What a lucky lot we are in Tenerife, there’s always plenty of music to make our days and nights brighter. Arona has a particularly good record in staging diverse concerts and festivals,most of them free, such was the case with MUMES, a rousing blend of African and Canarian vibes.

Friday night new arrivals to Tenerife couldn’t believe their ears as they strolled into town and found top class reggae oozing from a large stage outside the Los Cristianos cultural centre. I had heard of La Laguna band Ruts & La Isla Music but never got to see them, I was soon lamenting those lost opportunities. The five piece band was joined by two young female dancers and the charismatic lead singer who lit up the evening stage. Their light, laid back reggae was interspersed with a few classics like Bob Marley’s Could You Be Loved but what clinched it for me was a strong ska influence on the later numbers. The girls really worked the growing audience of seasoned reggae fans and families giving their younger generation a glorious musical baptism.

When they left the stage there was a DJ session from Dab Maia with the sounds of Bob Marley, this allowed time to change the stage settings and a quick beer break for myself. Spyrow was next up with his band from the Ivory Coast, they were more hard core and very strong musically. By then the crowd were loosened up well and dancing, the four piece band behind Spyrow kept it tight and upbeat, especially the guitarists. It was a wonderful night for good music and the festival continues with exhibitions in the cultural centre and a jazz flavoured Sunday night (10 July) with Djarabikan Balafon, also from the Ivory Coast, at a free concert in the Auditorio Infanta Leonor that backs onto the main building.