November is a busy month on Lisbon’s stages. Two festivals overlap: Misty Fest, now in its 17th edition, brings songwriters, world music and jazz to the city’s theatres, and Alkantara, from 13 to 29 November, gathers contemporary theatre and dance from around the world. Between them, there is something on almost every night of the month.
Misty Fest
Misty Fest is held in theatres and concert halls rather than fields, and its line-up leans towards songwriters and jazz. José González opens it at the Coliseu dos Recreios on 1 November. Cat Power plays The Greatest in full for the album’s 20th anniversary at Campo Pequeno on 13 November. At the São Luiz, the French accordionist Vincent Peirani plays on 21 November, and Josh Cohen and Levi.SCT share a day of pop piano on 22 November. Late in the month the festival moves to the Centro Cultural de Belém, with Al Di Meola on 27 November and the Korean jazz singer Youn Sun Nah on the last night, 29 November. Rodrigo Leão adds a December date, Alma Mater, at the Coliseu on 18 December.
Stay nearby · 1 of 10 in Lisbon
Bairro Alto Hotel
A refined boutique hotel in Lisbon’s cultural heart, in the former Grand Hotel de L’Europe.
Alkantara
Alkantara is Lisbon’s international festival of contemporary performance. Alessandro Sciarroni’s Save the Last Dance for Me, two dancers reviving an old Bolognese courtship dance, has two short showings on 14 November. Rimini Protokoll bring Mali Futur Live on 21 and 22 November. Carolina Bianchi and Cara de Cavalo return with the second chapter of their Cadela Força trilogy, The Brotherhood, from 26 to 28 November; it is demanding, and not for everyone. The Lebanese choreographer Ali Chahrour shows When I Saw the Sea on 27 and 28 November. Between shows, the festival’s meeting point is at Casa Independente, in Intendente.
Plan your evenings
Tickets are sold show by show on each festival’s website, and the smaller rooms sell out first. The São Luiz is in Chiado, a short walk from the cafés of Rua Garrett; the Coliseu is near Restauradores; the Centro Cultural de Belém is by the river at Belém, easiest by tram or train from Cais do Sodré. Misty Fest also plays Porto and other cities, so check that you are booking the Lisbon date.
