With niche artists, the second edition of the festival is more aware of its dimension, without excesses of brands, stages and offers. Go there to see exactly what you want and maybe be surprised by one thing or another
Moments before the show SidewalkNorth American band responsible for shutting down the activities of one of the stages set up by the festival Party C6 to the Ibirapuera Parkthis Sunday, the 19th, percussionist Bob Nastanovich read a message to the audience according to which the next show would be dedicated to Fernanda Azevedo, producer from Minas Gerais and icon of the state’s alternative scene, who passed away a few days earlier, and a great fan of the group .
People, scattered among the audience, raised their wrists or clapped their hands. They were acquaintances of Fernanda, excited, appearing from all corners of space.
At such a massive festival, with attendance approaching six figures per day, this scene would not exist: a headliner, as the main attraction of the evening is known, capable of looking the audience in the eyes, close enough to see the tears flow on stage. faces of people who have suddenly lost a friend.
But the Party C6 It’s not one of those steroid festivals. You see, Sunday headliners cost no more than $1 million (more than five million reais), a figure that has become the new “minimum wage” managed by artists who usually headline popular festivals, such as Lollapalooza, Rock in Rio AND The city.
Far from it: the main attractions on Sunday 19 May cost a maximum of a quarter of this amount: the R&B and soul singer Daniel Caesar and the alternative rock band mentioned at the beginning of this text.
The same thing happened on Saturday, when the synth pop duo Soft cell and the blues rock band Black pumas were split across the two main stages set up near the Ibirapuera Auditorium – very well accompanied by the darlings of indie and R&B respectively, Romy AND Raye.
Modest commissions, well distributed, have created an enviable quartet of attractions, delightfully varied for different audiences.
Everything is small, even in the number of people: there were just over 25 thousand people (25,300, according to the organization). Far from being a problem. In fact, if the Party C6 really works (mind you, it is sustainable from a financial point of view for those who create it), it will be a relief for the Brazilian concert market, precisely because it escapes the ambitions of gigantism that create banal and monstrous musical events with fearful decisions based on high risk and safest financial delivery possible.
OR Party C6 2024 featured 4 stages: with jazz shows inside the Ibirapuera Auditorium, DJ sets at Pacubra, which created a sort of small hell for those interested in electronic rhythms, in addition to the two largest stages, the Heineken Arena, a space that occupied the area outside, behind the Ibirapuera Auditorium, and the Metlife Tent, a more intimate place, with a limited capacity, set up a little away from there.
It went wrong the first year, correction the second
In the first edition, in 2023, the festival sought inspiration from a traditional and now extinct Free Jazz, in which tickets were sold for access to each stage (if the person wanted to see the attractions on two different stages, they would buy two tickets) . . The strategy, which worked three or four decades ago, scared audiences at the premiere of Party C6 – a shame, because great artists have passed through there, Arlo Parks THE The war on drugs.
In 2024, the festival organization has learned from its efforts in many ways (including merging access into the same ticket).
Instead of fighting at the auction to bring in these big names, the Party C6 invests in the “spectacle of life” of some. Pavement is not the favorite band of the 50 thousand people of Sao Paulo, but for those 5 thousand (hopefully) gathered in the Ibirapuera tent, it was a dream to see the group so close, in a rare second performance of the band in Brazil.
The audience didn’t just sing the hits or the recently hit song Get your hopes upa hit on TikTok: the group cheered with B-sides, like We Dance, Type slowly AND Forward. Distorting noise, tambourines deliberately played louder than necessary, provocatively out-of-tune voices, debauchery: a hymn to Strange since the 90s.
Bubbles, beautiful bubbles
It is in the niches that the C6 Fest is found and that enchants.
On Saturday, Romy made the late afternoon an ode to the affectionate and colorful rhythms, so far from the indie-gothic melancholy of his band, The xx, while Raye he certainly won a few more fans in a performance that moved from traditional jazz standards to an electronic party. Friendly, the Englishwoman with the magical voice told stories, laughed and was moved by the audience’s reaction to the most emotional songs.
Also Saturday 18th Soft cell found himself in front of a restless and mature audience, divided between the curious and die-hard fans (fanatics, actually), who didn’t even imagine having the chance to see the duo who created the iconic song Tainted Love alive, in flesh, wrinkles and bones.
The night is over Black pumas, gathered a large number of people in front of the stage set up at the back of the Ibirapuera Auditorium. The band, a duo that includes choirs and more live instruments, is enriched by the singing of Eric Burton, who kindly entered the audience and almost didn’t manage to return, and by the musical studies of the guitarist Adrian Quesada, who blends the distortions of rock, the groove of blues and the discoveries of Latin American music.
Sunday, in addition to Sidewalkwith his energetic, chaotic and delightfully strange performance, Cat power he paid a beautiful tribute Bob Dylan in an entire repertoire dedicated to the bard’s transition phase, starting from the period of 1996, when he abandoned folk and moved towards the electric guitar. Power, known to the audience here, gave a discreet and rather reverent show (too thin, unfortunately, given the time she had on stage).
At the same time, on the other stage (in the external area of the Auditorium), the Cassiano’s dance paid a beautiful and dancing tribute to the singer and composer from Campina Grande, who passed away in 2021. Under Bamba’s baton Daniele Ganjamanthe voices of Frank AND Preta Gil, Liniker, Luca Carlos AND Black Li I met the funk and groove of Cassiana very Brazilian R&B icon.
When Daniel Caesar he took the stage Ibirapuera Auditoriumthe night was already getting cold (in temperature) and the formed couples were embracing each other, while the non-formed couples took courage with the fascinating North American melodies to bring their bodies closer and, perhaps, exchange a few caresses.
Smiling, Caesar acted as a Contemporary Marvin Gaye, in its romantic version, sings about love in these new, difficult, dry and arid times, with affection and delicacy. He’s not a crowd singer yet, but The best parta song recorded with singer HER, is definitely one of the romantic anthems of the new 20s. For what C6 Fest sets out to do, it’s a beautiful finale to the evening.
Without harming the public, the Party C6 He reached the end of the second edition more vibrant than the first, even more sure of the path to follow. It hits where 100,000 bigwigs stumble, fall and break a tooth: with acute care, designed for a specific audience, and creates little oases of pure musical pleasure.
Source: Terra
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
