Parallel Society explores counter-culture, music, and civic technology in Lisbon.

Parallel Society has concluded its 2026 edition in Lisbon, Portugal, bringing together artists, technologists, researchers, activists and underground cultural communities for a two-day exploration of new music, decentralised technology and alternative civic structures.

Held across 6th and 7th March in Lisbon’s Marvila district, the independently organised event combined live music performances, workshops, exhibitions, open discussions and collaborative experimentation centred around digital autonomy, underground culture and community-driven technology.

While rooted in wider conversations surrounding decentralisation and civic technology, the event’s musical programme strongly reflected contemporary underground electronic culture, featuring performances from Calibre, Kode9, Apparat, Gilles Peterson with MC Rob Galliano, DJ Stingray 313, Moses Boyd and Los Bitchos.

The first day focused on collaborative research, workshops and open discussion sessions covering subjects including privacy, open-source culture, decentralised systems and community autonomy. Participants included representatives connected to Internet Archive, Tor Project, DarkFi and other technology and civic organisations operating within alternative digital spaces.

Day two shifted towards a broader cultural programme, transforming the event into a large-scale celebration of underground electronic music, live performance and experimental electronic culture. Alongside the international lineup, Parallel Society also placed strong emphasis on Lisbon’s local creative community, with more than 60 per cent of performers sourced from the city itself.

Louisa Haining, Curation Director, commented:

“Across the two days, the experiment became something bigger than we expected. People from different corners of the world, different perspectives, different strains of sound. Performers from across genres alongside local pioneers relentlessly pushing the Lisbon underground forward. Barely any phones on the dance floor. Just open-minded people, curious, present, celebrating”

The event also featured exhibitions exploring anonymity, governance, digital identity and participatory systems through sound, installation work, video and visual art. The wider Parallel Society project continues to connect underground electronic music communities with alternative cultural and technological movements internationally.

Previous editions have taken place in Zanzibar and Bangkok, helping establish a growing global network centred around independent culture, experimentation and collaboration.

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