David Cool never imagined that an Instagram account, created simply to give voice to emerging bands, would end up marking a turning point in the Spanish music scene.This is how Indie Cool was born, a digital space dedicated to making emerging talent visible and connecting with a very specific community, the Indie Coolers – those who live and feel indie as a lifestyle.
“It started as an online project, but soon people asked us for more. they wanted to experience the music, not just listen to it,” recalls its founder. Thus, almost spontaneously, El Tardeo Indie Cool emerged, an event that combines the energy of festivals with the intimacy of a concert hall.It was first held two years ago in Barcelona, and the result was immediate: tickets sold out in a matter of hours and a wave of enthusiasm exceeded all expectations.
Here they come to sing, to jump and share an atmosphere that cannot be found anywhere else
what began as a local experiment has become a truly national phenomenon. Today, El Tardeo Indie Cool is celebrated in Madrid, Málaga, Granada, Seville, Bilbao, Valladolid and Vigo, in addition to Barcelona. “Each city experiences it in its own way, but the spirit is the same: people come for the music,” explains David Cool. “They don’t come to take photos or pose, they come to sing, to jump, to share an atmosphere that cannot be found anywhere else.”
In Barcelona, the epicenter of the movement, the Tartaro is celebrated every Saturday in legendary venues such as Luz de Gas, Sala B or La Biblio, always full of people. For six intense hours-from six in the afternoon to midnight-hundreds of people disconnect from the outside world to reconnect with that freer and happier version of themselves. “It’s not an afternoon to sit around; you come here to enjoy, to truly experience music,” says David Cool, laughing.
there are groups of people in their twenties, people in their forties, even people in their fifties. The beautiful thing is that everyone shares the same energy.
The audience that comes to El Tardeo indie Cool is as varied as its playlist. The average age is between 30 and 45 years old, but the habitat mixes generations. “There are groups of people in their twenties, people in their forties, even people in their fifties. The beautiful thing is that they all share the same energy,” he says. That connection is felt from the first chord: the audience sings, jumps, hugs. many didn’t know each other when they entered and end up being part of a community that repeats itself every week.
“We have a group of about 300 people who come practically every Saturday.That loyalty is what excites us the most,” confesses David Cool. And it is no coincidence: the experience is so intense that those who live it once often repeat it.
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