Joy, sadness and nostalgia: the moods of the opening day of the last Mobo

Between contradictory feelings, this Thursday saw the first day of MoboFest 2026. Joy for being able to enjoy a new edition of the most popular music festival in Pla de Mallorca, and a certain sadness for what has not yet happened and already awakens nostalgia: the last edition after a decade of continuous activity and the uncertainty about whether there will be a worthy successor or not.

A heavy feeling also amplified by the death this week of Joan Roca, bassist of Antònia Font, headliners of Saturday's event. A memory that ran through all the stages, with special mentions for the musician from Son Sardina. Finally, and although the concert was initially announced as cancelled, the band is scheduled to perform a series of songs as a tribute to Roca and to conclude in a more intimate format.

But if we speak strictly about Thursday's musical event, the lineup was opened by the always energetic Mon Joan Tiquat on the Huguet stage. Vila reviewed mainly the songs from his first two albums, Es temps i sa llavor and Sinònims de Cosa, in an avalanche of syncopated tempos, attractive pianos, and the always elegant guitar of Roger Pistola. An ideal combination to 'awaken' the afternoon and start bringing people to the Puig de Consolació de Sant Joan, the same place where MoboFest took flight in 2016.

Yesterday, the already traditional free day managed to gather a few thousand people, conveniently prepared to endure the heat, and who were distributed staggered across the four stages that the organization had prepared and ready. Likewise the parking areas, which operated agilely and without too many problems.

After Mon Joan Tiquat came Nineta's turn on the Music Lover stage. "A handmade popstar. More handmade than popstar", as she defines herself. With intimate and electronic touches, her debut album Salut i Mercè (2025) managed to create dreamlike atmospheres full of vital fragments, wounds, and, as her presentation states, "a certain meanness".

The Majorcans The Ripples clearly showed reminiscences of Anglo power pop and the ways of the early Rolling Stones. With songs like Something's got a hold on me or Life in the city, the quintet made Consolació dance and jump in a performance that sounded compact and well-integrated. Not for nothing is their first album One hell of a ride, recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios and they have just finished a tour of England.

But it was clear that those who would fill the main stage on the first day of Mobo would be La Ludwig Band, true to their cheerful and powerful formula, the Catalans reviewed mainly the songs from their lp Pel barri es comenta (2026) which they already presented in Mallorca during their visit to Acampallengua in Manacor, just a few months ago.

They filled the Rosa Blanca space and demonstrated, with a review of various hits (some were left out due to lack of time), their good physical and vocal condition on and off stage. The concert ended with the very young Miquel Fuster, a follower of La Ludwig, coming on stage and singing the last song alone, accompanied by the whole band and the encouragement of an already captivated audience.

In between and at the end, Cobie was in charge of mixing recognizable hits to dance to for a long time, both from Majorcan bands like Garrafa Nadal or Las Petunias or Carolina Durante. And with a special farewell song, Alpinistes samurais, in memory of Joan Roca.