercat. The event is continuing the renewal initiated by artistic directors Joan Rial, Jordi Casadesús and Rubèn Pujol, who have described the current model as rigorous, modern and ambitious, with a stronger emphasis on young talent, artistic risk and the future of live music. One of this year’s new initiatives is MMVV Pro 360, a programme aimed at younger professionals already working in the sector, offering training, mentoring and access to networking spaces.
The 2026 edition will also host the Premi Marc Lloret, created by the Xàfec festival network and Mishima in memory of musician and cultural manager Marc Lloret. More than 150 projects applied for the award, which is intended to help emerging Catalan artists take the next step towards professional touring and wider visibility.
With more than seven decades of artistic proposals compressed into five days, the Mercat de Música Viva de Vic remains a curious hybrid: part festival, part trade fair and part laboratory for the future of live performance. Its 2026 edition strengthens that identity with major public concerts from artists such as Nacho Vegas, Marina Herlop, Lia Kali, Ginestà, Baiuca, Mama Dousha, Queralt Lahoz and Quimi Portet, while dozens of less established projects use Vic as a place to test, premiere and launch the music that may shape the seasons ahead.
Nacho Vegas, Marina Herlop, Lia Kali, Ginestà, Baiuca, Mama Dousha, Queralt Lahoz and Quimi Portet are among the main names of an edition featuring 72 artistic projects and 35 premieres.