The TÍO PEPE Festival is set to return next summer. This will be the 7th edition of the event that combines the best music, food and wine to create unforgettable evenings at the Tío Pepe winery.
Some of the artists who will feature on this year’s playlist can be revealed already, starting with one of Spain’s top singing stars, José Luis Perales, who will be dipping in to the TÍO PEPE Festival as part of his farewell stage tour ‘Baladas para una despedida’ (Ballads to say farewell by). This very special concert is on 7th August and tickets sold out in just a few days, but a second date has been confirmed, 26th July, with tickets available for sale.
Mythical R&B band Kool & the Gang is another of the early confirmations for this year’s festival. The US band has been playing for what is about to be 50 years now and has influenced three generations of fans with familiar hits such as Celebration and Jungle Boogie, which they will be sharing with the audience on 10th August.
Another name on this year’s programme is Víctor Manuel, one of Spain’s most celebrated singer-songwriters. His list of recordings is as long as it is highly regarded, both in Spain and internationally. Víctor Manuel will be performing his classic repertoire at the TÍO PEPE Festival on 5th August along with Casi nada está en su sitio (Almost everything is out of place), the first album of original songs he has released since 2008.
Ana Torroja is also billed to perform at the next edition of the TÍO PEPE Festival, as part of her Volver 2020 tour in which she will be reprising hits from her solo career and from when she was a vocalist with legendary Spanish pop group Mecano.
Tenor Juan Diego Flórez will be back this year following his success at last summer’s TÍO PEPE Festival. Considered to be one of the great operatic talents and lauded as one of the best tenors ever by the BBC, he debuted at La Scala in Milan aged just 23 and has since performed regularly at all of the world’s major theatres and opera houses alongside internationally acclaimed conductors. Flórez will be performing his Bésame mucho album on 3rd August.
Tickets for performances can also be purchased at www.tiopepefestival.com
But there is far more to the TÍO PEPE Festival than music. To make the summer evenings truly unforgettable, some of the country’s top chefs will be coming along to create their “Cenas de las Estrellas” (Dining by the Stars) menus. This time and to give these gastronomic events the prominence they deserve, “Dining by the Stars” is being scheduled separately from the concerts. We already know who three of the chefs charged with filling the festival experience with flavour will be. Francis Paniego heads up El Portal de Echaurren, the first restaurant in La Rioja to be awarded two Michelin stars. His signature feature is his deep connection with the land he was raised in and an indomitable passion for offal. The flavour of memories and respect for local, seasonal produce and the natural surroundings are ever present in his cooking.
After working with Ángel León at Aponiente, Juan Luis Fernández opened his own restaurant, LÚ Cocina y Alma, in Jerez in 201, gaining his first Michelin star in November 2018. His tireless ability to reinvent rear-guard cooking is a common thread that runs through every dish he creates. Israel Ramos, for his part, is committed to heroing the product itself at what is Jerez’s first gastronomic restaurant, Mantúa, which won its first Michelin star this year. Ramos is a fierce promoter of Sherry wines, incorporating them into his creations with natural ease, offering a cuisine that is innovative, elegant and a faithful reflection of his own personality. The two chefs will be cooking together at the Brilla Jerez (Glorious Jerez) dinner on the evening of 9th August. The event will be a unique opportunity to enjoy what will be an excellent gastronomic experience, created by two Michelin star chefs from Jerez.
Since the Festival’s inception six years ago TÍO PEPE, the world’s leading Fino Sherry, has given its name to what has become a well-established cultural and gastronomic experience that is a major fixture in the coast of Cadiz’s summer calendar of events. Top Spanish and international artists have, over the years, helped make the TÍO PEPE Festival an outstanding event. Past performers include Luz Casal, José Mercé, Rocío Márquez, Leonor Leal, Estrella Morente, Ainhoa Arteta, Miguel Poveda, Barbara Hendricks, Miguel Bosé, Rosario Flores, Juanes, Roger Hodgson, Juan Diego Flórez and the Alan Parsons Project.
The TÍO PEPE Festival was awarded the 2019 City of Jerez Prize for Promotion by the Jerez City Council and the 2019 Best Wine Tourism Experience by the Wine Challenge Merchant Award Spain. It was rated the 2016 Best Wine Tourism Experience by ACEVIN and won the Drinks International prize for Best Wine Event 2015. The Institute for Quality in Tourism has awarded the Festival a “Q for Quality in Tourism” certificate and in 2018 it won the accolade of Best Wine Event in the World in the seventh “Drinks International Wine Tourism Challenge” organised by British magazine Drinks International. The Festival also won a prize in the Acevin “Wine Tourism Awards 2018”.
