Put on your dancing shoes! As you will discover, music at the 2026 San Sebastian Fest is an important and ever present part of the festivities. Over the four days of the festival, more than 50 bands will play on three “official” stages. Some of the most popular local and international musicians consider it an honor to be invited to play.
Since you may not be familiar with the artists, we’ve taken the time to provide you with a brief description of each artist’s style or genre. This way it will be easier for you to organize your musical “experience” or schedule.
The three main stages at the San Sebastian Festival
Each stage has its own “flavor” or musical style.
The Plaza del Quinto Centenario
This plaza is close to El Morro fort. It’s the main stage and will host some of the bigger, more popular or headline acts during the festival.
The Plaza de la Barandilla
You’ll find this one on Calle Tanca in the center of Old San Juan. Most acts here feature Puerto Rican classics such as salsa, merengue, latin jazz and tropical latin sounds.
Plaza Colón
This is the first plaza you encounter at the entrance of Old San Juan near San Cristobal fort. The schedule here offers the widest range of musical styles. You’ll be able to experience everything from trovadores or folkloric musical poetry improvisers, to plena, bomba, rumba and even latin and indie rock.
Thursday and Friday the music will start after 5:30 pm. Saturday and Sunday will see an earlier afternoon start.
Comparsas or troubadors
At the San Sebastian Festival you’ll be surrounded by dozens of “comparsas”. These are informal groups of neighbors, musicians who bring their instruments and are there to have fun with the crowd. Most of them are plena percussion groups but the larger ones will have some wind instruments and batucada or brazilian drums. They’re easy to spot since they are always surrounded by people singing.
Thursday, January 15
Plaza del Quinto Centenario
- 6:00 p.m. a 7:30 p.m. — La Tribu de Abrante- music innovators that play a fun fusion of bomba, urban, and jazz music
- 8:00 p.m. a 9:30 p.m. — Tito Nieves-one of the leading salsa singers of the 80’s and 90’s
- 10:00 p.m. a 11:00 p.m. — Surprise artist- if anyone knows let us in on the secret…
Plaza de la Barandilla
- 5:30 p.m. a 7:00 p.m. — Trío Los Andinos- traditional Puerto Rican voice and guitar trio
- 7:30 p.m. a 9:00 p.m. — Tuna de Cayey- a Spanish-style choir music group
- 9:30 p.m. a 11:00 p.m. — Michelle Brava- Puerto Rican vocalist with a tropical music style
Plaza Colón
- 4:30 p.m. a 5:30 p.m. — Trío Homenaje- nostalgic Puerto Rican cuatro and guitar classics
- 6:00 p.m. a 7:30 p.m. — Los Pleneros de Severo- high energy afro-Caribbean plena style music
- 8:00 p.m. a 9:00 p.m. — DJ Luian- urban producer who has worked alongside Bad Bunny, Don Omar, J Balvin and more
- 9:30 p.m. a 11:00 p.m. — Algarete- high energy tropical rumba fun band. Their name means “anything goes”
Friday, January 16
Plaza del Quinto Centenario
- 6:00 p.m. a 7:30 p.m. — Plena Libre- plena music extraordinaires
- 8:00 p.m. a 9:30 p.m. — Miriam Cruz y su Orquesta- one of the most popular merengue artists.
- 10:00 p.m. a 11:00 p.m. — Pedro Capó- famous Puerto Rican pop vocalist with a rock bent. His song Calma is popular worldwide.
Plaza de la Barandilla
- 5:30 p.m. a 7:00 p.m. — Carlos García- tropical and salsa artist
- 7:30 p.m. a 9:00 p.m. — A Son de Guerra- tribute band to merengue superstar Juan Luis Guerra
- 9:30 p.m. a 11:00 p.m. — Zayra Pola- an award winning salsa musician also known as the “Queen of the Timbales”.
Plaza Colón
- 5:15 p.m. a 6:15 p.m. — Elena- a 16 year-old rising Puerto Rican pop singer
- 6:30 p.m. a 8:00 p.m. — Laberinto de Coco- a tropical percussion-heavy fusion band taking traditional music to new heights.
- 8:30 p.m. a 9:30 p.m. — Chris Lebrón- urban latin romantic music
- 9:30 p.m. a 11:00 p.m. — La Secta- a classic early 2000’s latin rock band from Puerto Rico. A crowd favorite.
