THE EDITORIAL
This week the city closes out one season and quietly opens another. María Pagés, who directs Madrid's only dedicated dance centre, premieres a new flamenco work about her own move from Seville to Madrid on the stage she runs. Chamartín throws the district fiesta that marks the actual end of verbena season, funfair and casetas and all, before the city goes properly indoors for winter. And on Tuesday, a small architecture bookshop on Calle Orfila puts Bjarke Ingels and Norman Foster in the same room, talking to each other rather than to a lecture hall.
We've been through the calendar so you don't have to. Here's what's worth your week.
AT A GLANCE
The last verbena: San Miguel closes out Chamartín's patronal fiestas in Parque de Berlín.
The world premiere: María Pagés stages her own migration story at Centro Danza Matadero.
The wordless one: Nascencia opens the Ballet Español's season with no dialogue to translate.
The free architecture pairing: Bjarke Ingels and Norman Foster talk to each other at Ivorypress.
The one in total darkness: Depeche Mode's Violator, played straight through, lights off.
THE WEEKLY CURATION
CULTURE
THE EVENT: San Miguel, Chamartín's patronal fiestas
WHERE: Parque de Berlín and venues across Chamartín; Metro Concha Espina or Colombia
WHEN: Thursday 24 to Sunday 27 September. Pregón Thursday 20:00; casetas and attractions close in step with the last metro each night
PRICE: Free
WEB: diario.madrid.es
San Miguel is the last verbena of the year, and this one is run entirely by the neighbourhood it belongs to
The pregón on Thursday night is given by three of the district's own historic sports clubs, Real Madrid, Club Estudiantes and Club de Tenis Chamartín, which tells you exactly how local this fiesta is.
Casetas, funfair, free concerts and a chess simultaneous fill Parque de Berlín, in a district most people only cross on the way to the Bernabéu. La Paloma gets the photographs; this one gets the neighbourhood, and it's the last chance of the year to stand in a Madrid park with a plastic cup and a band playing.
The Edit Move
Go for Chamartín Tapetea on Sunday, 13:00 to 14:30, when the casetas run a tapa and drink pairing instead of the full menu, and Andrés Koi, the former DVICIO singer, plays the park auditorium at 13:00 the same day. Take line 9 to Colombia, walk in through the park rather than the main gate, and eat before the queues build.
For who it is
Readers who missed La Paloma in August and assumed the season was over.
For who it is not
The purist who wants castizo Madrid with chulapos and a procession; this is a modern district fiesta, and it's more fun for it.
FLAMENCO
THE EVENT: VI Suma Flamenca Joven 2026
WHERE: Teatros del Canal, Sala Verde
WHEN: Thursday 24 to Sunday 27 September
PRICE: From 9€
The best flamenco artists under 30 get four nights before the main festival even starts
Twelve of the country's biggest young promises in cante, baile and guitar, none of them over 30, sharing a stage that most of them will be filling on their own within a few years. This is the warm-up act for October's main Suma Flamenca festival, and it's consistently where the sharpest eyes in flamenco go looking for who to watch next.
The Edit Move
Book the Thursday opening night specifically. Niño Ruven headlines, and opening nights in this strand tend to have the most electric rooms, everyone's there to discover someone, not just watch a familiar name.
For who it is
Flamenco followers who want to spot a future headliner before everyone else does.
For who it is not
Anyone wanting an established, big-name flamenco night; that's what October's main programme is for.
DANCE
THE EVENT: Nascencia, Ballet Español de la Comunidad de Madrid
WHERE: Teatros del Canal, Sala Roja Concha Velasco
WHEN: 24 September to 4 October
PRICE: 38€ VIP, 30€, 20€, 9€
A piece built entirely around rebirth, told through movement with no dialogue to translate
The regional Spanish ballet company opens its season with a piece built around rebirth after hardship, contemporary Spanish ballet rather than flamenco proper, and told entirely through movement, which makes it one of the few things on this week's calendar that needs precisely zero Spanish to follow.
The Edit Move
Buy the 9€ seats if budget is the concern rather than skipping it altogether, Teatros del Canal's cheapest tier still gives you a clean sightline in the Sala Roja.
For who it is
Dance followers and anyone drawn to a wordless story.
For who it is not
Anyone wanting flamenco proper; this is contemporary Spanish ballet.
DANCE
THE EVENT: María Pagés Compañía, Bilbao Square
WHERE: Centro Danza Matadero, Sala Fernando Arrabal, Nave 11, Matadero Madrid
WHEN: Friday 25 September to 4 October. Friday and Saturday 20:00, Sunday 19:00
PRICE: From 27€, up to 35€
María Pagés premieres her own migration story, on the stage she runs
A world premiere from María Pagés, choreographed with El Arbi El Harti, about her own move from Seville to Madrid, told in flamenco. Pagés directs the Centro Danza Matadero, so this is the woman who runs Spain's only dedicated dance centre premiering her own work on her own stage, in a nave of the old slaughterhouse. There's a public encounter with the company after one of the Friday performances, worth checking the exact date on booking.
The Edit Move
Book the first weekend rather than waiting; premieres at Matadero fill by word of mouth and the run stretches into October when everyone remembers it exists. Go early and walk the Matadero courtyards first, the naves at dusk are half the reason to be in Legazpi at all.
For who it is
Readers who took the flamenco tips all summer and want to see where the form goes when it has a full stage and a budget.
For who it is not
The newcomer looking for a first flamenco night out; this is a choreographic work with a thesis, not an evening of palos.
FOOD
THE EVENT: Beermad, 12th edition
WHERE: Avenida del Planetario at the corner of Calle Meneses, beside Parque Enrique Tierno Galván, Arganzuela. Metro and Cercanías Méndez Álvaro, Avenida del Planetario exit
WHEN: Friday 25 to Sunday 27 September. Friday 17:00 to 23:00, Saturday 11:00 to 23:00, Sunday 11:00 to 19:00
PRICE: Free. Official glass 3€
WEB: beermad.es
Beermad lost its venue, moved outdoors, and cancelled the tickets, so the whole thing is now free
The twelfth Beermad was booked into the Pabellón de Cristal with paid sessions from nine euros, lost the venue, and has moved to open ground where the Mercado de Productores normally sets up. Because the new site is open air, the promoter scrapped ticketing altogether. Fifty breweries, more than 150 beers across 200 styles, with Madrid names including La Vallekana, La Chula, Oso Brewing and La Vicalvarada alongside Portuguese, Belgian, Romanian and Scottish guests, fifteen food trucks and live bands over the three days.
The Edit Move
Take the Sunday and treat it as lunch rather than a session. Friday and Saturday nights belong to the drinking crowd, but Sunday runs eleven to seven and the brewers are unhurried enough to actually tell you what they made and why. Buy the glass, start on the Madrid taps so you have something to measure the visitors against, then walk up into Tierno Galván afterwards for the view back over the rooftops.
For who it is
Anyone who has meant to work out what Madrid brewing tastes like and never had a reason to start.
For who it is not
Readers who want a table and a menu; this is standing, outdoors, cup in hand.
MUSIC
THE EVENT: Fetén Fetén, part of Madrid Live Experience 2026
WHERE: La Estación, Gran Teatro CaixaBank Príncipe Pío
WHEN: Saturday 26 September, 12:00. Doors 10:30
PRICE: 18.70€
A midday listening session for a trio built for a proper room, tucked inside a week of exclusive concerts
Fetén Fetén's midday slot makes more sense once you know the context: this is one date inside Madrid Live Experience 2026, a week of exclusive concerts at the same venue running through the 30th, with Bebe opening on the 24th and Zucchero on the 25th. The trio, accordion, clarinet and vibraphone, plays instrumental folk built for a proper listening room, no arena, no noise, just a band that plays like it's telling a story, and the noon slot is deliberately a different kind of outing to the evening headliners either side of it.
The Edit Move
Treat it as a daytime plan rather than a night out; the early slot means you can do this and still have the whole evening free elsewhere.
For who it is
Readers who want a seated night built around musicianship, at an hour that doesn't compete with dinner plans.
For who it is not
Anyone wanting a sing-along or an easy evening out; this is a midday listening session for a specific instrumental sound.
