This weekend on Gran Canaria: Beele, Valeria Castro and the club night

The highlight of the weekend: Beele

The night you go out for this weekend: Beele on Friday at the Anexo of the Estadio de Gran Canaria. The young Colombian is one of the most-streamed names in Latin urban pop, and his Las Palmas show looks set to be one of the fullest open-air evenings of the summer.

It is the kind of concert that does not end at eleven but rolls into the night: a young crowd, reggaeton and Afrobeat from the speakers, and afterwards half of them carrying on to the clubs by the harbour. The July air hangs warm over the city, around 24 degrees, no rain in sight — the sort of night you get home late from.

Doors in the early evening, so plan to arrive before then. If you want to be there, sort out tickets before the weekend starts.

Friday, 24 July

Beele. The viral urban act from Colombia plays the Anexo of the Estadio de Gran Canaria in Las Palmas — the highlight of the weekend (see above). Tickets through the usual platforms.

Yandel. The same evening, one of the fathers of modern reggaeton takes the stage at the Auditorio San Juan in Telde: Yandel, one half of the legendary duo Wisin & Yandel — for anyone who prefers the genre from the source.

Canarias Jazz & Más. While Beele fills the big stage, the Canarias Jazz & Más festival plays for free in the open air on the Plaza de Santa Ana in Vegueta: from 19:30 the Hannes Bennich Quartet and the Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca with «La Gran Diversión». Jazz in the heart of the old town, right where the bars open afterwards.

Once the concerts finish the club night begins: the bars of Vegueta and Triana fill up, and in the south the drag shows of the Yumbo Centre get going. The addresses are further down.

Saturday, 25 July

Kapo. On Saturday, Telde brings the next Colombian urban name to the island: Kapo, one of the viral Afrobeat and reggaeton acts out of Colombia, plays the Auditorio del Parque de San Juan — the same Telde stage where Yandel appears the night before. Doors at 6pm, concert at 10.30pm, tickets at 45 and 75 euros via tureservaonline.es. A young, danceable night that runs straight into the club hours.

Saturday brings the close of Canarias Jazz & Más on Gran Canaria: on the Plaza de Santa Ana in Vegueta, from 20:00, the Ernesto Montenegro Quintet and Tora Daa play, again free of charge. After that the evening belongs to the nightlife. It is the strongest club night of the week, in Las Palmas as much as in the south.

There is free live music elsewhere on Saturday too. On the terrace of the CC Las Arenas, the LPA Emer-gente series brings three up-and-coming Canarian bands, around 20:00 and free of charge — every Saturday evening through the summer. And in the island's interior, the mountain village of Tunte marks its patron saint's day: 25 July is Santiago, the high point of the San Bartolomé de Tirajana fiestas, with a romería, verbenas and live music on the plaza — the traditional counterpart to the night down on the coast.

In the city that means the old-town bars of Vegueta and Triana, the Moma Club on the Playa de las Canteras for electronic music, and the discotecas around Santa Catalina running until dawn. In the south the drag stages of the Yumbo Centre lead into the dance venues that stay open until six in the morning. Where exactly is in the two club sections below.

Sunday, 26 July

Valeria Castro. The singer from neighbouring La Palma closes her tour at the Gran Canaria Arena — a home game in the wider sense, and one of the bigger concert nights of the month. Her songs stand for a new, young generation of Canarian songwriting.

Camela. At the same time the Recinto Cultural de la Quinta hosts the band whose tecno-rumba shaped a whole generation in Spain: Camela, pure nostalgia pop for a Sunday evening.

Fin de Fiesta in Tunte. Inland, the long San Bartolomé de Tirajana fiestas come to a close: on Sunday evening at 20:30, the plaza of Tunte hosts the Gran Gala Santiaguera under the motto «Todos los caminos llevan a Tunte», with Yeray Rodríguez, Elías Uche and the tenor Jesús Monzón.

Otherwise Sunday on Gran Canaria traditionally belongs to the seafront promenade and the chiringuitos rather than the big stage. In the south, though, the Yumbo Centre takes no weekly break — the drag shows run on Sunday evening too.

Las Palmas: the clubs

The weekend nightlife of Las Palmas spreads across three districts. In Vegueta and Triana, the old town, the bars around Calle Mendizábal, the Plaza de Santa Ana and the Monopol terraces fill from late evening. The best-known place in the quarter is The Paper Club on Calle Remedios — a 400-capacity hall with a terrace whose programme shifts between indie gig, tribute band and DJ night. Alongside it the big mainstream club Alboroto with indoor and outdoor floors, the Biblioteca Vegueta — a disco in a library setting — and, for a quieter cocktail, the rooftop La Azotea de Benito on the Plaza de las Ranas.