Saturday, January 17
Plaza del Quinto Centenario
- 2:00 p.m. a 3:30 p.m. — Victoria Sanabria- the first female winner of the top “trovador” or folkloric musical poem improvisers
- 4:00 p.m. a 5:30 p.m. — Hermes Croatto- a Puerto Rican folk artist with a singer songwriter vibe
- 6:00 p.m. a 7:30 p.m. — Grupo Manía- high powered merengue group
- 8:00 p.m. a 9:30 p.m. — Víctor Manuelle- one of the best salsa singers today
- 9:30 p.m. a 11:00 p.m. — Juanes- a popular Columbian latin rock musician
Plaza de la Barandilla
- 4:00 p.m. a 5:30 p.m. — Decimanía- traditional Puerto Rican folk music featuring cuatros and guitars
- 6:00 p.m. a 7:30 p.m. — Choco Orta- a multi-faceted Puerto Rican salsa singer, dancer and percussionist
- 8:00 p.m. a 9:30 p.m. — Puerto Rican Power- 50 years playing really good salsa music
- 10:00 p.m. a 11:30 p.m. — Humberto Ramírez- outstanding and innovative latin jazz musician who has played with the greats
Plaza Colón
- 12:30 p.m. a 1:30 p.m. — Música sacra- religious music
- 2:00 p.m. a 3:15 p.m. — Roberto Ortiz y su Fashion Band- a long standing Puerto Rican salsa band
- 3:30 p.m. a 4:30 p.m. — Glenn Monroig- a popular salsa, pop and romantic Puerto Rican singer popular since the 80’s.
- 5:00 p.m. a 6:00 p.m. — El Junte Loiceño- traditional bomba music
- 6:30 p.m. a 8:00 p.m. — Rafa Romero “El Gallo de la Raza”- traditional trova or musical poem improviser.
- 8:00 p.m. a 9:30 p.m. — Juan Vélez- Puerto Rican singer songwriter
- 10:00 p.m. a 11:00 p.m. — Circo- one of the first and most recognized Puerto Rican indie rock bands
Sunday, January 18
Plaza del Quinto Centenario
- 3:00 p.m. a 4:00 p.m. — Algareplena- plena music with an urban touch
- 4:30 p.m. a 5:30 p.m. — Andy Montañez- a celebrated Puerto Rican salsa singer whose career spans 6 decades. A true legend
- 6:00 p.m. a 7:30 p.m. — Plenéalo- fun plena music with an distinct sound that incorporates saxophone, trumpets and trombone.
- 8:00 p.m. a 9:30 p.m. — Ednita Nazario- a Puerto Rican superstar ballad singer who has released 23 albums in her extensive career
- 10:00 p.m. a 11:30 p.m. — Tommy Torres- very popular Puerto Rican singer songwriter latin rock musician
- 11:45 p.m. a 1:00 a.m. — Jowell & Randy- an urban duo
Plaza de la Barandilla
- 3:00 p.m. a 5:00 p.m. — San Sebastián al Ritmo de la Bomba- traditional bomba musica and dance
- 5:30 p.m. a 7:00 p.m. — Luis González “El Tsunami de la Salsa”- salsa music
- 7:30 p.m. a 9:00 p.m. — Objetivo Fama… El Tour- some of the standout performers from a musical reality show
- 9:30 p.m. a 11:00 p.m. — Joseph Fonseca- one of the top merengue and bachata musicians
Plaza Colón
- 9:00 a.m. a 4:00 p.m. — Tercer Concurso de Trovadores de las Fiestas – the best trovadores or folkloric musical poem improvisers compete to see who is best
- 4:30 p.m. a 5:30 p.m. — Orquesta Costa Brava – a popular salsa band from the 80’s
- 6:00 p.m. a 7:30 p.m. — Arnaldo “El más querido” – a tropical and merengue music singer
- 8:00 p.m. a 9:30 p.m. — Los Chinchillos del Caribe- they combine cumbia, rock and urban music. The members all use Mexican wrestling masks on stage.
- 10:00 p.m. a 11:30 p.m. — Los Rabanes – a high powered ska rock fusion band from Panamá
Entertainment for the kids – Plaza de la Barandilla
Saturday, January 17
- 9:00 a.m. — Sarita tu Amiguita
- 10:30 a.m. — Mago Barry Barry
- 12:00 p.m. — Nino y su Mundo
- 1:30 p.m. — Baby Bomba (Tamboricua, Inc.)
- 3:00 p.m. — Jóvenes Trovadores de Yauco
Sunday, January 18
- 9:00 a.m. — Violetica y sus Amigos
- 11:00 a.m. — Trotamundos
- 1:00 p.m. — Verso de Mujer
No matter where you go during the San Sebastian Festival you’ll be surrounded by music and fun. Feel free to sing along and enjoy!