MUSIC
THE EVENT: LIMO, Senyawa
WHERE: CentroCentro, Plaza de Cibeles 1, Auditorio
WHEN: Saturday 26 September, 19:30
PRICE: 10€
An Indonesian duo builds ritual, Javanese-rooted resonances out of self-built instruments
Part of the LIMO experimental music cycle's return to CentroCentro this autumn. Senyawa builds ritualistic, Javanese-rooted resonances out of self-built instruments, a completely different sonic register to anything else in the calendar this week. CentroCentro flags that some of the frequencies used run very high or very low, worth knowing before booking if that's a sensitivity.
The Edit Move
Book ahead; LIMO's autumn concerts have sold out quickly in past editions, and the Auditorio holds a genuinely small crowd.
For who it is
Experimental music fans and those seeking non-Western contemporary sounds.
For who it is not
Readers wanting traditional classical or pop music, or anyone sensitive to extreme high or low frequencies played loud.
ART
THE EVENT: Apertura's second act
WHERE: Galleries across Chamberí, Justicia, Salamanca and Lavapiés
WHEN: Through late September
PRICE: Free
WEB: artemadrid.com
Every gallery in the city opened its new season a fortnight ago. The shows are still up, and this time you'll be the only one in the room
Apertura's gallery weekend happened in issue #24, sixty galleries pouring wine on the same night. The shows themselves run for weeks after the crowds go home, which is the part nobody writes up: the same exhibitions, the same free admission, minus the queue, the wine and the six hundred people between you and the work.
The Edit Move
Do the opposite of what everyone did on opening night. Pick a Wednesday afternoon, walk two or three galleries in one neighbourhood, and actually talk to the person at the desk, because with the room quiet they'll tell you what the show is about and which artist they're excited about next.
For who it is
Readers who went to the gallery weekend, enjoyed it and saw almost nothing, and readers who skipped it entirely.
For who it is not
The visitor who wants the buzz and the crowd; the pleasure here is an empty room and an unhurried conversation.
ARCHITECTURE
THE EVENT: Bjarke Ingels and Norman Foster, a conversation
WHERE: Ivorypress, Calle Orfila 5
WHEN: Tuesday 29 September, 19:00
PRICE: Free
Two of the most recognisable architects working today talk to each other, not to a lecture hall
Ivorypress puts Bjarke Ingels, the Danish architect behind BIG and known for spectacular, headline-grabbing projects, in conversation with Norman Foster, the veteran British architect behind the Gherkin, the reworked Reichstag and Wembley Stadium. A pairing this specific, two working architects talking to each other rather than one giving a lecture, is rare, and Ivorypress's Orfila space seats a genuinely small crowd for it.
The Edit Move
Arrive well before 19:00. This is a small architecture and design bookshop space, not an auditorium, and a pairing like this will draw more people than the room comfortably holds.
For who it is
Architects, design students, and anyone who wants to hear two very different approaches to the same profession talk to each other directly.
For who it is not
Casual visitors looking for a broad public lecture with slides; this is a conversation between two peers.
MUSIC
THE EVENT: PAUSA, Depeche Mode's Violator Listening Party
WHERE: Sala Equis, Calle del Duque de Alba 4
WHEN: Wednesday 30 September, 19:30
PRICE: 8€
An entire classic album played straight through, in total darkness, no screens, no phones
PAUSA returns to Sala Equis for an uninterrupted listening session of Depeche Mode's Violator, in total darkness, no screens, no phones, just the 1990 album played straight through, followed by an open discussion once the lights come back up.
The Edit Move
Book ahead; sessions like this run small and sell out on the strength of word of mouth alone.
For who it is
Synthpop fans, audiophiles, and Depeche Mode devotees who want to hear the record properly for once.
For who it is not
People looking for a live band or a club night to dance; this is a seated, silent listening session.
ON THE HORIZON
Gottfried Helnwein's Mundos Invertidos is still running at Colección SOLO through December, if hyperrealist, unsettling work is your thing and you haven't made it yet.
Revolución Cuántica's interactive exhibition at Espacio Fundación Telefónica closes 11 October, this is genuinely your last full month to catch it.
XXI Suma Flamenca opens its main programme on 13 October, straight after this month's Joven preview closes.
Seen something in Madrid this week that should have made the list? Reply to [email protected] and tell us. We read everything, and the best tips end up here.
The Edit Madrid is an independent weekly curation of the best things to do in the city. No sponsored content. No filler. Just the things worth your time.
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