Ever since we moved to Portugal, live music has been our compass.
It’s how we explore new cities, build community, and make a foreign place feel like home. From chasing jam bands across borders to stumbling into underground raves in the Algarve mountains, we quickly learned that music doesn’t stop at customs — it adapts, evolves, and connects people everywhere.
That realization led to something bigger than just attending shows. It became about finding our people abroad, rebuilding familiar music communities in unfamiliar places, and discovering just how global fandoms like Deadheads, Phans, and Swifties truly are.
I explore that journey — from stepping off a plane with nine bags and zero plans to helping build grassroots music communities in Portugal and beyond — in my latest Live for Live Music feature: “Weir Everywhere: Deadheads Find A Musical Community After Moving Abroad To Portugal.”
If you’re curious about what happens to music culture when you move abroad, how live shows create instant belonging, or why the Grateful Dead scene thrives far beyond the U.S., you can read the full story now on Live for Live Music.
It’s also a lowkey way to announce that Mike and I are hosting a festival for the first time ever: Eyes of the Algarve!! Our Deadheads of Lagos committee banded together to create a grassroots event aimed to bring the Dead and jam band scene to our home town of Lagos, Portugal.
It’s September 10-12, 2026 and we hope to see you there!
NFA
See our list of recommended activities and accommodations in this map: