Another night of Lisboa ao Palco with GNR and Cordel

The program of Lisboa ao Palco was designed by guitarist Diogo Clemente for an audience limited to 600 seats.

margarida September 18, 2020

4 minutes read

From the 11th of September to the 4th of October, Quinta da Alfarrobeira, in São Domingos de Benfica, Lisbon, hosts 10 nights of Portuguese music, bringing together renowned and rising names of the national music industry for 20 shows. The enclosure will have a capacity reserved for about 600 seats complying with all the rules of social distance, hygiene, and safety set by the General Directorate of Health. Tickets are on sale for a single price of 15€.

Lisboa ao Palco started last Friday with the concerts of Joana Espadinha, and David Fonseca, and on Sunday, September 13, was the turn of the bands GNR and Cordel to take the stage of Quinta da Alfarrobeira.

The first one to take the stage was the Portuguese group Cordel, at 19h.

Cordel has already signed compositions by various artists such as Ana Moura, Sara Tavares, António Zambujo or Fogo Fogo. In a new project where they interpret their creations, sailing in a sea of traditions with dives in the Portuguese-speaking roots, Cordel define themselves as a leveling between two banks, between two consonant consciences, a plumb that guides you on a path that you do not know where you are going give, but also of no interest. Interesting are the steps they take, and the way “on the margins” are setting their common crossbars.

For them, the cities of Belo Horizonte and Porto are located on the same block, and the melodies that are born with them, what they record and show in public, are actually celebrations of the meeting, the presence.

The group, formed by João Ricardo Pires on the guitar and Edu Mundo on vocals, was accompanied by Joel Silva on the drums, and Francesco Valente on the bass, and the concert started with the song “Outono” from the 2019 Cordel Volume I album.

From this album we also heard “São João“, “Papel“, “Digo que devo continuar“, “Vira Feliz” and “Se Vieres Amanhã“.

Cordel released the first single “Camélias e Camafeus” from Volume II, which is scheduled to be released in September in Portugal and Spain by Warner Music Spain, the song is now available on all digital platforms accompanied by a video clip with the production and editing of Vladimiro Leopoldo.

After a short break, it was the turn of the iconic Portuguese group GNR to take the stage.

Grupo Novo Rock, better known as GNR, is a Portuguese pop rock band, formed in Porto, in September 1980, by Alexandre Soares, Vitor Rua and Tóli César Machado. Currently the band consists of Tóli César Machado on guitar, keys and accordion, Jorge Romão on bass, and Rui Reininho on vocals.

The sound of the GNR has a broadly provocative orientation and can be classified as post-punk, with the entry of Rui Reininho, still in 1981, the writing of the songs began to contain refined humor and sarcasm, complemented by ingeniously stunning compositions, which began to be the brand image of the band.

Subsequently they explored experimental and avant-garde pop music in their first album, “Independança“, 1982, but followed a trend that was mostly pop-rock, the result of the wonderful and distinct musical creation of Tóli César Machado. It was with “Rock in Rio Douro“, from 1992, that they reached the height of their career by collecting four platinum records and the feat of being the first Portuguese band to hold concerts that filled two football stadiums – Estádio José Alvalade and Estádio das Antas.

The most recognized themes of the band are “Portugal na CEE”, “Dunas”, “Efectivamente”, “Video Maria”, “Sangue Oculto”, “Pronuncia do Norte”, among others, included in the usual repertoire of concerts. In 2005, they obtained the recognition by being awarded the “Medal of Cultural Merit” from the hands of the President of the Portuguese Republic Jorge Sampaio and, in 2016, they received the “SPA Medal of Honor” from the Portuguese Authors Society.

The GNR celebrated, last year, 35 years of career, the band continues today to create a unique musical brand adding record sales of records and concerts. On the stage of the Lisboa ao Palco festival, the Portuguese band celebrated their career with themes that we know well by heart such as “Quero Que Vá Tudo P’ró Inferno”, “Dunas”, “Cadeira Eléctrica”, “Mais Vale Nunca”, “Asas”, “Sub 16”, “Popless”, “Pronuncia do Norte”, “O Arranca-Coração”, “Video Maria” and “QUEM?”.

Accompanying Tóli César Machado on guitar, keys, and accordion, Jorge Romão on bass, and Rui Reininho on vocals, were also on stage Rui Manuel da Maia on the keyboard, and Samuel Palitos on drums.

Next on Lisboa ao Palco we have Moonspell and Murals on the 20th of September, followed by HMB and Matay on the 25th, Paulo Flores with Prodigio and Miroca Paris on the 26th, and Bárbara Tinoco and Tainá on the 27th.

Entering the month of October, Diogo Piçarra and Irma will perform on the 2nd, Amor Electro and Viva o Samba will take the stage on the 3rd, and to close the concert cycle we have Pedro Abrunhosa and Elisa Rodrigues on the 4th of October.

Quinta da Alfarrobeira is an emblematic place. When João Frederico Ludovice designed, built, and inhabited this farm, from 1748 onwards, he would never have imagined that, about three centuries later, it would become a space that aims to bring together and bring citizens closer to local power, giving form political, social and cultural intervention that is much more direct and closer to people: here you can attend classes at the São Domingos Academy or attend cultural events, such as Lisboa ao Palco, which marks the musical rental in Lisbon, within the normality possible in this period of pandemic, while everyone, artists and public, await the day when the shows will return to full function.

The cycle is an initiative of CM Lisboa and EGEAC, with the support of the São Domingos de Benfica Parish Council, produced by Sons em Trânsito and Tejo Music Lab, with the aim of signaling this return to the stage as well as celebrating the richness and diversity of Portuguese music. Diogo Clemente was in charge of programming.