Thousands of bronzed babes and muscle-bound hunks descended on ‘Malta Music Week’ in July to sample an eclectic mix of music, sun and delicious cocktails.

First up was the delectable Roger Sanchez at Popeye Village (above). His set topping nearly two hours included a plethora of dirty 90’s dance tunes combined with some serious cult classics, whipping the excitable crowd into a state of euphoria. The weird and wonderful surroundings of the Popeye movie film set was a bizarre choice for a venue but Sanchez’s tunes managed to bounce around Popeye Village perfectly, accompanied by scantily clad dancers and the blistering night-time heat.

By Jurgen Scicluna

Malta Music Week also hosted the Malta chill-out Beach Party with the ideal mix of relaxing tunes and the sound of the waves as the sun set. Bugibba square was the location for a massive street party with local Maltese artists performing cover versions and their own blend of tunes for a tipsy audience.

The week was concluded by the mammoth Isle of MTV Show in Fosos Square, Floriana. 50,000 attendees swayed and shimmed to the sound of Dutch pop tart Esmѐe Denters, before gently moshing to the pop-rock tunes of Metro Station. ‘Shake, Shake’ was the most predictably popular track in the American band’s twenty minute set with teenage girls reciting the lyrics word for word.

By Rene Rossignaud

Lady GaGa didn’t disappoint in terms of shock factor as per usual. Taking to the stage in some sort of space age rock contraption she launched straight into a rocked up version of ‘Paparazzi’ adorned with a silver space age outfit and mask that would have made Grace Jones proud. The pint-sized diva’s set was laden with hits including a solo acoustic performance of ‘Poker face’ with the blonde bombshell tinkering on the piano for a stripped down version of the track before ripping into the full throttle version to the crowd’s joy.

GaGa’s set was the best of the evening even with numerous outfit changes in between songs.  It was refreshing to watch a commercial artist that actually takes risks on stage not only in terms of outfit choices but by actually altering her successful tracks to suit a live setting perfectly.

With Lady G being a hard act to follow the Black Eyed Peas would normally have to work hard in such circumstances but the Maltese crowd were well versed with Fergie and the gangs’ ‘Boom, Boom, Pow’ beaming out of bars across the island each night.

By Rene Rossignaud

The Peas burst on stage with a light show to rival an episode of Star Wars and warmed up the audience nicely with ‘Let’s Get it Started’ and ‘Shut Up’. Things were bought down a notch with a perfectly timed sing-along to ‘Where is the Love’ before the band launched into a Michael Jackson melody in tribute to Will.i.am’s close friend.  As expected ‘Boom, Boom, Pow’ was reserved for the evening’s closing song and sent the crowd into a frenzy with a spectacular backdrop of fireworks as the backdrop.

Words: Kimberley Owen

Images courtesy of visitmalta.com