I don’t intend to explain why I chose to go to Barcelona in this post. I don’t yet have a clear answer to that question. There are some superficial explanations that immediately come to mind. I’m somewhat familiar with the city and I’m comfortable there. I’ve been there before and I felt safe and inspired. I know that there is a vibrant music scene there. there is lots of music from lots of places there. I have spoken with some European people and have been told that Barcelona is an interesting choice for reasons that could be interpreted as good or bad depending on how you see it. The city was described as a ‘European city’ and that it isn’t a very good representation of Spain in particular. That’s not entirely discouraging though. My interest isn’t in how Spanish cities shapes music but how the city, whichever it may be, is musical.