There is now official confirmation. The SWU Music and Arts Festival (the Brazilian Woodstock) will take place at the Fazenda Maeda near the city of Itú, 100 km from São Paulo, on the 9, 10 and 11 October.

Ticket prices and information here.

The bands confirmed so far are:

Dia 10: Dave Matthews Band, Kings of Leon, Regina Spektor, Sublime with Rome, DJ Sharam
Dia 11: Linkin Park, Incubus, Pixies, DJ Erol Alkan

There is a very strong chance the legenday Woodstock music festival will land in Brazil in 2010. As reported by the media, the Brazilian Woodstock would take place at the Fazenda Maeda near the city of Itú, 100 km from São Paulo, on the weekend of the 9 and 10 October.

People have written reams on the subject but the only information we feel it is 100% reliable is posted at Eduardo Fischer’s Twitter profile. He’s the organizer of the Brazilian event. On his profile Eduardo declares the official confirmation has not been given yet and also points out that the band lineout is anything but confirmed. The names being posted all over the internet are just speculation.

As there is no official confirmation yet there is no information whatsoever on tickets sales and prices.

As soon as we here any news about the event we will post it here and at our Twitter and Facebook profiles.

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Brasil, Brasil is a superb 3-hour program produced by the BBC containing a comprehensive review of Brazilian music. Here’s the link to the BBC’s website with all the data on the documentary series: Brasil, Brasil. If you search on YouTube you will find the entire documentary divided into multiple chunks to allow for easier visualization.

Our friend Ernesto (I learned about the documentary series on his A Gringo in Olinda) has listed some of the links to the YouTube videos at the bottom of his blog entry Recommended music.

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This is the 7th of ten entries entries presenting videos from the artists I wrote about at Top 10: Brazilian music (B-sides). I am following the alphabetical order I used on that entry.

The seventh artist on the list are O Rappa. Exceptionally I have included three clips on the entry. They are one of the Brazilian bands that pay particular care to the way their videos are filmed. The first two videos I’m showing here were directed by Kátia Lund, co-director of City of God. They portrait two hard-hitting stories. The third video is a good example of kinetic typography made years before it became fashionable and everyone decided you couldn’t do a video if you didn’t have letters dancing around.

A Minha Alma

O Que Sobro do Céu

Instinto Coletivo

This is the 5th of ten entries entries presenting videos from the artists I wrote about at Top 10: Brazilian music (B-sides). I am following the alphabetical order I used on that entry.

The sixth artist on the list is Marina de la Riva. As she doesn’t have an huge promotional backup her material is hard to find. The first video is clip sang in Spanish, La Caminadora. The second one, Ta-hí! (Pra você gostar de mim), is sang in Portuguese.

La Caminadora

Ta-hí! (Pra você gostar de mim)

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This is the 5th of ten entries entries presenting videos from the artists I wrote about at Top 10: Brazilian music (B-sides). I am following the alphabetical order I used on that entry.

The fifth artist on the list is Lenine. The first video I’ve chosen is a beautiful song, one of my favourites, Paciência. The second video is Miedo (fear), performed along Mexican singer Julieta Venegas.

Paciência

Miedo

This is the 4th of ten entries entries presenting videos from the artists I wrote about at Top 10: Brazilian music (B-sides). I am following the alphabetical order I used on that entry.

The fourth artist on the list is Gabriel O Pensador. The first video I’ve selected is one of my favourite songs, Até Quando?, presenting the hard-hitting political side of Gabriel’s lyrics. A song written in 2001, it’s incredibly relevant to present-time Brazil. The second clip, 2345meia78, shows the fun side of Gabriel’s work. Full of slang and innuendo.

Até Quando?

2345meia78

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The seemingly inexhaustible creativity of Brazilian music is out of doubt (at Top 10: Brazilian music [B-sides] we gave some clues to artists we are particularly fond of). It is only natural that travellers to Brazil should look after live performances of Brazilian artists. Here’s three websites with information on music concerts. Unfortunately, they are in Portuguese only, which should serve as an encouragement to learn your basics before your trip!

Here’s some Portuguese basics to get started (you will need them if you are to browse through the pages):
Segunda - Monday
Terça - Tuesday
Quarta - Wednesday
Quinta - Thursday
Sexta - Friday
Sábado - Saturday
Domingo - Sunday

The first website is Pode Ir.

It has coverage for the cities of Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Campo Grande, Curitiba, Florianópolis, Goiania, Porto Alegre, Río de Janeiro, Salvador and São Paulo.

You will first have to chose the city you are interested in. Once you land on the main page for that city, to find about music shows, click on Shows on the right-hand side of the top menu bar.

