The space and age range of Primavera Sound is increasing, in the hands of a company criticized for Taylor Swift’s tour

The space and age range of Primavera Sound is increasing, in the hands of a company criticized for Taylor Swift’s tour


In the 2nd edition in SP, which takes place this weekend, the Spanish festival focuses on older attractions and moves to Interlagos. The producer is now T4F, the target of criticism after the death of a fan at Taylor’s concert in Rio

This weekend (2 and 3 December) the Primavera Sound San Paolo 2023, to the Interlagos racetrack. The festival is no longer new: it arrived in Brazil in November last year, with a highly publicized first edition. Therefore, it should be easy to imagine what it will be like.

But in this case it isn’t.

You can’t rely on, for example, the original Primavera. Founded in 2001 in Barcelona, ​​the festival started timidly and took place in a single day, with the aim of strengthening the Spanish music scene. indie rock. This was twenty years ago. Since then the festival has stopped being just an event and has become a brand: with exponential growth, the name Primavera has become an exported, consumed and adored product.

Among Europeans, this brand has acquired its own identity. It is a robust event, bringing together participants from different countries and also offering attractions mainstream and alternatives on the big stages. He went to Portugal in 2012 and, in 2022, he took Los Angeles, Santiago, Asunción, Bogota AND St. Paul.

But if it is possible to speak from the outside, Spring has not lost its aura Coldpositioning itself as a festival that sees the next hot attraction before others.

“Our audience is people who like music, who really love it, people who are curious, who like new things, not necessarily just looking at the top of the poster, but who like to read the fine print,” He says Pedro Antunescurator of the festival in Brazil.

Artists see it too. Singer of Beehives, Swedish Almqvist leather said to Estadao that Spring “has always been one of the coolest festivals in Europe”.

“Primavera and Lollapalooza always have the best bands. And then pretty much every other festival followed. Everyone wants to be at Primavera Sound,” he says.

Therefore, the responsibility of Latin American editions is enormous. In Brazil, Spring is still in its early stages to reveal who it will be: young or adult, rock or pop, a breath of fresh air or a variation of the usual event. Last year was a celebration of novelty in every sense; In this, he looks further back, to the nostalgia of the classics.

The fun of Primavera Sound is that even if a person goes with a goal or an artist in mind, we will surprise them and minimally influence them to discover something new.”

In 2022 the artists were, for the most part, new, emerging. Many were beginners when it came to Brazil. This time, many bands have accumulated decades of careers. For most of them, a show on the stage of an international festival is nothing new, nor does it redefine their trajectories. But the festival strengthens them and, in some cases, renews them.

This is the case of Bad religion, a band that wasn’t born now – not with festivals, not with Brazil, not for their fans. For the singer, Greg Craffin, Spring is an opportunity. “We play with the energy of small clubs, because that’s where we were born and we continue to play with that style,” she says. “But anyone who sees us will immediately see that, even on the biggest stages in the world, it’s not a club sound. Bad Religion has always made a great sound.”

“In the clubs, our sound is bigger than the club. And it works well on a big festival stage. So you get a big sound without a big attitude, a more honest representation perhaps than some of our peers,” he says.

For Almqvist, it is in this type of festival that The Hives establishes itself. “I think our band is the only one that does what we do. It’s almost like there’s too much rock for one small stage,” he jokes. “We’re almost at a point where we’re better on bigger stages, in front of more people. I’m a bit of a megalomaniac, to me the more people we can play the better.”

In short, Primavera seems to work in favor of those who have been on the road for a while, with the confidence to manage a stage like this – and to seduce the curious.

“That’s what we like. People go to their favorite band’s concert and before they play, we play. And they can’t help but notice us,” says Almqvist. “I think that’s how we became popular, winning over audiences at festivals.”

Retraction in the project, expansion in space

This year too the schedule is more concentrated. In 2022, the São Paulo version of Primavera followed the Spanish line and brought, in addition to the main stages, an electronic stage and an auditorium – in the latter it was possible to follow intimate presentations, jazz by Jonathan Ferr on the spur of the moment Hermeto Pasqual. Billed as a “festival for music fans”, Primavera used these extra stages to embrace those interested in music in different formats, including experimental.

This time there will be three stages, without “different” registrations, in addition to the TNT Club, a sponsored electronic space. One might say that the festival has retreated, if the venue had not been significantly larger: from the Anhembi district, Spring went to Interlagos Circuit.

Widely used by São Paulo’s major music festivals, the venue is not always popular with attendees. And indeed, in its most recent use, Interlagos caused quite a few problems for those who were at The Town.

Familiarity can be a problem or an advantage. Without the promise of novelty, the production will have to deal with an (often negative) expectation already known to the public. Of course it can impress where failures are expected. But it can also offer the usual difficulties.

The new first Primavera Sound San Paolo

The second edition of Primavera Sound São Paulo has very few second halves. There is no continuity to rely on and in fact, with so many changes, you can expect anything. Perhaps for those who miss the previous edition – or for those who want something new – it is better to think of it like this: This is the new first Primavera Sound in Sao Paulo.

It seems that the new adventure of the festival in Brazil begins this Saturday. Primavera Sound 2022 was an isolated event. The true Driving test and now.

Source: Terra

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