MEO Kalorama lays impressive groundwork for one last dance in the sun

With cheap booze, late curfews and easygoing crowds placated by the carefree sway of synth-thick beats, one would be hard pressed to find fault in the temporary oasis of a late summer musical haven. Bagging the last weekend in August, MEO Kalorama creates the perfect atmosphere for one last dance in the sun, just before temperatures turn south and the broodiness of September bears its head once more.

Still in its relative infancy, the 2024 edition of the festival is its third turnout, yet it stands as an event mature far beyond its years. Following in the footsteps of predecessors like the colourful spin of Lollapalooza or the alternative grit of Bilbao BBK Live, MEO Kalorama also sets its own admirable standards, paving the way for the newest generation of festivals that are increasingly centering sustainability as the plat du jour. Even though by the end of the three days I had spent my weight in gold on recyclable cup levies at the completely cashless festival, MEO Kalorama's drive to be a responsible and ethical offering from the ground up was a commendable and well-realised undertaking.

As well as its environmental efforts, MEO Kalorama also strives for a different kind of sustainability: that of its local music scene. Billing heavy-hitting international artists well familiar with this summer’s festival circuit in its primetime slots – from LCD Soundsystem and Sam Smith to Jungle and Peggy Gou – the lineup found equal space to forward homegrown talent towards the start of each day. Rather than carving out a distinct sonic niche, the festival instead seemed to pool talent that both reflected and amplified liberal Lisboan sensibilities. As a result, a solid splice of cross-genre action graced the festival’s four main stages, and all kinds of nostalgic alt. rock, groove-laden R&B, and all-out pop melted into the warm evening air.

Hosted in the undulating hills of the stunning Parque de Bela Vista (quite literally translated as “Beautiful View Park”), the main festival site is guarded like a compass by these stages. Well delineated in terms of scope and sound, it only took a matter of minutes each night to decode the flavour profile of each one. The festival’s largest, Palco Meo, housed the biggest names and was the most fluid in offering as a result, from the Afrobeats of Burna Boy to the soulful edge of Massive Attack. At the opposite end of the grounds were the Palco San Miguel and Palco Lisboa, which celebrated artists with a slightly more fringe-focused sound. The final and smallest stage, the Palco Panorama, was tucked away behind trees and food trucks. With DJs adorning the stage right the way from opening through to the early hours of the morning, this became the go-to between sets or at the end of the night for festivalgoers wanting to lose themselves among the stars and the strobe lights.

With festival proceedings starting from 5pm each night, ample time was afforded before attending to bake in the sun and soak up the winsome city – or recover from the night before, depending on which day of the weekend is in question. After all, Lisbon is truly studded with subtle beauties, from the intricate tiling that adorns the roads and buildings like some sort of magical kintsugi, to the unique doors and arches that show the way to the fantastically ramshackle and welcoming living-room style eateries that line every street two-a-penny. It’s a city that, much like its iconic pastel de nata, oozes warmth.

I must also give generous thanks to the hotel that acted as a true anchor to this trip, the recently opened Locke de Santa Joana, which kept a smile on my face right from the breakfast buffet through to collapsing in bed after hours traversing hills and stomping across the festival grounds to catch as much of the action as possible.

MEO Kalorama may only be a short 15-minute drive from the centre of Lisbon, but it seems to lurk in the shadows cast by the city’s terracotta roofs. We couldn’t find one advertisement or poster about the festival while touristing around, and, quite bizarrely, it didn’t seem to be a well-known happening among locals. One of the tuktuk tour guides that whizzed us round the stunning old town of Alfama wasn’t sure what the festival was, and a nearby hotelier took a while to put two and two together despite the fact that Sam Smith had allegedly stayed there the previous night.

Although deserving higher praise from outside its own gates, the festival consequently feels like clandestine fun. Much like a cult, you spot fellow members dotted around the sprawling tourist streets with their matching wristbands, giving a wry nod and well-knowing smile that they’ve shared in the same certain joy. Similarly to the city that births the festival, MEO Kalorama feels like a secret high: one that must be humbly sought out rather than shouting loudly about itself.

This year also marks the first foray of the festival franchise outside of Portugal, folding outwards to its neighbouring capital city and delivering Kalorama Madrid across the same weekend. Pulling from one conjoined pool of artists and replicating the breeziness and amber hues essential to its Lisbon fixture, the twin event in Madrid ensures an even wider audience can share in the Kalorama magic. Although the set up may be similar to Reading and Leeds Festival, simply no comparisons can be drawn between the frenzied swathes of teenagers in a muddy UK field and the genteel calm of the restrained (and effortlessly well dressed) Portuguese crowds.

Although bad thunderstorms may have sadly dampened affairs across the border, one particular highlight of MEO Kalorama was Raye spotting two festivalgoers holding up a poster declaring they had travelled all the way from Madrid where her set had been rained off the night before. “Oh babes, I’m so happy you could make it,” she says, looking both excited and shocked while squinting to read the words scrawled on the A3 card. Apologising for not being able to perform in Spain, she poured double the energy into her Lisbon set, and every ounce as much heart as was laced within her debut album, the Brit Awards-sweeping My 21st Century Blues.

As the summer settles beneath the horizon, and children and parents alike start to stress about new pencil cases and Premier League seasons, MEO Kalorama allows one last pocket of breathing room. One last chance to throw caution to the wind in reckless abandon and dance away the anxieties with a €4 beer in hand. There’s simply no better place to do it than in the relentlessly hospitable city of Lisbon.