🍺 What's on in Madrid: May 23
Ft. a beer fair, swimming pools and tons of live podcasts.
Madrid | Issue #99
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Here Are 5 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend
It’s Friday again!
The warm weather is here! And if you’re looking for plans this weekend, we’ve got some great stuff for you to do (do we ever not?)
You can head to Beermad at Casa de Campo for craft brews, street food, and live music; 💃 explore the future of sound at Estación Podcast, 🎧 dance under the stars at Maudes Festival, with Purple Disco Machine leading the charge.
Or if you’re looking for something chill, you can 🏖️ cool off at one of the municipal pools, now officially open for the summer; and 🖼️ dive into digital magic at the Festival Urbano de Arte Digital, where tech, art, and illusion meet across screens and galleries.
If you have other recommendations, let us know in the comments! Summer is right around the corner and the options are in Madrid are endless. We’re only warming up. 😉
Enjoy!
1.🍺 Beermad 2025: Craft Beer and Street Food in Casa de Campo
Have you been avoiding alcohol because “summer is coming” and you need to keep in shape? Well, summer’s around the corner so you can let your hair down. Especially since Madrid’s legendary craft beer fair is back this weekend for its 11th edition.
This year’s edition is bigger, bolder, and buzzier than ever, with over 170 styles of beer from 40 craft breweries, 17 food trucks, and a full slate of live music, tastings, and workshops.
Beermad was born as a celebration of local brewing culture, and to continue with tradition it once again shines a spotlight on Madrid’s beer scene, with hometown heroes like La Vallekana CCVK, The One, and La Chula returning alongside newcomers like Cerveza Salvaje, La Vicalvarada, and Ska-P (yes, inspired by the iconic punk band from Vallecas).
National faves include Milana (Valladolid) and Tensina (Huesca), while this year’s international wildcard is Blinkers Brew, a rising Czech-Romanian star making its debut as the festival’s official sponsor.
Are you not into beer (or alcohol)? Fret not! Because Beermad brings some serious street food game and a lineup of live music that ranges from rockabilly to funk to folk. There are burgers, fries, burritos, tacos, hot dogs, pizza… all the stuff that goes great with a glass of lager.
🖥️ What: Beermad 2025
📍 Where: Pabellón de Cristal, Casa de Campo, Avenida Principal, 16, Madrid
📅 When: May 23-25. Starts at 5 p.m. on Friday, 11 a.m. on the weekend.
🎟 Tickets: €8
2.📲 Madrid’s Urban Digital Art Festival Returns
The 6th Urban Digital Art Festival of Madrid is back. Prepare to explore the weird symbiosis between humans and machines through three exhibitions, four performances, five workshops, and a whole constellation of digital installations.
The festival this year is curated under the theme “Abracadabra” (unfortunately, it’s unrelated to Lady Gaga) and it invites us to reflect on
the tyranny of the algorithmour complicated relationships with clicks, likes, taps, and scrolls that shape our daily lives.From the Palacio de la Prensa’s giant screen to citywide digital billboards, Madrid becomes the stage for works by artists like Candela Capitán, Simone C Niquille, Lolo&Sosaku, and Sputniko!, as well as PATIO studio, whose members also designed the festival’s visual identity.
The main exhibit, Abracadabra, is over, but today you can still check out Model Home, a thought-provoking film trilogy by Simone C Niquille, dissecting how computers frame our domestic spaces.
Finally, PATIO Studio’s De Magia y Tecnología will light up digital displays throughout Madrid with bold questions about visibility, identity, and the unseen systems that shape our lives.
🖥️ What: Madrid Urban Digital Art Festival
📍 Where: Multiple locations around Madrid
📅 When: Through May 24
🎟 Tickets: Check official website
3.👙 Madrid’s public pools are now open
OK, hear us out. Before you say “ew”, let us tell you about how important this is for the city culture. Madrid, amazing as it is, has not been blessed with a view of the Mediterranean, so unless you take the next AVE to Alicante, swimming pools are your only choice (and it’s normal to go, really!).
