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Outside space of the Radioclub Agramonte. © Rui Meireles
In Boavista, there's a place where Porto slows down and lets itself be heard. The Radioclube Agramonte - or RCA - is a bar, garden and auditorium. It serves craft beer, only plays vinyl music and has a regular programme of concerts and DJ sets, with special attention to emerging projects and contemporary sounds. In a former swimming pool transformed into an open-air amphitheatre, between glasses of beer, natural wine and a light and relaxed spirit, the RCA is a stage and a meeting place - a place where you come to listen to music and talk.
© DR, courtesy of RCA
RCA opened its doors in 2024, but its seed began to germinate years earlier, in Madrid, when Kevin Bowman, originally from California, and Miguel Freitas, originally from Porto, met at a master's course. ‘I met Miguel on the first day of classes and, from then on, we started talking about the idea of having a bar that we would like to go to,’ recalls Kevin, one of the four founders of the space. ‘Initially, we thought about setting up a brewery,’ he says. ‘But that's more expensive, so we decided to start with this idea of a craft beer bar.’ Nuno Pereira and Rafa Castro Lopes joined this plan.
Nene Khoshtaria (bar employee), Kevin Bowman (partner), Adriana Paiva de Magalhães (assistant bar manager) and Rafael Castro Lopes (partner). Photo © Rui Meireles
Photo © Rui Meireles
The passion for vinyl came above all from Miguel, a dedicated collector. ‘The exclusivity came about almost by chance, organically; we bought some tables to play vinyl on and the customers thought it was a great idea - and it stayed.’ Music, an informal atmosphere and the desire to create a space that is ‘cosy, relaxed... like “a day in the park”’, as Kevin describes it, are the essence of RCA today.
Photo © Rui Meireles
The programmer and the musical vision
If Kevin helped materialise the RCA, it is Juanes Enciso who maintains the rhythm and direction of its sound identity. As the venue's musical programme maker, Juanes has brought with him a keen ear and a community spirit. ‘We currently curate as a team, we listen to all the proposals we receive and try to choose what makes sense to us,’ he explains.
The programme doesn't live in isolation - it's closely linked to the spirit of the RCA and Espaço Agra (in the same building), home to circus and contemporary dance companies. ‘We try to bring in new projects that need a stage,’ says Juanes, reinforcing the RCA's role as a platform for presenting new projects.
‘The mood often chooses the music,’ Kevin recognises. And this symbiosis between the sound and the moment even translates into the choice of discs. One of the most played recently? Bolis Pupul. "He's a more or less new artist that everyone is loving. When someone's out of inspiration, they look for that white vinyl - it's almost an internal code," says Juanes.
But there's something else that sets the RCA apart: its outdoor space. A large garden and a former swimming pool, now transformed into an amphitheatre, act as a stage for unexpected experiences. ‘We've played some memorable concerts here,’ says Juanes. One of the most iconic? "The Baleia, Baleia, Baleia concert, which ended with a pillow fight in the pool. It was a bit of everything - children running around, people sitting on the railings, others dancing. It was really beautiful." This is the setting for the RCA's July programme, the last before the summer break.
© DR, courtesy of RCA
Concerts by the pool: immersing yourself in music
→ 12 July: João Alves presents Ëmoen, his debut album released by Jazzego at the end of 2024. A work where experimentalism and melodic sensitivity meet, under the label of a company that, according to Juanes, ‘does very cool work’.
→ 19 July: xauxau dodô, a project from Barcelos, is preparing to release its first album. "There are six very good musicians. I think it's a great project to pick up now that it's still affordable."
→ 26 July: closing the season with a double concert: Just Fish, a drums, synths and keyboards trio with a deeply experimental approach. ‘I'm a big fan of their work,’ says Juanes. ‘The concert they did in our garden a year ago was one of my favourites so far.’
And André Júlio Turquesa (trio), a musician with a strong presence in Porto and collaborations in the theatre. ‘His latest album is really beautiful,’ emphasises Juanes. ‘We thought it was a great idea to close the programme with him.’
Doors open
‘That's what everything is designed for: to be a place you want to come back to,’ says Kevin. And many do. There are faces that repeat themselves week after week - and even dogs that ‘are already part of the family in some way’.
During the month of August, the RCA goes into a quieter mode. The bar stays open, but the music programme takes a break. ‘Most of the people who work in the space work away in the summer, at festivals, so the atmosphere is quieter then.’ It's this balance between energy and rest that defines the RCA: a space that pulses with the city, but also knows how to breathe with it.
As Juanes says, ‘you never know what's going to happen when you get here.’ But one thing's for sure: you'll want to come back.
Photo © Rui Meireles
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