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Creative Cities Network. The now more than 30 cities in the network are recognized for creative efforts in music, film, literature, and a vast array of crafts. According to UNESCO, Each “creative city” is recognized as a “creative hub” that promotes “socio-economic and cultural development” as well as a “socio-cultural cluster” that brings together diverse groups of people in one urban environment. Bogotá joins Sevilla, Bologne, Glasgow, Gand and Brazzaville in the “City of Music” category.
Estéreo Picnic takes place 40 minutes outside of Bogotá, hosting more than 22,000 festivalgoers each day of the 3-day affair. In addition to an array of international acts, the Vice reporter noted cultural quirks, like flowers littering the festival grounds, local food stalls and art stands, and a “ball pool” a la McDonald’s playground for grown adults to play in. Another event in Bogotá not to be missed when in town: a Sunday in the city, when over 70 miles of the streets become dedicated solely to bicyclists from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. in an event called Ciclovia.
The Great Escape
Brighton, UK — May 8-10
While music festivals often draw fans with megastar headliners, there’s something magical about the bands that take to the side stages before the sun goes down. You haven’t heard of them, their music, or any place where you can buy the eccentric clothes they don, yet you stand in a crowd of hundreds, bopping along to their music as if you’ve been a lifetime listener. These upcoming artists don’t come jaded by fame, platinum record sales or a massive fan base. Solely their craft got them to the stage, a stage that’s presents them for the first time to a major audience. In the audience, you’re given the opportunity to welcome new music to the world, and see how those sounds influence you.
For this reason, we leave the big band names behind in South America and travel up to the UK next. Your destination: The Great Escape, a music festival that takes place in the city of Brighton and Hove of the United Kingdom, right off the English Channel and south of London. The focus of the festival is emerging artists, and it features more than 400 new bands to add to your playlists. The festival is frequented by music execs looking for the next big thing. And the concerts don’t just take place in your typical venues. “Secret gigs” and other performances turn the entire area into a stage for performances. Alexis Petridis of The Guardian reviewed the 2013 festival, noting how the “lifeblood” of the festival is an indie exploration: “The ongoing quest to find something that might lift the genre out of its current commercial doldrums hangs over the event.” Rather than a great “escape,” the festival works more as a great “exploration,” a chance to find music strong enough to catalyze change in today’s commercial scene.
Panels, debates and speeches bring a TEDx feel to this event, making it a perfect mix to open your mind to both new music and ideas. Coined as “Europe’s Leading Festival for New Music,” and the “Cannes of the music world” by Steve Lamacq of BBC Radio, The Great Escape lets you explore a fresh place and sound with people from across the world in an intimate setting.
Rock in Rio
Lisbon, Portugal — May 24
Another festival spinoff similar to Lolla Chile, Rock in Rio leaves Brazil and comes to Portugal every two years. Born out of a political revolution, the festival started in Brazil in 1985 when the country first started to embrace a democracy. Entrepreneur Robert Medina founded the festival, and the first event took place in an area built just for the festival called the City of Rock. In 2001, a new “City of Rock” had to be built to accommodate the more than 250,000 people attending the festival. Three years later, the festival came back in 2004 in Portugal, a move to spread “Rock in Rio” to Europe. The festival has occurred in Lisbon every two years since, returning to Rio in 2011 and 2013 as well.
The Lisbon edition of the festival not only runs on the big name acts it draws to the capital of Portugal — Justin Timberlake is headlining this year — but it also focuses on social responsibility and world betterment. In 2008, the festival merged fashion with music too, featuring the work of designers in various shows. It’s also taken on a sustainability agenda as well. In 2012, the festival introduced “Rock Street in Portugal,” street dancing became a focus, and each day of the festival ended with jam sessions. More than 350,000 people attended the festival that year. Lisbon builds its own “City of Rock” in the Parque da Bela Vista, about 20 minutes outside of the heart of Lisbon.
In 2015, a commute to see Rock in Rio will become much shorter. Festival founder Robert Medina recently announced that Rock in Rio will take place in Las Vegas in May 2015. Medina told USA TODAY that MGM resorts are constructing Vegas’ version of the “City of Rock,” a permanent venue that will house the festival every two years and feature an amusement park variety of attractions along with five stages. By coming to Las Vegas, the question becomes: Does “Rock in Rio” maintain it’s unique, cultural structure as it transcends Brazil’s borders? Medina believes that Rock in Rio in Vegas will “increase tourism from Brazil to Vegas,” hopefully creating a unique cultural experience on the lineup of American music festivals.
FEATURE