OMD

With the Mediterranean stretching out behind the stage and a warm July evening settling over Marina Norte, FAR València welcomed OMD for a performance that felt perfectly suited to its surroundings. Thousands drifted into the waterfront venue long before the headline set, creating an atmosphere that was relaxed, expectant and unmistakably summery.

French electronic outfit RINÔÇÉRÔSE had the job of getting the evening moving, and they did it with style. Their blend of dance beats, rock guitars and infectious grooves rippled across the site, drawing more and more people towards the stage as the sun dipped below the horizon. It was an inspired choice of support act, bridging electronic music with live performance and setting the tone for everything that followed.

When Andy McCluskey bounded onto the stage with his trademark energy, Marina Norte erupted. From the opening songs it was clear this wasn't an audience content to stand and watch. Every familiar keyboard line triggered another wave of cheers, while McCluskey's unmistakable dance moves drew smiles across the crowd. His enthusiasm remains completely genuine, feeding off every reaction from the audience and giving every song the same commitment you'd expect from a band half their age.

OMD's catalogue is remarkably deep, and the set flowed effortlessly between favourites including Electricity, Souvenir, Joan of Arc, Tesla Girls, So In Love, Sailing on the Seven Seas and the inevitable roar that greeted Enola Gay. By the closing moments, thousands of voices had merged into one, with Maid of Orleans providing a fitting finale beneath the Valencia night sky.

What stood out most wasn't simply the music, but the mix of people enjoying it. Fans who grew up with OMD shared the evening with younger concertgoers discovering these songs in a live setting for the first time.

Throughout the night there was constant movement—friends dancing together, strangers singing the same choruses and countless phones briefly raised before disappearing again as people chose to stay in the moment.

Marina Norte continues to establish itself as one of Spain's finest outdoor concert settings, and this performance showed exactly why. The sea breeze, the city lights and a band whose songs have aged with remarkable grace combined to create an evening that felt effortlessly natural rather than overly polished.

OMD have spent more than forty years writing songs that continue to resonate far beyond the decade in which they were recorded. In Valencia, they didn't lean on reputation—they simply played one great song after another, and the crowd responded in kind.

It was one of those festival sets where everything clicked: the location, the weather, the audience and a band still enjoying every minute of being on stage. Sometimes that's all a great concert needs.

Words and photos: Rhyan Paul