Read and dance

How connected are music and literature? Here they ask you in a different way and they ask you about the books you read... in order to choose the most suitable music for you and, maybe.. get you to dance. We're talking about the first edition of the Book Music Festival, an event dedicated to exploring the relationship between two artistic disciplines with a lot of common ground. From 21 to 23 February, in different venues around the city.

In fact, the epicentre of the festival is the Fabra i Coats exhibition centre, where you'll find everything from a book fair dedicated to music with more than 5. 000 volumes (first and second hand, so you might find some goodies; Saturday and Sunday from 11 am to 7 pm; 4 euros), as well as presentations, talks, debates and parallel activities aimed at professionals from the sectors involved as well as the general public. 

Among the activities for the general public, a host of concerts will be held at Fabra i Coats, but also in other venues around the city, such as Paral-lel 62. To begin with, we recommend that you visit Albareda Cultural Centre before the 22nd. There you will see the finalist photographs of the first edition of the Premi Fotogràfic de Música en Viu Book Music - Visualkorner (organised by the photographic space of the same name), which includes photographs related to the world of musicians and music.

The festival, in fact, opens on the 21st at the Llibreria Ona, where Vicenç Altaió, art curator, writer and current president of the Fundació Joan Brossa, will give the lecture Enllaços amb la Música. From John Cage and Giacinto Scelsi to Àrtics and Cave Canis. Pay attention that, they say, there is a surprise.

That same night (21st, at 9.30 pm. Tickets, 8-10 €; keep your ticket, as it gives you access to next day’s event) at Paral-lel 62 there's a concert where you can enjoy the pop of Koeman, the dream-pop of Julia Amor and the urban and electronic sounds of Uri Santafé & Lamliki.

Apart from the book fair, the action moves to the auditorium of the neighbouring Ignasi Iglésias - Can Fabra Library on the 22nd, where (12.15 p.m.; free admission) you can attend a talk and see the show by brothers Marina and Gerard Sala Seeds, which combines electronic music with folk and classical music. At the same venue and on the same day, but at 4.30 p.m., an expert in poetry and music, Francesc Bombí-Vilaseva, presents a book and concert in the session El blues de l'esgarip.

During the afternoon and evening of the 22nd (a particularly intense day) there will also be concerts at the Fabra i Coats venue. Come at 7 p.m. (15-18 euros) if you want to know what the indie-rock of Grabu Live! sounds like, the kraut-rock of Catástrofe Club or the rock and slow-folk of singer-songwriter Joana Serrat.

Also on the 22nd and also at Fabra i Coats (7 pm; 15-18 euros) there's a performance by Koko-Jean & The Tonics, great exponents of local soul-rhythm and blues, and a DJ session with Axel Pi, from Sidonie, who will fill the evening with independent pop and rock music.

If you want to read and dance at the same time, don't miss the first Book Music Festival, but before you come check out the festival website and the Fabra i Coats website, where you'll find all the information about the event.