American Jack Johnson, Nigerian Ayo and Majorcan Antònia Font to play in the next ‘Cruïlla Barcelona’ music festival

Barcelona (ACN).- Preparations for the next ‘Cruïlla Barcelona’ music festival are already in full swing. The two day festival kicks off on the 8th of July with 40 concerts of Pop and Alternative Pop music. In fact, the festival defines its focus as “urban music” and “without music boundaries”, with a strong stress on quality. In the Forum Park, where Barcelona main music festivals take place, Jack Johnson, Ayo and Antònia Font will play. The festival organisers confirmed the first artist names, from a final list of 40 names. The Hawaiian Jack Johnson will introduce its 5th studio album called ‘To The Sea’. The Majorcan Antònia Font, which are one of the greatest Catalan-singing groups, will also present their new disc. The Nigerian Ayo will show ‘Billie-Eve’, which has been popularised through the single ‘I’m Gonna Dance’.

Jack Johnson, born in Hawai 35 years ago, went from being a director of movies about surfing to a recognised singer and composer. Its first album ‘Brushfire Fairytales’, issued in 2001, was a great success. Ben Harper, who played last year in the ‘Cruïlla Barcelona’ festival, did not doubt to hire Johnson for his music label. In the last 10 years, Johnson’s success has been meteoric. Johnson passed from surfing on waves with his friends to touring with them, fulfilling concert facilities and playing in the best festivals across the world. In 2010, Jack Johnson issued his last disc ‘To The Sea’, through his own label ‘Brushfire Records’, and he started a new world tour.

Antònia Font is a group formed in Majorca in 1997, with music characterised by its festive tune, folk inspirations and naive lyrics. In a few years, they became the most important group among bands singing in Catalan language. In fact, their success went beyond Catalan speaking territories and they have numerous fans in Madrid and abroad. Their lyrics talk about outer space, astronomy, astronauts, robots, the sea, etc. All exposed in a naïve way. They often link those themes with everyday and local items, in order to underline the contrast between a local perspective, a global and a universal. For instance, they have some songs talking about Majorcan traditional way of living in contrast with mass tourism. They have a very particular style, far away from common commercial trends, which ensured them a considerable success. They are often classified as a Pop band, although they claim to compose songs without “style prejudices”.

Joy Olasunmibo Ogunmakin is a Romanian-Nigerian singer and composer, who settle down in Paris. She was born in 1980 in Cologne (Germany), from a Nigerian father and a Romanian mother, from the Roma people. Her artistic name is ‘Ayo’. She has a voice similar to a jazz singer from the 1940s and a complicated life, from which she gets inspiration for her lyrics. Currently, she is introducing her new disc ‘Billie-Eve’, stylish, elegant, accurate, and where her voice plays a main role. ‘Ayo’ is definitely an artist to follow.