Along the Playa de las Canteras the nightlife happens right by the sand. The Moma Club is the address for electronic music and techno with an alternative crowd, Fridays and Saturdays until morning. For live music, La Guarida and the Mojo Club are worth the detour for blues and band nights, while the Sala Faro puts on concerts across the styles.

The third centre is Santa Catalina and the port area — a dense run of bars, discotecas and clubs going until dawn. The club Fortuni draws the younger, going-out crowd, Thursday to Saturday from 11pm to about half past five; Chester and the Pacha on Avenida Sargentos Provisionales are among the classics. Few places charge entry — you pay for the drinks.

The south: Yumbo, CC Cita and the lifestyle scene

In the south, in Playa del Inglés, the Yumbo Centre is the island best-known going-out strip — four storeys, largely LGBTQ+ after sunset but open to everyone. Its signature is the drag shows, every night and at the weekend too: Ricky's Cabaret Bar around 10.30pm, the Sparkles Show Bar with karaoke from 9pm and the main show from 11pm, plus 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 camp Tubos, Coco Loco and finally Mantrix, the largest club, open until six. For commercial dance charts rather than a drag show, the nearby Kasbah Centre is the alternative.

A few steps on, in the heart of Playa del Inglés, sits the CC Cita — the centre of the town lifestyle and swinger scene. The biggest name is Swingers Club Secret in the basement: a sprawling venue with reggaeton and Spanish house that holds more than 500 on a good night. Things are more relaxed at Fun4all, with several playrooms and its own BDSM room. Add HOTSPOT Gran Canaria, the Comeback Bar, Plan B, Tantra and Majestic GC with the adjoining Mario's Bar. Right next door, in the CC Sandía, is the 2x2 Swingers Club. These are adults-only venues with age checks at the door; if in doubt, call ahead or check the venue website, since opening hours and the rules for couples and singles differ from place to place.

The south nightlife also takes in the cruise and fetish scene, mostly a gay male crowd. The Cruise Bar has been here since 1994, alongside Tom's Cruising Bar, Strong Construction on the ground floor of the Yumbo and NOXON a floor above, both with fetish and cruising areas, plus The Factory and the Zoo Men's Cruising Bar. For something quieter, the Sauna Enjoy Maspalomas on Avenida de Tirajana is a classic men's sauna. These too are adults-only venues with age checks.

For anyone who would rather spend the evening with live music and without the club crush, the south has its own small scene. The Tipsy Hammock Bar on the Paseo Costa Canarias plays until two, Café Mozart 2 and Al's Bar in the Gran Chaparral Centre go for handmade music, and Dunes & Tunes in Maspalomas for the easy beach-bar tone. And at sunset there is the Café del Mar on the Plaza del Faro in Meloneras — the calm opening act before the night carries on in the north or the Yumbo.

FAQ

Who is the highlight this weekend?

The biggest night is Beele on Friday at the Anexo of the Estadio de Gran Canaria — viral urban pop from Colombia and probably one of the fullest open-air dates of the summer. On Sunday come Valeria Castro at the Gran Canaria Arena and Camela at the Recinto Cultural de la Quinta.

Where do I get tickets for the concerts?

This weekend concerts run through tomaticket.es and the usual ticket platforms; depending on the event there may be tickets left on the door. The clubs and bars, by contrast, mostly charge no entry — you pay for the drinks.

How late are the clubs open?

In Las Palmas clubs like Fortuni run from 11pm to around half past five; the old-town bars fill from late evening. In the Yumbo Centre the drag shows run all evening and the dance venues until six in the morning. Arriving early pays off nowhere — the night is long.

What is the lifestyle and swinger scene at CC Cita?

The CC Cita in the heart of Playa del Inglés is the centre of the town swinger and fetish venues, from Swingers Club Secret and Fun4all to the 2x2 in the neighbouring CC Sandía. These are adults-only clubs with age checks at the door; opening hours and the rules for couples and singles are listed on each venue own website.

What is on for free on Sunday?

Sunday on Gran Canaria traditionally belongs to the seafront promenade and the chiringuitos — the Playa de las Canteras in Las Palmas and the seafront from Meloneras to Maspalomas in the south. And the drag shows in the Yumbo Centre take no break on Sunday either.