September works, also for music, as the start of a new school year. After the summer months, marked by the festival calendar, the industry regains its usual rhythm and begins to unfold much of the news that will define the autumn season. The change of month coincides with the arrival of new releases and with a schedule of concerts and festivals that keeps musical activity in the main cities.
The start of the season also concentrates a large part of the recording activity and the live agenda, with artists returning with new works, collaborations that expand their respective sonic universes and proposals that seek to carve out territory in a particularly active season. Between pop, rock, urban music and the new currents of the national and international scene, September brings together some of the releases and dates that will mark the coming weeks.
Songs
We begin with Quiero, the new track by Ona Mafalda with La Bien Querida, a collaboration born from the mutual admiration between the two artists and that puts together two ways of understanding music. The track revolves around the bonds that endure with the passage of time and combines Ona Mafalda’s universe with the sonic character of La Bien Querida. The song is, moreover, one of the previews of Ona Mafalda’s upcoming EP, Todo en orden.
Another one of the most talked-about and anticipated collaborations this month is Barry B and Carlos Ares, who unite on the track Postscript. Both are two of the standout names of the new Spanish music scene. The track blends the respective approaches of both artists and moves between pop and urban sounds, two realms in which they have developed much of their careers. A collaboration that also serves to take the pulse of a generation of musicians who work outside traditional labels.
Arde Bogotá changes register with The Club of the Lonely People, the second preview from Manufacturas del Club de la Gente Sola, which will arrive on October 2. In contrast to the heavier rock character of Instrucciones or the sound of Bigger Splash, the Cartagena-based band ventures into a different terrain here, where pop, funk and post-punk coexist with a calmer atmosphere. The song addresses loneliness after a breakup and turns it into a shared space between two hurt people. It is, moreover, one of the tracks that has evolved most during the album’s creation and a demonstration of the band’s willingness to explore new sonic territories in this new phase.
Lastly, Shakira and Maluma reunite eight years later with Agua, a new collaboration that rekindles one of Latin music’s most recognizable alliances. The track, which will be released on September 17, marks the third meeting between them after Chantaje and Clandestino. A release particularly relevant within Shakira’s current moment, as she will begin her anticipated residency in Madrid this very month.
Albums
September also arrives with a good harvest of new albums, starting with Miley Cyrus, who on September 18 will release Bass Persuades, her tenth studio album. The release comes after Something Beautiful and opens a new chapter for the American artist, who again experiments with different registers and sounds. The album presents itself as an evolution within her career and arrives accompanied by a renewal of her image and artistic proposal, with the first preview, which gives the album its name, as a sample of this new direction.
In the electronic pop field also moves Ellie Goulding, who has just released I Know Too Much, her sixth studio album and the first since Higher Than Heaven (2023). The album comprises ten songs and draws on the singer’s personal experiences in recent years, with production that blends electro-pop and synth-pop with a more introspective look. Goulding therefore continues exploring a sound that has long been part of her identity, but from a more mature and personal perspective.
Urban music has another major release of the month with Wisin and La Universidad del Perreo, released on September 4. The Puerto Rican artist revisits in this project some of the sounds and codes that defined the early years of reggaeton and blends them with current production. The concept revolves around a fictional university where Wisin acts as professor and gathers essential artists to understand the history of the genre alongside representatives of newer generations.
Joining this lineup is Beck, who on September 18 will release Ride Lonesome, his fifteenth studio album. The record marks his return with a collection of original songs after several years and broadens the variety of offerings this month. The American musician thus returns to exploring his distinctive blend of rock, pop and electronic music, in a project that arrives after a period defined by various collaborations and works outside the traditional album format.
And in the pop arena, Carly Rae Jepsen is also scheduled to return this month with Day and Night, which will be released on September 18. The album will comprise 24 tracks and continues the line of an artist who has made electronic pop and danceable melodies one of her main trademarks. Its release also coincides with Miley Cyrus and Beck, making September 18 one of the month’s standout dates on the release calendar.
Concerts
Aitana, CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso, Shakira and La Oreja de Van Gogh will be among the names that mark September in live performance. Aitana will arrive in Madrid on September 11, 12, 14 and 15 with her Cuarto Azul World Tour, while CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso will perform at the Movistar Arena on September 17 as part of their Free Spirits World Tour.
Aitana on her Cuarto Azul World Tour
But if there is one date that concentrates all eyes, it is Shakira’s. The Colombian will begin her residency in Madrid on September 18, where she will offer twelve concerts through October 11. Additionally, the ES LATINA experience will feature artists such as Amaia, Nathy Peluso, Guitarricadelafuente or Yerai Cortés.
The month will end with another highly anticipated return: La Oreja de Van Gogh will perform in Madrid on September 22 and 23, in the midst of a new era alongside Amaia Montero. The band, which has already confirmed that it is working on new songs for a future album, faces one of the most high-profile and controversial tours in recent years.
Festivals
September still holds some of the year’s biggest festival dates. Granada Sound will celebrate its edition on September 11 and 12 with artists such as Fangoria, La La Love You, Belén Aguilera, Pignoise, Carlos Sadness, Marlena, Siloé, and Sexy Zebras.
A week later, Madrid will host two different but equally interesting proposals. El Brava Madrid will return to Caja Mágica on September 18 and 19 with a bet on pop, hits, and electronic music, bringing together names such as Sugababes, Natalie Imbruglia, Fangoria and Inna.
In the same dates, Jardín de las Delicias will celebrate its seventh edition at the Complutense University with Dani Martín, Viva Suecia, Taburete, Dorian, Nil Moliner, Sexy Zebras and Marlena, among others. Two different ways to bid farewell to summer before the musical season definitively enters autumn mode.
