Joaquín Sabina Moves Valencia With His "Last Waltz" At Roig Arena

Microphone in hand and wearing his iconic bowler hat, Joaquín Sabina took to the stage at Roig Arena for the first of three concerts scheduled at the venue. At 76 years old, after traveling thousands of kilometers and performing on hundreds of stages, the artist from Úbeda still had a first time left.

As part of his farewell tour “Hola y Adiós,” Joaquín Sabina debuted at Roig Arena to offer a final waltz to nearly 11,000 Valencian fans who came to see him. With the upcoming Saturday and Monday shows, more than 33,000 people will accompany Sabina during his three sold-out concerts in Valencia.

Joined by his irreplaceable band—Antonio García de Diego, Jaime Asúa, Laura Gómez Palma, Pedro Barceló, Josemi Sagaste, Borja Montenegro, and Mara Barros—Sabina delivered an emotional journey through a discography spanning nearly half a century. During the concert, he walked down his famous "Calle Melancolía", surrounded by an inevitable aura of nostalgia; he once again wondered how April could have been stolen from him, and gifted "La canción más hermosa del mundo" to his enthusiastic audience. Midway through the show, he passed the spotlight to his beloved Mara Barros, who delighted the crowd with "Camas vacías".

As if that weren’t enough, he reunited with Chavela and José Alfredo "Por el bulevar de los sueños rotos", while dedicating an entire song to Magdalena. One of the concert’s highlights came with the rancheras "Noches de boda" and the crowd-favorite "Y nos dieron las diez". For the last time, he explored the contradictions of love in "Y sin embargo" and delved into the bitterness of heartbreak in "19 días y 500 noches".

No farewell would be complete without the iconic "Peces de Ciudad", composed with Pancho Varona and Antonio García de Diego over two decades ago, nor without the combination of "Princesa" and "Contigo", which signaled to the Valencian audience that the curtain was about to fall for good.

After two hours of music, Joaquín Sabina removed his bowler hat and bid farewell as one of the most influential singer-songwriters in Spanish music. But the poet remains, along with the verses he immortalized in each and every one of his songs.