The young Spanish guitarist Yerai Cortés has caused a stir in the flamenco world with a style that both takes the audience right back to the genre's deepest roots and shows new directions for the music.
Yerai Cortés is one of the most important guitarists in a new wave of flamenco musicians, a status that was cemented by the award-winning documentary La guitarra flamenca de Yerai Cortés from 2024. Yerai Cortés hails from Alicante, but made his breakthrough as a musician on Madrid's flamenco scene, where he enjoyed a meteoric rise thanks to his captivating playing and his ability to bridge the gap between tradition and innovation.
He has played with a number of legendary flamenco figures, but at the same time he brings flamenco into dialogue with musicians such as rapper C. Tangana, Latin pop star Judeline and electronic musician Floating Points. His distinctive expression has also made an international impact – not least through his powerful A COLORS SHOW performance, where his dazzling guitar magic was presented in a global spotlight.
As a solo artist, however, he conveys an organic and acoustic expression, where the bare guitar playing sparks in dialogue with a choir of female vocalists. The flamenco tones of the guitar, together with strong vocal harmonies and percussive handclaps, create a sense of a magical ritual that hypnotically and dizzyingly unfolds the genre's deepest traditions for a modern audience. A rare experience awaits when the masterful musician visits Roskilde Festival with his ensemble this summer.