After glancing at the Sintra Misty lineup for no more than 10 seconds, you’ll realise at once that this festival is due to attract a special type of audience, of those who actually bother to pay attention to the lyrics and their precise writing process.

This festival of alternative sounds is held in the Romantic town of Sintra, known as having been a fairytale-like place of exile and seclusion for many throughout the years. It is no coincidence that Lord Byron, Hans Christian Andersen and Richard Strauss chose the chalet-like houses and the mountains of Sintra to seek refuge.

Between 13 and 23 October, at the Olga Cadaval Cultural Centre, Sintra Misty will explore “the eternally renewed art of writing songs”, according to the official presentation. Singer-songwriters like Jay-Jay Johanson, Portuguese Mazgani and Paulo Furtado aka Legendary Tigerman will be performing at the festival. Also making an appearance is the bard of the broken-hearted, Stuart Staples, lead singer of indie band Tindersticks, as well as John Grant, Sean Riley & the Slowriders and world music rhythms from Portuguese/Cape Verdian singer Sara Tavares.

Misty Sintra also includes Misty Sessions, a homage to the interconnectedness between music and cinema. «Joy Division», a documentary about the seminal band directed by Grant Gee with script by British journalist Jon Savage, and «Dream of Life», a documentary about Patti Smith, are some of the programme’s highlights.

Here’s the complete programme.

Sintra Misty
13-23 Oct
Olga Cadaval Cultural Centre
Praça Dr. Francisco Sá Carneiro
Sintra

(Photography: Sean Riley & The Slowriders)