Forever Young

PHOTOGRAPHED and written by Rhyan Paul

Music and documentary photographer Rhyan Paul takes us through mud, beer, and good vibes at the multi-day, multi-genre music festival Rabolagartija in Alicante, Spain.

There are 900 music festivals in Spain every year and it’s tricky deciding which ones to go and photograph - we’re spoiled.

However, there are some that are a must and Rabolagartija Festival is one of them. It is a proper three day festival, with camping, great bands, good people, and located at the bottom of a mountain range - what’s not to like?

The line up was going to include some of the best old school punk, new punk, rap, metal, and rock n’ roll bands that Spain has to offer, served up over two stages - I knew this was going to be epic and no doubt leave me in bits. Having celebrated the 31st anniversary of my 20th birthday this year, I pride myself on being forever young (Read: Mentally retarded and living in denial!)

The temperature was a heady 42 degrees Celcius (107 degrees Fahrenheit) as I drove into the press area on day one with cloudless blue skies and wall to wall sunshine. But wait a minute - what the fuck is that? Within minutes a storm blew through from nowhere, flooding the entire festival site! Did it dampen the spirits of the crowd? Hell no, it just made it a real proper festival, knee deep in mud!

The following two days and very long nights (Spanish Festivals generally consider 7am a good time to wind things down) saw perfect summer weather. Beer flowed, people partied, bands tore it up, and the vibe was nothing short of the mutts nuts!

People party different here in Spain - they take “Party Hard” to new levels. Thinking of where to head out for a festival in 2025? You could do a lot worse than come here to Spain.

Viva el Punk Español!