Primavera Sound confirms Latin America return
Primavera Sound is to return to Latin America in 2024 after attracting close to 350,000 people across its events in the region last year.
Second editions of the festival in Buenos Aires, Argentina and São Paulo, Brazil drew 120,000 and 115,000 people respectively, according to organisers. Headline acts at the November/December events included The Cure, Blur, Pet Shop Boys, Beck and The Killers.
In addition, 35,000 people attended Primavera Sound concerts in Santiago, Chile, over 12,000 fans experienced the first Paraguay event to mark Asunción Spring Day, and more than 30,000 people went to the inaugural Road to Primavera concerts in Lima, Peru.
The Cure, who played their first shows in South America in a decade, also sold out standalone Primavera concerts in Montevideo, Uruguay and Bogota, Colombia.
Primavera Sound has reaffirmed its commitment to the territory by confirming the dates for this year’s editions
Primavera Sound has reaffirmed its commitment to the territory by confirming the dates for this year’s editions. Primavera Day Montevideo will premiere on 21 November, followed by the third editions of Primavera Sound Buenos Aires (23-24 November) and São Paulo (30 November-1 December), with Primavera Day Asunción set for 29 November.
Plus, Bogotá, Lima and Santiago will again host Road to Primavera concerts, with specific dates to be announced soon.
Meanwhile, the flagship Primavera Sound Barcelona, where the brand launched in 2001, will take place from 29 May to 2 June, headlined by Lana Del Rey, Pulp and SZA. Other acts will include The National, PJ Harvey, Vampire Weekend, Phoenix, Disclosure, FKA Twigs, Justice and Mitski.
It has also run sister events in Los Angeles and Chile in recent years, but has opted against running another Madrid instalment in 2024 following a “complicated” debut edition.
- The ILMC 36 panel Latin Live: The Promoter’s View will take place at 3.30pm on 29 February, exploring what to expect from the Latin genre in the future
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Primavera Sound expands footprint in Latin America
Primavera has announced its debut in Peru, with a series of concerts in Lima set for this November ahead of its 2023 Latin American festival run.
The four dates, which will be held under the Road to Primavera Sound banner, will start with The Cure at the National Stadium on 22 November, with support from The Twilight Sad and Just Mustard.
Multiespacio Costa 21 will then host Bad Gyal on 1 December, followed by the Pet Shop Boys – who bring their Dreamworld greatest hits show to the venue on 7 December – and Bad Religion on 8 December.
The shows will act as a precursor for Primavera Sound’s second editions in Buenos Aires, Argentina (25-26 November) and São Paulo, Brazil (2-3 December), as well as the festival’s premiere in Luque, Paraguay (7 December) and Bogotá, Colombia (9-10 December).
The Cure will headline all four editions in their first shows in South America in a decade. The Paraguay edition will be a one-day affair to mark Asunción Spring Day.
Organisers confirmed last month that Primavera Sound Madrid will not take place in 2024
Other acts set to appear on some or all dates include Beck, Blur, Carly Rae Jepsen, The Killers, The Hives, Grimes, Black Midi, Slowdive, Róisín Murphy and Muna.
Organisers confirmed last month that Primavera Sound Madrid will not take place in 2024. The festival debuted in the Spanish capital in June, featuring acts such as Kendrick Lamar, Depeche Mode, Four Tet, Fred Again.., Skrillex, Rosalia, Calvin Harris, Maneskin and St Vincent. However, its first day proper was cancelled for “safety reasons” amid “persistent severe weather”, which impacted pre-production at the 96,000-cap Ciudad de Rock (City of Rock) in Arganda del Rey. There were also complaints from fans about long queues on the other two days of the event.
Explaining their decision not to proceed with a Madrid sequel, organisers cite “external difficulties… in the final stretch of pre-production”, which led to “one of the most complicated” editions of Primavera Sound ever.
In Europe, Primavera Sound’s flagship Barcelona edition will return from 30 May-2 June next year, with its Porto leg to follow from 7-9 June. The festival launched in Barcelona in 2001 and has also run sister events in Los Angeles and Chile in recent years.
Primavera Sound recently gained an internationally recognised stamp of approval demonstrating its commitment to LGBTQ people. The Queer Destinations committed distinction, which is present in 12 countries, helps businesses create safe and more inclusive touristic spaces for the community.
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Extreme weather curtails South American festivals
Two major music festivals in South America were both cut short over the weekend due to inclement weather.
Kilkfest in Paraguay and K-pop concert Music Bank in Chile, both fell victim to the adverse conditions.
Held at the Jockey Club in Asuncion, the 10,000-cap Kilkfest from 10-12 November featured performances from the likes of Arctic Monkeys and Interpol, and was due to wrap up with a headline show by Liam Gallagher, which was ultimately cancelled.
“After evaluating the possibility of carrying out Kilkfest today and analysing different alternatives, we regret to inform you that the festival is finally cancelled,” organisers told ticket-holders in a social media post.
“The weather forecast indicates that the rain with electrical storms will persist”
“The weather forecast indicates that the rain with electrical storms will persist, and this continues to represent a risk for the public, the artists and the staff.
Hours before his concert was due to take place, former Oasis singer Gallagher tweeted: “Paraguay – we’ve been advised that the show can’t happen tonight due to extreme weather. Our team and the festival have done everything we can to try and make it work but safety is paramount.”
Meanwhile, the 50,000-cap Music Bank at the Estadio Monumental in Macul, held on Saturday, was cancelled halfway through due to safety concerns.
According to NME, groups STAYC and The Boyz were able to perform without incident, but the worsening weather meant that (G)I-DLE were unable to complete their set, while boybands Tomorrow X Together, ATEEZ and NCT Dream did not perform at all.
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