Rockin' Race Jamboree returns to Torremolinos for 32nd instalment

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This American roots music extravaganza has become the most important of its kind in Europe

Tony Bryant

Torremolinos.

Friday, 16 January 2026, 10:26

Around 20,000 retro music fans are expected to head to Torremolinos next month for the coveted Rockin' Race Jamboree, a five-day American roots music festival that will be held in different locations throughout the town from Wednesday 4 to Sunday 8 February. Fans of rock and roll travel from all over Europe and Spain to enjoy the gathering, many of whom are dressed in typical 50s style attire.

This live music extravaganza, which presents rockabilly, blues, surf, rock and roll and boogie-woogie, has become the most important American roots music festival in Europe. Now in its 32nd year, the main concerts are staged at the Príncipe de Asturias auditorium, the Hotel Barracuda and Plaza del Remo, as well as in several bars in the town.

The huge retro dance floor that holds around 800 people will again be located in a marquee outside the municipal auditorium.

The event hosts more than 30 live performances by some of the genre's most celebrated artists. This year's line-up includes an array of the foremost purveyors of roots music, such as Los Lobos, the celebrated Los Angeles group who are heading to Torremolinos during their European tour to celebrate more than five decades of music. Famed for their chart-topping hit, La Bamba, the band offers a rich tapestry of roots music, fusing rock and roll, blues and country.

Also on the bill are The Four Charms, a quartet that are versatile in all forms of American roots styles. The band's intense chemistry and energetic show, a mixture of their own compositions and renditions of classic rock and roll songs, attracted a huge following during their stint at Chicago's historic Green Mill jazz club between 1999 to 2003.

German rockers Smokestack Lightnin' will bring their blend of rockabilly, country and folk music to the festival, a band formed in Nuremberg in 1995. The quartet, who took their name from the title of a song by legendary bluesman Howlin' Wolf, have made their name on the European rockabilly circuit, which helped secure a record deal with EMI.

Another established outfit appearing at the event is Two Tons of Steel, a rockabilly from Texas. The group has toured extensively across Texas, performing to audiences of up to 12,000 people, and they have repeatedly been voted 'best country band' by the magazine, Current.

Other performers taking part in this year's event include The Seatsniffers, voted one of Belgium's best and most international roots rock bands; British rockabilly artiste Paul Ansell, who has been in the forefront of the European rock n roll scene for more than ten years; and Cave Catt Sammy, an American roots rock band formed in 1997.

The festival also hosts an exhibition of classic cars and motorcycles, as well as more live music and the 'food trucks', in Plaza del Remo on Saturday 7 February between 11am and 4pm.

Rockin' Race Jamboree