Sun, sea and stacking. What more could the Splendette lasses want? It was both Eeva and Hannah’s first time at High Rockabilly and we are not lying when we say we had a blast! Located in Calafell, just outside of Barcelona, High Rockabilly is in its 19th year and we can’t see it going anywhere soon.
Jetting off from London Gatwick with suitcases bursting full of swimwear, Splendette and sun cream we arrived at Barcelona airport and started our adventure to Calafell. A warning: don’t take the Metro. Three hours later we finally arrived at the beach side resort and headed straight out for dinner. The official event doesn’t start until the Thursday, but we wanted to give ourselves a few days to settle in and get our bearings.
We indulged in some scrumptious tropical cocktails at Buddasbar and the famous Bora Bora (Mango Daiquiri anyone?) which went down all too easily. The pre-party soon spilled out into the streets of Calafell from all the bars. Eddie & The Scorpions took to the stage with their fast paced, West Coast USA style and had everyone jiving around. What the absolute best thing about the pre-party was how the whole town got involved – the atmosphere was buzzing wherever you went!
Luckily our hotel had an absolutely beautiful pool area to laze around to recover from all of the previous night’s dancing. A siesta later and it was time to head out for Thursday night’s entertainment. Boy, oh boy, was it a show! The Polecats (iconic neo-rockabilly band) brought their usual electric energy followed by local Barcelona band The Kabooms - one of Hannah’s personal favourites.
Friday rolled around and we had a lovely sunny day splashing around in the sea and sipping cava with fellow vintage inspired goddess Viv of Vivien of Holloway. We saw so many people to catch up with we lost count! It was amazing to meet some of our wonderful customers and wholesalers across the whole weekend too. Lots of faces put to names which is always lovely!
More time on the beach is just what Saturday ordered. The Beach Party on the Saturday was jumping and jiving from the get-go. A few strolls and sangrias later it was snooze time before prepping for the big night. High Rockabilly had announced that unfortunately Rudi ‘Tutti’ Grayzell had had to pull out of performing but he had been replaced with the legend that is Barrence Whitfield, with Los Torontos as his band. Hannah did a little squeal at that! Her favourite band with one of her favourite singers! Weekend made! One of Eeva’s favourites, Los Rizlas, closed the Saturday show. Hailing from Japan we always try and see them whenever they grace our shores. If you ever get a chance to see them – grab it!
Time to make the most of the last day! Having missed the pool party on the Saturday, Hannah headed out to see what it was all about. Everywhere was chock-a-block with amazing vintage clothing, jewellery and homeware – just a shame our suitcases were too busy to fit any extras in! How no one fell in the pool is a small miracle…
Sunday night and it was time to head back to the closing street party. We barely saw any of the bands because we took every opportunity to have a few more chats with our friends from all over the world and a couple more strolls down the street. Soon enough it was 6am (how?!) and time to head to bed.
Luckily, we still had one day to make the most of the sunshine and recover from all our partying. Another delicious day around the pool was definitely called for. Our last meal had to be at one of our favourite restaurants we found. There are hundreds to choose from along Calafell’s beachfront but we settled at an Italian (not a lot of Spanish food is veggie friendly) who did exquisite pizzas and some of the best pasta Eeva has ever eaten.
So that was that. High Rockabilly was sadly over for 2019. But, what a party we had! A mash up of a beautiful beach holiday and one of the best rockabilly weekenders in the world. Is it too soon to book in for next year?