The second website is Guia de Cidades.

It has coverage for Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Curitiba, Florianópolis, Porto Alegre, Río de Janeiro, Salvador and São Paulo. At Programação (middle of the page) and Shows click on Escolha a Cidade to select the city you want to check out.

The third website is !ObaOba.

It covers the cities of Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Curitiba, Florianópolis, Porto Alegre, Recife, Río de Janeiro, Salvador and São Paulo. First select your city of choice by clicking on its tab at the top of the page. Then have a look at the left sidebar where it reads Baladas da semana.

You might come across the term MPB, that stands for Música Popular Brasileira. It is an umbrella term for all kinds of Brazilian music.

Good vibes to everyone!

This is an entirely personal list with Brazilian musicians that feature often on my playlists. I have deliberatedly omitted from the list the big names of Brazilian music. I love the music of Marisa Monte and Chico Buarque, I enjoy very much the music of so many Brazilian artists of worldwide fame. But with this list I want to talk about other artists, most of them very popular in Brazil, but hardly known outside the borders of this country. The list is by no means restrictive. No list could do justice to the seemingly inexhaustible source of musical talent Brazil harbours. The artists featured in this top-10 are listed in alphabetical order.

ANTONIO NÓBREGA (website). From Pernambuco, Antonio Nóbrega is a unique artist: singer, dancer, circus performer, an authority on Brazilian folklore. His records contain wonderful compilations of Brazilian musical folk traditions nearly extinguished. He’s based in São Paulo and his shows are a must. A record: Madeira que cupim não roi. Three songs: Lição de namoro, Olodumaré, Coco da lagartixa. See also on this blog: videos by Antonio Nóbrega.

CHICO CÉSAR (website). Singer and songwriter from Paraíba, like so many others, based in São Paulo. One of the most important songwriters in contemporary Brazilian popular music. A record: Respeitem meus cabelos, brancos. Three songs: 4h15 ou 10 P/3, Quando eu fecho os olhos, Flor de mandacaru. See also on this blog: videos by Chico César.

DAVI MORAES . Son of Moraes Moreira, and former musician of Marisa Monte, Caetano, Carlinhos Brown and many others, Davi Moraes is an extraordinary guitar player. A record: Papo Macaco. Three songs: Dentro da minha cabeça, Pretoriana, Na massa. See also on this blog: videos by Davi Moraes.

GABRIEL O PENSADOR (website). Clever rapper from Rio de Janeiro, Gabriel is the author os some of the most forceful lyrics of the last decades. On a 2001 poll by Rio newspaper O Dia Gabriel was chosen as the person that symbolized Rio better. A record: Seja você mesmo, mas não seja sempre o mesmo. Three songs: Até quando?, Cantão, Brasa. See also on this blog: videos by Gabriel O Pensador.

LENINE (website). From Pernambuco, Lenine is one of the heavy weights of contemporary Brazilian popular music, both as a result of his own records and his contributions to the work of other artists. He’s quite popular in France. A record: Na Pressão. Three songs: Lavadeira do rio, Rosebud (o verbo e a verba), Paciência. See also on this blog: videos by Lenine.

MARINA DE LA RIVA (website). The Spanish language enters this list through the captivating voice of Cuban-Brazilian artist Marina de la Riva. Her first album, with Cuban songs tinged with bossa-nova and other Brazilian rhythms, and a few Brazilian classics, heralds a spectacular career. A record: Marina de la Riva. Three songs: Central constancia, Ta-hi!, Adeus, Maria Fulô – La Mulata Chancletera. See also on this blog: videos by Marina de la Riva.

O RAPPA (website). Rio band that plays a blend of rap and reggae. A record: LadoB Lado A. Three songs: Pescador de Ilusões, Minha alma (a paz que eu não quero), O que sobrou do céu. See also on this blog: videos by O Rappa

SKANK (website). Veteran pop-rock-reggae band founded in Belo Horizonte in 1991. Some of their songs have become real anthems (see Garota Nacional). A record: O Samba Poconé. Three songs: Garota Nacional, Vamos fugir, Vou deixar.

VANESSA DA MATA (website). Singer from Mato Grosso. A record: Essa boneca tem manual. Three songs: Zé, Ai, Ai, Ai, Joaõzinho.

ZECA BALEIRO (website). Artist from São Luís de Maranhão who settled a long time ago in São Paulo. In spite of his young age, he has composed songs for lots of Brazilian artists. A record: Vô Imbolá. Three songs: Mamãe Oxum, Meu amor meu bem me ame, Nega tu dá no couro.