Somos Rock Festival

The day was clear. The blue sky and a temperature hovering around 29ºC even before 1pm already showed that the afternoon would be pleasant. Inside the Anhembi, the public dispersed among the convenience stores, the photos in places set up for this purpose, insane runs to stay close to the fence and a contemplative walk through the amplitude of the sambódromo who was receiving Somos Rock Festival.

Even with a lot of bottlenecks in the three sectors, in the background and on one of the stages Plebe Rude opened the Somos Rock Festival with their punk rock show. Still with the audience in the process of awakening, the group from Brasilia managed to get a more avid participation only in their closing song, the iconic Até Quando Esperar. Not even the order gestures, the almost anarchic poses and the mostly frowned face of Clemente Nascimento managed to promote more interaction during the setlist.

Leaving stage 1, exactly at 1pm Ira! went on stage 2. Presenting a setlist full of hits such as Bebendo Vinho, Flerte Fatal, Vida Passageira and Tarde Vazia, the iconic duo Edgar Scandurra and Nasi, even showing signs of age both in performance and stage posture, showed they still have chemistry and managed to attract a large part of the audience. With an audience formed by a mix of Generation Y and Z, Ira! managed to unite both lineages in one voice during hits like Envelheço Na Cidade, the melancholic-nostalgic O Girassol and Eu Quero Sempre Mais, a partnership with Pitty.

The sunlight was already reaching its peak making people sweat in their disputed square meters, but without any pushing or shoving. That's because, for many, it was a breathing moment. All around, it was as if there was a reverse ola. After all, suddenly large spaces were formed where before there had been heads and gazes staring at the stage. The answer to this was the attraction that would follow with the program. Engrennagem is an independent rock group from Ubatuba that relied on the strategy of a setlist full of covers. As an entrance, the Ubatubans performed the iconic A Cera, single by the Ceará's O Surto, which made those seated feel encouraged to stand up and give timid jumps on the reggae rock beat of the song. Among tributes to Legião Urbana, Renato Russo and songs by names ranging from Jota Quest to Raimundos, vocalist Hilário Junior, visibly insecure and shy, apologized and excused himself to the audience to brush up the set with some authorial works. The selected songs were Sintonia and the unreleased Prova De Amor and A Vida É Agora. In the case of the former, it was even dedicated, with emotion, to the singer's own son. 

When the sun was already starting to hide behind the stage structure, Nando Reis and Os Infernais were positioned in the front stage and started a set that, just like Ira! With the addition of emotion in tracks like Relicário and Por Onde Andei, the performance was dedicated to Cássia Eller in the introduction of All Star, but also featured a reviving joy during songs like Do Seu Lado and Sou Dela, which stirred the audience and got them off the floor. With the right to the participation of his son Sebastião Reis in half of the show, the set still had the right to nostalgia of the Titãs era with Marvin and a zen ambience with Luz Dos Olhos.

With the sky setting, the Somos Rock Festival audience was surprised by an unexpected union. The melancholic and independent Supercombo on the same stage as the hardcore punk of Dead Fish. Despite being graced with an accelerated set, rough and favorable to Mosh, the show had a recurrent and insistent problem with Rodrigo Lima's microphone, which became inaudible for several moments. Curiously, it was during such a performance that one could observe a higher volume of people sitting on the floor of the Sambadrome, result of either the lack of harmony with which Dead Fish's sound was presented or simply tiredness. With each band having approximately 30 minutes of space, the high point came only when Supercombo introduced the soft, nostalgic and sweet melody of Piloto Automático, their last drink. It was only then that there was active and visible audience participation.

With the last remnants of natural light, Biquini Cavadão invades stage 2. Without knowing much about what to expect from the set, the audience was surprised with a real party. Both four members showed themselves in perfect harmony and with a genuine enthusiasm that crossed the limits of the stage and reached the audience, who sang along, jumped and interacted with vocalist Bruno Gouveia whenever he asked. Among songs with strong emotional content, such as the romantic Quanto Tempo Demora Um Mês, the quartet from Rio de Janeiro brought protest songs like Zé Ninguém, which had the assiduous participation of people during the chorus. Interesting and even surprising was that the group also included Múmias in their list of songs to be presented. With Renato Russo's participation, interpreted by guitarist Carlos Coelho, the song gave rise to a curious sense of empowerment and protest in the audience, who sang the chorus in unison. With a smiling and active performance, Biquíni Cavadão also presented the dramatic Camila, the swinging Daniela, and other hits like Tédio, Vento Ventania, and Timidez. With the right to a tribute to Renato Russo with a cover of Que Pais É Esse?, that counted with the assiduous participation of the public, during the improvised verse "é a porra do Brasil" sung at full blast, the performance of the carioca quartet was the first of Somos Rock to count on an organic and sincere participation of the audience, making the show a real party.

