 If you are a lover of live music, or a musician yourself, you will want to know where it can be heard and where performers can be seen, and if you are new to the island of Tenerife you may find it is a very different scene to what is on offer in many countries such as the UK.
In the south of Tenerife in the tourist resorts like Las Americas and Los Cristianos, what is billed as live music at most bars and venues often just means a singer with pre-recorded backing tracks that they perform over. Guitarists, musicians with instruments and bands are a something of a rarity in the venues in the south of Tenerife.
However, many of the cabaret singers on Tenerife are very good though, and many specialise in doing a tribute to particular acts such as Neil Diamond, as covered by Charlie Hodge. Charlie Hodge, as well as other acts like Cy Benson, Hollie Bourne, Robbie Allen, Eddie Hastings and Young Shelly often appear at Flicks Bar, Amarilla Bay in Costa del Silencio, in Tenerife south. Flicks Bar also stages a regular Sunday afternoon cabaret.
There are a few full rock bands in Tenerife south like Soundchaser, who perform many hits in this genre by acts such as Pink Floyd, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Thin Lizzy, Dire Straits, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Jimmy Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Santana and Gary Moore. Soundchaser have a residency at the In & Out bar in the Torviscas beach area.
In the south of Tenerife, there are also a few venues that present rock, reggae, jazz funk, blues, folk and other styles of live music, although often the songs will be in Spanish, which is perhaps not surprising on a Spanish island.
Vai Moana, in Tenerife south, is at the end of the Las Galletas beach on the piece of land that juts out into the bay and looks back towards the village, and it has regular performances by bands and musicians. Vai Moana is well worth visiting to have a meal and a drink and listen to some live music or simply to sit outside and watch the sun go down over Las Galletas harbour.
Vai Moana has a chill-out section, unusual ethnic artwork displays, a large aquarium, Easter Island style images on an outside wall, plus they hold full moon party celebrations, which are certainly a bit different!
 Mesón Las Brujas, which is located next to the banana plantation and behind the Repsol garage in El Fraile, also has regular live music by rock, jazz, reggae and other genres, and has a jam night every last Friday of the month, which is well attended but starts very late. The bar is popular with rock fans, and some musicians travel from the north of the island to play there.
In the north of the island of Tenerife there are more venues for live music and the Cafeoteca in Las Arenas, near Puerto de la Cruz is one of the best, with a regular programme of music nights and a jam session, as well as being an excellent restaurant.
 El Risco, or the Eco Bar as it is also known, is a unique cabin-style bar located at the edge of a wood on a mountainside in San José de los Llanos. El Risco is powered by generator, bakes its own bread, and grows its own vegetables so the Eco Bar name is very apt. El Risco has a regular jam session every Sunday afternoon until late, hosted by singer and guitarist Nico, accompanied by a whole host of musicians who turn up with guitars, bass, drums, violins, harmonicas or whatever they play.
Besides the smaller venues in Tenerife there are many festivals that put on live music and the Festival Eólica de Tenerife (Tenerife Wind Festival) is one of the best known of these. Located in the Granadilla are in the south of the island Festival Eólica de Tenerife held fifth edition in July 2007 with a line-up of over fifty artists, including the UK indie band The Charlatans. Festival Eólica de Tenerife is a combination of music and ecology and also offers workshops, talks and performances.
 The Tenerife Auditorium in Santa Cruz is a very large and professional venue that puts on big name international acts such as Jethro Tull, Youssou N’Dour, Van Morrison and Chick Corea and Gary Burton. The Tenerife Auditorium also stages many other cultural events and offers a broad range of music from pop to opera.
 In the south of Tenerife, the Magma Centre is a new and very modern venue with a very large capacity. The Magma Centre is staging two sell-out concerts by the legendary Tony Christie in November to raise money for Tenerife’s K9 animal shelter. Tony Christie is, of course, best known for his huge hit Is This The Way To Amarillo?
So from this brief description you will see that there is plenty of live music and performance on offer in Tenerife – music and performance that should suit all tastes.
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Tenerife Island 