Despite a grey and rainy start to the day in Gasteiz, the adverse weather forecast ultimately offered a reprieve, allowing for the enjoyment of an event long-anticipated on the city's musical calendar. Mendizabala was alive with jumping and dancing at the commencement of the first day of the BatBatean festival. Thousands of attendees relished the concerts that grandly opened the festival, organized by the Jimmy Jazz venue with the aim of championing a young, alternative, and diverse music scene.

From 5:00 PM, an hour before the first live performances began, early attendees started arriving at the venue's entrances to collect their wristbands and set up their tents, most of them getting wet from the last downpour of the afternoon. Gradually, the venue warmed up. Initial beers, kalimotxo cups, and the difficult decision of which stage to head to first.

The day's first sounds emerged from punk and urban rhythms. The Navarrese group Ajou!, the DJs from Pineapple Sweets, and the distinctive trikitixa of Gozategi kicked things off from 6:00 PM with simultaneous performances, getting the early attendees dancing. Meanwhile, at 6:30 PM, Hell Beer Boys gathered their audience at the Etxeuntza stage, and Kaos Etiliko continued the party at Berriz.

There was also time for a statement at BatBatean. At 6:00 PM, a gathering was held in support of sound technicians and workers, focusing on the labor conditions of a sector essential for large-scale music events. For the same reason, at 9:00 PM, the festival observed a one-hour pause. Silence replaced the amplifiers before resuming the usual music and rhythm of the festival, featuring Los Zopilotes Txirriaos, La Txama, and more acts spread across Mendizabala's five stages: Behin, Berriz, Etxauntza, Arestian, and Maiz, where the constant flow of attendees became one of the most repeated images of the afternoon. No one wanted to miss anything.

Dancing, jumping, and singing lead to hunger. And thirst. Plenty of thirst. The venue features several bars and a large food truck area to refuel between concerts, offering burgers, sandwiches, and vegetarian options.

The programming is set to continue for a significant part of the night with some of Friday's most anticipated concerts. Various DJ sets will also grace the stages, keeping the atmosphere alive well into the early morning.

Saturday's schedule indicates that the second day of BatBatean will commence tomorrow from midday at Mendizabala. The venue gates will open at 2:00 PM, and just an hour later, Xiberoots will be responsible for inaugurating a musical marathon that will once again extend until dawn. The afternoon will then kick off with Safu, Bellum, and Roy Ellis, protagonists of the segment between 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM.

From then on, the venue will once again be filled with simultaneous concerts featuring names like Bull Brigade, Kaparrak, Tatta, or Nafarroa 1512, in addition to new DJ sets spread across the different stages. Mendizabala will thus once again become a constant ebb and flow of the public between styles ranging from punk to reggae, electronic music, rap, or alternative rock.