The new Rock Street presents a lineup full of world rhythms, bringing to the stage such renowned names as Jupiter & Okwess, Bombino, Idiotape, Johnny Hooker, Paulo Flores & Prodígio (with a new project – Esperança), Titica, Bruno Pernadas, Omar Souleyman, Arooj Aftab, Sara Correia, Magdalena Bay and Francisco, El Hombre.
“Rock Your Street” is a space that goes beyond borders – be they geographical, racial, generational or religious – and that calls for the celebration of plurality and diversity, bringing the beauty of differences to the scenography of their homes, to the lineup I give the stage and for street performances.
‘Welcome to this real world, without filters, without a mask, which recognizes the beauty that exists in differences, which goes hand in hand with all colours and which is made of all dreams. This is the world we want. Is that you? Rock Your Street.’
The challenge is out. After several trips through different continents, ethnicities, rhythms and cultures, the new Rock Street arrives, this edition, richer and plural and, like the manifesto that translates it, intends to stage a world made of everyone and for everyone. With a lineup full of big names in world music, street performances that bring different cultural expressions to the festival and a new and vibrant scenography, Rock Your Street now presents itself as a space beyond borders, where “plurality” is the keyword. Here, there are no geographical barriers or barriers between race, religion, political beliefs or views, gender or age. It is a space dedicated to the world, to people, to their history, to respect and empathy and that celebrates the richness that exists in differences.
Welcoming artists from different cultures and all corners of the world – including Portugal, Republic of Niger, Democratic Republic of Congo, USA, Angola, Turkey, Pakistan, Syria, Mexico, Brazil and South Korea – the plurality of the Rock Your Street poster is also reflected in the musical styles, age and gender of its artists, bringing together already established voices with new musical proposals, descendants of the most varied backgrounds. From fado and electronics to techno and pop, from jazz to traditional African rhythms, many more are the sounds that will pass through the most eclectic street in the City of Rock, on a stage where Jupiter & Okwess, Bombino, Paulo Flores & Prodígio, Bruno Pernadas, Omar Souleyman, Arooj Aftab, Idiotape, Johnny Hooker, Titica, Sara Correia, Magdalena Bay and Francisco, El Hombre.
“Rock in Rio has been plural since it was created in 1985. In the new Rock Street we bring, both to the scenography and to the entertainment proposal, our philosophy that the world makes much more sense when we add everything we are. At Rock in Rio this vision is embodied in our team, made up of several nationalities and more than 60% of women, in the social initiatives that we have been implementing over the last 21 years, in the people we train and employ and, this year, because it is necessary to go further, we have established as one of the Organization’s goals for 2030 to be a 100% inclusive and plural festival”, says Roberta Medina, Vice President of Rock in Rio.
In this sense, the festival recently signed the Portuguese Charter for Diversity, an initiative of the European Commission, promoted by the Portuguese Association for Diversity and Inclusion (APPDI), which aims to encourage companies and employers to implement and develop internal policies and practices to promote diversity. , having also established a partnership with the Portuguese Association for Diversity and Inclusion to work on this theme within the organization and at the event. “Rock Your Street is our way of challenging everyone to take this same vision to their streets and neighborhoods, transforming together with us. You can get ready now because the energy and vibe of this street is contagious and promises not to leave anyone indifferent”, adds Roberta Medina.
This vision is also shared by BNP Paribas, which has plurality in its DNA (77 nationalities in Portugal alone!), and which will dedicate the entire month of March to illustrating the different facets of diversity in order to give visibility and raise awareness to this topic.
Over the next few days, the Bank will implement several internal and external initiatives, bringing to the fore topics such as social inclusion, gender equality, integration into the labor market of people with disabilities, respect for different nationalities, integration of refugees into society, etc.), carried out by the Bank’s own Employees and by partner associations/projects.
This calendar culminates with a conversation on March 31, with the participation of various stakeholders, including Roberta Medina, to discuss, in the first person, how we can improve to live together and make the best use of all differences.
With a scenography unlike anything that this space has hosted, the famous “little houses” of Rock Your Street arrive with a new look, quite colorful and vibrant, rich in details, messages and symbologies that translate the same vision of plurality, promising to continue making the delights of instagramers. In addition, this space will once again feature street entertainment proposals that, this edition, bring groups and collectives from different cultures to the City of Rock, in a diverse program that each day presents a new rhythm and cultural expression.
Starting on day one, June 18, Bambaram & Kimbum liven up Rock Your Street with a performance built around the sound of Tina – a large gourd played in water. This performance is a beautiful celebration of life by the groups of Badju di Tina (Baile de Tina, musical genre from Guinea-Bissau), who dance and sing to the sound of this drum. On the second day, June 19, it is the turn of the Afro-Brazilian percussion group Baque do Tejo to warm up the temperature to the sound of their drums, parading and singing along the street in a true procession of Maracatú. In the second weekend, sounds from India arrive with Glimpses of India – Lajja Sambhavnath, the dancer and choreographer who, on June 25th, will take to Rock Your Street a dance parade, with several dancers, full of color, costumes and traditional music . On the last day of the festival, it is Kola San Jon’s turn to represent Cape Verde’s cultural heritage, taking to Rock Your Street a procession of music, singing and dancing, which celebrates festivities lived on the islands of Santo Antão, São Vicente and São Nicolau.
