Harmonies and Highlights: La Mansarda's Grand Finale at The Cobblestone

After one year, eight events in six locations, 42 performances by 34 acts, and countless trays of tiramisu – the 27th of November marked a special day, being the ninth event of La Mansarda, the final event of the year to which all musicians, dancers, poets and comedians that had performed in 2022 were invited to again share a piece of their work at the Cobblestone on Smithfield Square. An overwhelming amount of exquisite talent ran through the veins of the room this evening, making everyone inside feel the pulsating energy of inspiration.

The line-up of the night was highlighted by four main acts: Phoenix and Wolf mesmerized everyone with their heartfelt tunes – emotion could be felt throughout the room, no matter the language of the song: Harmonies in English, Brazilian and Irish were equally catching.
Later in the evening, Captain Relapse rocked the stage with their soft-rock guitar sounds and raspy vocals, which got anyone who had been too shy to dance so far up on their feet.
After more stunning short performances through which the energy did not seem to drop once, it was time for the last musical main act: Fiona O’Laughlin - known for her beautiful poetry – showed her musical side together with her band Oceana Vibes. The audience immediately caught on to the dynamic energy and it was not long before the first eager bodies created a dance floor in the middle of the room, and voices singing along to the band filled the air.
After the last set of short acts, Ligia showed the short movie: “The Butterfly Effect”, created by Banzai Zine with La Mansarda support to raise awareness of the Italian humanitarian organization “People in Cooperation” (PIC) that some of La Mansarda’s profits go to: with stunning filming and editing, the short movie explains in five minutes why helping is part of the human nature, and how a small initiative can have enormous positive consequences.
This evening had been a unique one, with the PIC founders present at the event, a whole merch stand featuring La Mansarda t-shirts and bookmarks as well as PIC shirts, with a raffle that yielded some promising prices at the end of the night – and, of course, with a creative spirit of all artists meeting at the Cobblestone to share their craft and celebrate each other.
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In the end, it is safe to say that not a single person went home disappointed that night – especially not those who made it to the very end and got to enjoy Ligia’s famous tiramisu that concluded, as it is the tradition, this end-of-the-year event of La Mansarda.
Wishing all musicians, comedians, poets, actors, dancers and filmmakers marvelous holidays – we cannot wait to meet everyone in the new year and continue to celebrate the arts together!

Anna Deichmann

Main Acts Performing:

1. Captain Relapse

2. Phoenix and Wolfe

3. Oceanna & Fiona O'Loughlin