The 2025 summer season runs from through Sept. 7. This year, 17 municipal pools plus the three run by the Comunidad de Madrid (Puerta de Hierro, Canal de Isabel II, and San Vicente de Paúl) kicked things off with a free entry day on May 15.
Fan favorites like Casa de Campo, Aluche, La Elipa, and Moratalaz are all ready for cannonballs and sunbathing, though some, like Santa Ana and Vallecas, will open later due to renovations.
For those into
gay cruising“sunbathing and chill”, the iconic Universidad Complutense pool is expected to join the party in June, so stay tuned for an official date.And if you’re into rooftop lounging, remember that many hotels across Madrid have pool access too and some are open to non-guests.
Pools operate in three time slots: morning, afternoon, or all-day access. If you choose the latter, you’ll get a wristband to wear throughout the day. Get your dose of vitamin D now that the rain seems to be gone.
🖥️ What: Madrid Municipal Swimming Pools
📍 Where: Multiple locations around Madrid.
📅 When: May to September. Check website for schedule.
🎟 Tickets: Check website
4.🎙️ Estación Podcast 2025 is the perfect event for podcast fans
It’s too bad there are no podcasts in English here (at least not for now, wink wink), but if you speak Spanish and love podcasts, then you know Spain is crazy about them.
People here love them so much that once a year, there’s an actual live podcast festival in Madrid in which the city becomes the epicenter of all things audio.
The fourth edition of Estación Podcast rolls into town for more live recordings, roundtables, workshops, and concerts at venues like Serrería Belga, CentroCentro, CSIC, and Palacio de la Prensa.
This Ibero-American festival of sound creation brings five days of fun for true crime junkies, podcast producers in training, or just a music lovers.
This year’s program has been split into three tracks and it’s almost over (it started on Tuesday and it ends tomorrow). However, you can still enjoy some of the three tracks: Estación LIVE, showcasing live performances across genres like pop culture, comedy, and storytelling; Estación PRO, offering training and networking opportunities for creators and industry pros; and Estación MUSIC, which brings audio and rhythm together in some of Madrid’s best-known venues.
Among the headliners this year are hit Spanish podcasts like Keep it Cutre (Amazon Music), Mimicidios (Podimo), Sofá, manta y crimen, Así somos (RTVE), and Mochila al pasado (El Terrat/Ivoox). If you don’t know those names, they are a great reason to improve your Spanish.
🖥️ What: Estación Podcast 2025
📍 Where: Multiple locations around Madrid.
📅 When: Through May 24.
🎟 Tickets: Check website.
5.🪩 Purple Disco Machine Brings the Funk to Maudes Festival
If you’re one of those people who enjoy EDM in the sun during the summer months, this one is definitely for you. The best part? You go to bed at midnight after a full day of partying. Great for those of us who are getting old.
The Maudes Festival is the first chapter of this year’s retro-futurist celebration of electronic music, art, and nature taking place tomorrow and the main headliner needs no introduction: Purple Disco Machine.
Known for his sleek fusion of disco, funk, and house, Purple Disco Machine (a.k.a. German music producer Tino Piontek) will light up the main stage with his uber cool grooves. He’ll be joined by an all-star lineup featuring Sam Divine, David Penn, Alexander Som, DJ Velada, and DJ Viso as part of “Welcome to Chapter IV: Soul of Mother Nature – Act I,” an immersive musical journey blending electronic music with sustainability and storytelling.
It’s deep house beats surrounded by art installations, branded experience zones, and a celebration in which Mother Nature meets the nightclub scene.
Doors open in the afternoon, and the party runs late, so bring your best festival fits and don’t forget to charge your phone (if it’s not on your Insta, it never happened).
🖥️ What: Purple Disco Machine at Maudes Festival
📍 Where: Calle Meneses 4, Parque Enrique Tierno Galván, Madrid
📅 When: Saturday, May 24, check website for opening hours
🎟 Tickets: €44,85
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