Before the first concert of each day, on every day of the festival, Rock Your Street will also host the School of Rock project, showing that not even age is a frontier on a street where there is room for all talents.
According to Luís Viegas, Cultural Programmer for over 20 years and Curator of Rock Your Street, “a better world is only possible with the inclusion of everyone, so the programming of this space, whether on stage or through street performances, brings to the festival projects that, as a rule, add experiences that are normally present in more alternative circuits. We worked on this lineup with the premise of diversity and of showing that, in music, there are no geographical limits, giving space to all styles for all audiences. Music is a universal language and this stage fits all cultures, all musical styles, all ages and genres, from such established talents as Paulo Flores, to fresh and even lesser-known proposals among us such as Arooj Aftab”.
On the first day of the festival, June 18, the Rock Your Street stage opens with a very Portuguese proposal, which combines the tradition and contemporaneity of fado. The authentic and genuine Sara Correia, a fado singer who was born and raised in Lisbon’s fado houses, is the voice that will echo in the City of Rock, promising to thrill the audience with her powerful tone and stage presence. On the same day, there is a show by the Nigerian Bombino, an artist with a group of fans already consolidated in Portugal, who performs at Rock in Rio for the first time bringing traditional Berber rhythms, aligned with the energy of rock and roll. To close the first day of Rock Street, Congolese Jupiter & Okwess will take the stage for a show that recovers Congo’s rhythms and melodies, mixing them with an urban, energetic and contagious groove.
On the second day of the festival, June 19, the stage opens with a highly danceable proposal. The American duo Magdalena Bay brings a show that combines synth-pop and electronics, followed by a concert by what is known as the “musician of musicians”. Bruno Pernardas is an unavoidable personality in Jazz – and not only – and, on this day, he takes the stage for the first time at Rock in Rio for a show where there will certainly be no shortage of themes from his Private Reasons, considered one of the best albums of 2021. this day, Rock Your Street receives an absolute premiere, which brings together on stage two great names from different generations of music, Paulo Flores and Prodígio. On this day, it will be the artists’ turn to present, for the first time, the Esperança project live.
On the first day of the second weekend of the festival, the Rock Your Street stage receives influences from Mexico and Brazil with Francisco, El Hombre, the irreverent Latin American band that sings in several languages, to the sound of tropical rhythms. This name is joined by the melodic voice of Pakistani Arooj Aftab, a singer currently living in Brooklyn, who transforms her worries into serene melodies to the sound of instruments such as the harp. It is also on June 25th that the City of Rock will meet – never to forget – Omar Souleyman. The Syrian musician became internationally known for mixing traditional music from his country and electronic music, taking the stage on the penultimate day of the festival for a highly danceable and energetic show, which promises to be etched in memory.
Coming to the last day of Rock in Rio Lisboa, the Rock Your Street stage kicks off with the “Diva do Kuduro”, named Titica. The Angolan artist is already considered one of the great names of the new generation of African music, in addition to being a true LGBTQIA+ icon, not only in Africa but on many continents, for being the first Angolan artist to speak publicly about her transsexuality. . On the same day, Rock Your Street will also extend the catwalk to receive one of the greatest talents of the new generation of Brazilian artists, Johnny Hooker, known for his subversive performances and the messages he puts in many of his lyrics, about the fight for equality and the desire for a more inclusive world. And to close with a flourish, at a breakneck pace that will make you want a next edition, Rock Street will host the South Korean trio Idiotape. The show promises a lot of dancing, as its basis is electronics, also standing out for its authenticity and innovation that they give to their music and live performances.
Remember that the 9th edition of Rock in Rio is scheduled for the 18th, 19th, 25th and 26th of June 2022, at Parque da Bela Vista. This will undoubtedly be a special edition, in which the doors of the City of Rock reopen to the public after four years, promising the much-desired reunion with music, entertainment and live life.
Rock Your Street Manifesto
We’ve traveled a lot. We have already brought to the City of Rock rhythms and cultures from different parts of the world.
We walked through Africa, parts of Europe, Asia and regions of the Americas.
We have already colored ourselves in a thousand and one colors. We’ve painted ourselves from different ethnicities.
We have already danced to the sound of atabaques, brass and bagpipes.
Today, we are richer because of these differences.
No matter the age, gender, race, creed, origin.
The world we want is not labeled as white or black. Nor does it run out of rainbow colors.
The world we want is more. Because it’s made up of the sum of everything we are.
Now, it’s time for us to open our arms to embrace the whole world.
A plural, diverse world that goes beyond borders.
A world that is born from the essence, passion, vision and action of each one of us.
A world for everyone and for everyone.
Respect. reception. Empathy. Compassion. choices. Courage. Attitude.
Welcome to this real world, without filters, without mask, that recognizes the beauty that exists in differences, that goes hand in hand with all colors and that is made of all dreams.
This is the world we want. Is that you?
Rock Your Street.
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