Keroxen 2026: avant-garde music inside a former oil tank in Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Some festivals happen on the beach — and then there is Keroxen. Since 2009 this independent festival has turned a huge, disused oil tank in the port district of Santa Cruz de Tenerife into a stage for experimental music and visual art. The place is called Espacio Cultural El Tanque, and it is exactly that: a former fuel storage tank of bare steel and concrete, where today sound, light and art come together.

The result is one of the most unusual cultural experiences in the Canaries. No mainstream, no gloss — instead a programme that deliberately steps off the beaten track. In 2026 Keroxen runs for a full month, spread across several nights between 10 September and 10 October.

An oil tank as a concert hall

El Tanque was once part of the fuel storage on the Santa Cruz waterfront. Today the cylindrical structure is a protected industrial site and one of the most unusual venues in Spain: bare steel, a wide curve, and an acoustic that lets every note ring on and on. It is precisely that raw, echoing sound that makes it special — here music becomes an experience of space rather than just a gig.

For visitors, that means: do not expect a seated hall with rows and tiers, but an atmospheric industrial room where the setting itself is part of the show. Once you have stood inside, you do not forget the place in a hurry.

The 2026 programme

For 2026 Keroxen announces more than thirty acts from fifteen countries — across Asia, Europe, America and Africa, plus Spanish and Canarian artists. The common thread is a love of the experiment: electronic music, sound art, improvised sound and live visuals that fill the whole room.

Among the announced names are international acts such as Xiu Xiu, Seefeel, Hatis Noit and Muqata'a — the kind of artists you rarely expect in a former oil tank on an Atlantic island. The full line-up is being confirmed gradually, so if you are planning specific nights it is best to check the official festival site shortly beforehand.

Beyond Tenerife

Keroxen does not stay on one island in 2026: four concerts take place on Lanzarote, and in late October the festival moves to London's Café OTO for nine nights — one of Europe's best-known homes for experimental music, here in collaboration with the Discrepant label. A small Canarian export straight into the international avant-garde scene.

On Tenerife itself there are satellites too: a special night on 3 October heads out to Bajamar on the north coast. So a single festival venue becomes a small network reaching across islands and countries.

Who it is worth the trip for

Honestly: Keroxen is niche. If you are after chart pop or a classical symphony concert, you will not be happy here. But if you are curious about sounds beyond the familiar, about art in an extraordinary space, and about an audience of music lovers, creatives and the plain curious, you will find little to compare with it in the Canaries.

Santa Cruz is easy to reach by tram from La Laguna or by bus; the port district around El Tanque is pleasant to explore on foot. Tickets, prices and exact times run through the official festival site.