A new band from Brasília takes the stage on stage 1. Owner of a significant history in national rock and the only one to have its own souvenir stand at the festival, Capital Inicial repeated the Biquini Cavadão's formula and gave the public a gift with known songs and a performance of sincere cheer that could not even fit Dinho Ouro Preto's smile. Truly moved several times, the singer thanked the audience incessantly for their presence and for making the festival really happen. It was clear to see how the return to the stage and the direct interaction of the public moved the singer, who brought out hit after hit. Capital Inicial paid homage to Renato Russo with a cover of Tempo Perdido with the participation of Nasi. This was due to the sequence of great singles such as Primeiros Erros (Chove), O Passageiro, Fátima, Natasha, Não Olha Pra Trás, Todas As Noites and À Sua Maneira.

With the night sky already dark and the lighting effects already doing their expected effect both on stage and in the audience, one of the most awaited shows was beginning. Those who were seated got up. Those who were quiet began to shout. Cell phones were seen in the hands of people in an insane thirst to photograph the entrance of the band. At 7:10pm, exactly as the organization's schedule ordered, the soteropolitan Pitty went on stage 2. Looping her career, the singer transited through songs from her early days in the entertainment industry and other more recent ones. Between Equalize, Teto De Vidro, Na Sua Estante, Máscara, and Memórias, the set, which was mostly somber and of a denser rock, gave way to milder works like Me Adora and others of more political protest like Roda, whose recording included the presence of the Baiana System. With her typical mature and deep voice, Pitty also showed signs of tiredness and age effects at some moments, but did not disappoint her fans, who vibrated with every new song presented.

Then Bruno Graveto, Marcão Britto, Heitor Gomes, Thiago Castanho and Pinguim, ex-members of Charlie Brown Jr., invade stage 1, next to Egypcio, for a show belonging to the celebration of 30 years of the group from Santos (SP). With a fast and explosive set, the musicians went through the old and the new era of the band with songs like Tudo O Que Ela Gosta De Escutar, Proibida Pra Mim, Só Por Uma Noite, Só Os Loucos Sabem and Rubão. Tearing away tears of emotion from Egypcio amidst the memories and recurring tributes to legendary vocalist Chorão, the set managed to revive the audience present since the beginning of the evening and worked as a sweeping opening to the closing show of the night.

The night was already complete and the audience formed streams between those on their way out and those looking for a space to check out the closing show of the Somos Rock Festival. At 9:20pm sharp, the English Dire Straits Legacy stepped on São Paulo soil for a show full of psychedelia and filled with intoxicating progressive rock. It is important to mention that, even with their line up already reaching the third age, the sound was built in a mature and powerful way with a remarkable vivacity. With a very segmented audience, the group managed to deliver a spectacle of lights and musicality to the São Paulo audience that, even without jumping or screaming, followed each riff and each folksy flirtatious melody that were drawn during the set.

The Somos Rock Festival came to give prestige to the national rock. It didn't come with the proposal of competing with João Rock, because that would be cowardly. But it can be said that it served as a warm up for the event in Ribeirão Preto. After all, it took the web from the throat of people eager to de-stress with screams, jumps, punk wheels and order hymns.

With a line up of good mix between dinosaurs of the national rock and the new wave of defenders of the genre, the festival embraced the older and also pleased the younger, both generations united by a single common interest: rock.

It is true that the festival was the stage for a real dance of chairs until the line up was solidified. Jota Quest had been booked, but not confirmed. Paula Toller and Os Paralamas do Sucesso were removed from the list of presentations already in the week of the event as a result of the contraction of Covd-19 by its members.

Still, the festival happened and delivered an event to be remembered with nostalgia and joy. Somos Rock Festival not only impressed by the organization and punctuality of the presentations, but also drew attention by the delivery of the musicians themselves, who put on shows of their own. 

Somos Rock Festival: an event where all the anguishes, the sorrows, the tensions had no ticket. An event where the joy, the excitement and the longing for reunion were free of charge.