The City of Music Festivities celebrates the opening of the Villa Portela Arts Center
September 13 and 14
Leiria opens to music, art, and experimentation with a vibrant, free program, marked by Maurício Pereira’s live debut in Portugal, the preview of Lisa Sereno’s debut album, the return of Pop Dell’Arte to the stage, and a series of proposals that cross generations, languages, and territories.
On September 13 and 14, 2025, the Villa Portela Arts Center, now transformed into a vibrant space for creation and encounters, hosts the City of Music Festivities. For two days, Leiria — UNESCO Creative City of Music — celebrates sound, words, and gestures with a program that brings together concerts, installations, performances, contemporary art, and activities for all ages.
Among the weekend’s highlights is the live debut in Portugal of Maurício Pereira, one of the most unique and influential names in Brazilian original music, who finally performs on Portuguese soil on Saturday afternoon with the show “Micro,” accompanied by Tonho Penhasco.
Although he is widely recognised as the father of Chico and Tim Bernardes, names beloved by critics and the Portuguese public, his own work remains unfairly unknown here. His arrival represents a rare opportunity to discover an artist whose career, spanning over three decades, uniquely intertwines poetry, experimentation, and popular song.
A leading figure in contemporary Brazilian music, Maurício Pereira was one-half of the iconic Os Mulheres Negras and single-handedly built a dense and innovative discography marked by irony, lyricism, and a critical yet affectionate perspective on the world. Many of the artistic paths we recognise today in his children, as well as in the new generation of Brazilian musicians, have roots in his pioneering work. His debut in Portugal is, therefore, not just a concert, but a challenge to discover his work and the language of a creator who has profoundly influenced Brazilian music in recent decades.
The program for Saturday, September 13th, also features intergenerational hip hop from Cooperativa Uma Boa Questão, which invites the audience to play, rhyme, and improvise; a delicate site-specific installation by Noiserv, projected in dialogue with the Villa space; and a preview of Belonging, Lisa Sereno’s long-awaited debut album, scheduled for release in October.
Accompanied on stage by a quintet that amplifies the delicacy and power of her songs, Lisa invites the audience to enter her musical universe, where intimacy and intensity intertwine. In a show conceived as a celebration and sharing, this concert will be the first opportunity to hear live a deeply personal work, built between roots and new belongings.
On Sunday, September 14th, the program begins with the opening of the exhibition “Sonho Manifesto! In Leiria, all trees are pines,” with a guided tour by curators Rita Gaspar Vieira and Sandra Vieira Jürgens, and continues with an immersive performance by the collective Sr. Teste, presented by Catarina Marques Domingues and Ricardo Ribeiro.
The day concludes with two unmissable shows: vibraphonist Eduardo Cardinho, awarded the Play Award for Best Jazz Album, presents his latest work, “Not Far From Paradise”; and the legendary Pop Dell’Arte closes the event with a show that recaptures the visionary energy of Free Pop and revisits key moments from a provocative and unrepeatable career.
Admission is free.
On September 13th and 14th, Villa Portela opens to a city open to music.
The City of Music Festival initiative is co-financed by the European Union, through the CENTRO 2030 Regional Programme, integrating the UNESCO Creative Cities Network of Central Portugal.
Always confirm with the concert hall or promoter the access conditions, confirmation of the date and time, ticket sales location, price, and availability.
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