This weekend on Gran Canaria: Tanxugueiras, FIMAR and the club night

The highlight of the weekend: Tanxugueiras

The concert to go out for this weekend: Tanxugueiras on Saturday at the Teatro Víctor Jara in Vecindario. The Galician trio takes a Gran Canaria stage for the first time.

Tanxugueiras blends traditional Galician singing and the tambourine (pandereta) with a modern, electronically grounded stage show — and an outspoken feminist stance. The trio reached a wide audience through Spain's Eurovision national selection, and has been filling halls across the mainland ever since.

The date counts as one of the most anticipated of the venue's cultural season. It starts at 7pm. If you want to be there, sort tickets before the weekend begins.

Friday 22 May

International Sea Fair (FIMAR). The 15th edition of the maritime fair opens at Muelle Sanapú, right next to the Poema del Mar aquarium. Entry is free. On the programme: visits to rescue and naval ships, sailing tasters, helicopter rescue demonstrations and a children's programme. It runs until Sunday.

JUSEPH. The pop act plays on Friday at 9pm at the Real Club Náutico de Gran Canaria in Las Palmas. Tickets through the usual platforms.

After the concerts the club night begins — the bars in Vegueta fill up, Fortuni and the Moma Club get going. The addresses are further down.

Saturday 23 May

Tanxugueiras — Teatro Víctor Jara, Vecindario, 7pm. The highlight of the weekend (see above).

Quique González & Toni Brunet. One of the most respected voices in Spanish rock arrives with the tour for the album «1973» at the Nuevo Teatro Viejo de Arucas — in acoustic format, just González and guitarist Toni Brunet. Tickets from 18 euros via tureservaonline.es.

Yet Garbey. The Cuban musician plays at 8pm at the Real Club Náutico de Gran Canaria. And at the port, the International Sea Fair carries on.

Saturday carries the strongest club night of the week — in Las Palmas and in the Yumbo Centre. Where, is further down.

Sunday 24 May

International Sea Fair — final day. The quieter day of the weekend belongs to the port. The maritime fair at Muelle Sanapú opens for the last time, with a family programme and free entry — the easy Sunday outing before the week starts again.

Otherwise Sunday on Gran Canaria is traditionally a day for the seafront promenade and the chiringuitos rather than the big stage. In the south, though, the Yumbo Centre runs on Sunday evening too — the drag shows take no weekly break.

Las Palmas: the clubs of the weekend

Las Palmas weekend nightlife spreads across three districts. In Vegueta and Triana, the old town, the bars around Calle Mendizábal, Plaza de Santa Ana and the Monopol terraces fill up from late evening — Thursday pulls the crowd with the tapas route (the «Ruta del Pincho»), and Friday and Saturday keep it. The best-known venue in the quarter is The Paper Club on Calle Remedios: a 400-capacity hall with a terrace, programming between indie gigs, tribute bands and DJ nights. Alongside it, the big mainstream club Alboroto with indoor and outdoor floors, La Biblioteca Vegueta — a club set in a library — and, for the quieter cocktail, the rooftop La Azotea de Benito on Plaza de las Ranas.

Along Playa de las Canteras, the nightlife runs by the beach. The Moma Club is the address for electronic music and techno with an alternative crowd — open until 6am on Fridays and Saturdays. Add the beach and terrace bars along the promenade, such as the open-air Tao terrace in Garden City with commercial music.

The third hub is Santa Catalina and the port area — a dense run of bars, discotecas and clubs that go until dawn. The club Fortuni draws the younger, going-out crowd here, Thursday to Saturday from 11pm to half past five. Few venues charge entry — you pay for the drinks.

The south: Yumbo, Kasbah and the clubs of Playa del Inglés

In the south, the nightlife spreads across three shopping centres in Playa del Inglés. The largest is the Yumbo Centre: four storeys, after sunset the island's best-known going-out hub, in large part LGBTQ+ but open to everyone. Its signature is the drag shows — every night, weekend included: at Ricky's Cabaret Bar, the Sparkles Show Bar, Chez Funny Boy's, Buddies, Centre Stage and Terry's. The evening starts on the terraces — Spartacus, Eiffel, Voulez Vous, Gran Café Latino or Adonis. After midnight the dance venues take over: Mykonos, the campier Tubos, Coco Loco and finally Mantrix, the biggest club, open until 6am.

For commercial dance charts rather than a drag show, the Kasbah Centre is the call — the younger, mixed going-out hub of Playa del Inglés. Here are clubs such as China White with DJs and go-go dancers and Zig Zag in the basement, plus a run of discos, pubs and terraces.

The Cita Centre is quieter, its bars aimed at a slightly older crowd. And beyond the centres sits the classic: Pacha on Avenida Sargentos Provisionales, running since 1984. The full context on the south is in our southern nightlife guide.

FAQ

Where do I get concert tickets?

This weekend's concerts run through tomaticket.es and tureservaonline.es; depending on the event, remaining tickets are available at the box office. The International Sea Fair at the port needs no ticket — entry is free, as it is at most clubs and bars.

How late are the clubs open?

In Las Palmas, clubs such as Fortuni run from 11pm until around half past five in the morning; the bars in Vegueta fill up from late evening. At the Yumbo Centre in the south the drag shows run all evening and the dance venues until dawn. The principle everywhere on the island: arriving early is pointless, the night is long.

What works with family and without entry?

The International Sea Fair at Muelle Sanapú is the family pick of the weekend: ship visits, a helicopter rescue demonstration and a children's programme, all free. Add the promenade along Playa de las Canteras.