Levada Festival Presents Brazilian Independent Music in Rio

By Beatriz Miranda, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Last night (July 5th) the Levada Festival opened its sixth edition in Rio. Aimed at promoting independent Brazilian musicians and their latest productions, the festival takes place at Centro de Música Carioca Artur da Távola, in Tijuca, and Casa de Cultura Laura Alvim, in Ipanema, through September 7th.

Ten different singers from all over Brazil will perform on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8PM. For the first time also in a Zona Norte (North Zone) venue, the event intends to reach further audiences and become more open.

The festival’s debut took place on Tijuca’s stage with Domenico Lancellotti, whose independent music carries samba, jazz and bossa nova influences. In the event, Lancellotti releases his second solo album, “Serra dos Orgaos” (The Organs’ Mountain Range).

Also presenting in Tijuca’s venue will be São Paulo’s artist Curumin, Juliana Sinimbú, from Pará, Carioca singer Letícia Novaes and Notheast musician Felipe S, from Pernambuco. From the 12th of July to the 3rd of August, all of the four singers will release their albums in Levada Festival.

“For this sixth edition, we focused in bringing both veteran musicians and promising names from Brazilian independent music, in which we are betting on”, says Jorge Lz, the festival’s curator.

The line-up in Ipanema’s Casa de Cultura Laura Alvim starts on August 9th and 10th with São Paulo singer Luisa Maita, who wrote two songs for the Oscar nominated American film “Boyhood” (2014). On the shows, she presents her second album “Fio da Memória” (Strand of Memory).

In the following weeks, Pará singer Bruno Morais; musician Bruna Mendez, from Goiás, Brazil’s Central-West; and Uruguayan Brazilian artist Tamy, from Espírito Santo, Brazil’s Southeast, will perform on Ipanema’s stage. Closing the event will be Barro, a singer from Pernambuco, who will release his first album “Miocardio” (Myocardium).

“The best thing of this project is enabling the promotion of these artists with all the technical quality and infrastructure needed. The life of an independent artist has many risks, and we bet on works that are still unknown, and that would probably not have the conditions to afford expenses such as a debut in Rio”, explains Júlio Zucca, Levada’s producer.

Over seventy artists have already performed in Levada festival, which has gathered more than ten thousand people. In its previous editions, the event brought some of the biggest names from Brazilian independent music, like Pedro Luís, Lucas Santanna and Siba.

What: Levada Festival
When: July 5th to September 7th – 8PM
Where: Centro de Música Carioca Artur da Távola – Rua Conde de Bonfim, 824 – Tijuca – Tel: (21) 3238-3831
Casa de Cultura Laura Alvim – Avenida Vieira Souto, 376 – Ipanema – Tel: (21) 2332-2016
Entrance: R$10 – R$20