20 / 09 / 2025
Sines Through a Partner’s Eyes: Arroz Estúdios at Festival Músicas do Mundo
A review by Steven Mackay of Arroz Estúdios, a TY-CO partner, first published in The Ransom Note on 8 August 2025
As part of TY-CO (Typologies of Community), we share writing by our partners on how cultural organisations survive, grow and stay useful to their communities. This piece is by Steven Mackay of Arroz Estúdios, our partner in Portugal.
Steven spent the 25th edition of Festival Músicas do Mundo (FMM) in Sines and Porto Covo, on the Atlantic coast about 100km south of Lisbon. It is a mostly free festival run by the local municipality, and his review asks what it gets right, and what public money should pay for. Read the full review on The Ransom Note.
A festival for all audiences
The festival runs over nine days. The first weekend brings three or four live acts a night to the central square of Porto Covo. In the second week it moves to Sines, with a stage at the castle for about 6,500 people and a beach stage for about 15,000, where the music runs until 6am.
Most of it is free. Only the castle shows are ticketed, at around €25. The municipality of Sines has run the festival since 1999.
Who's on the bill
The line-up leans towards artists from former Portuguese colonies, from under-represented African and Middle Eastern communities, and from France. Kokoroko and Max Romeo were the unofficial headliners, and Palestinian acts drew some of the strongest reactions from the crowd.
Steven praises the sound and lighting, though some performances earlier in the week felt less polished. Cape Verdean producer Fidju KiTxora spoke highly of how the festival treats its artists.
After hours
When the official programme ends, free parties spring up on the beach, from baile funk and drum and bass to trance and drumming circles. Some local businesses welcome them, while residents complain about noise and the lack of toilets.
The review also reports complaints about heavy-handed policing, and praises the mixed crowd: mostly Portuguese, with families, young people, and older and disabled festival-goers.
The verdict
Steven strongly recommends FMM, comparing it to Lisbon's Santos Populares with better music, and praises its political message.
He also asks whether the public money behind it is justified. How the festival is run, by whom and with what budget is the subject of his follow-up for the Reset! network: How a Town Hall Runs a World Music Festival: Lessons from Festival Músicas do Mundo.
Photo credits (via The Ransom Note)
Orchestra Baobab: Nuno Pinto Fernandes
Sines: Alexandre Marin
TY-CO (communities in conversation) · ABR – Alternative Brains Rule · Co-funded by the European Union
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.