Nos Primavera Sound is a festival that takes place in the beautiful Portuguese coastal town of Porto. It’s got a smaller lineup than the Barcelona festival that takes place the week before, but there is plenty of crossover and it's very much its own festival owing to its setting amid the hills, trees, and ponds of the Parque da Cidade. Some of the most essential sets I saw in Porto were the much ballyhoed Babes in Toyland reunion, the Juan MacLean, Ex Hex, and Pharmakon along with the Portuguese artists that opened the festival that that yet to make an impact in the United States. Full disclosure: I am not a student of Portuguese music, past or present—just a human being who’s always willing to learn something new (especially if that means learning about that thing while sipping port wine in an ocean-side park). Here’s what I found.
Lisbon-based multi-instrumentalist Bruno Pernadas’ biography cites jazz, space-age-pop, folk, electronica, psychedelic rock, and that catch-all "world music" as elements of his sound—a description that invokes the episode of "30 Rock" where Tracy Jordan tries to write a Grammy-winning song by combining hip-hop, classical, scat singing, and a mariachi band. Live, he’s all in with eight (eight!) people on stage with him playing wood block, shakers, flute, a Korg, organ, and saxophone trio. Pernadas navigates his hybrid-heavy sound by letting it breathe. His set was undeniably at its best when the band leaned all the way into jazz. Synthesizers made songs big and ethereal. It was a solid set with frequent tonal shifts, and it turned out to be an ideal festival opener. At one point, a guy in the crowd walked to the front row holding a glass of red wine. He nodded in approval.
According to Banda Do Mar’s origin story, band members Marcelo Camelo and Fred Ferreira met on the beach. When they took the stage to open Nos Primavera’s second day, it became very clear that that inspired moment holds. This is breezy music defined by its three guitarists’ penchant for jazz chords, the sultry vocal stylings of Brazilian singer Mallu Magalhāes, and some blues rock riffing. As the ocean breeze wafted over Parque da Cicade, I cut out early to catch Yasmine Hamdan’s performance. The Lebanese singer makes minimal music and her big voice echoes in an otherworldly way. Her stateside claim to fame is an appearance on the soundtrack of Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive soundtrack—she’s definitely in the same outre vibe canon as Jarmusch and his musical collaborator, Josef Van Wissem. It was early in the second day—people had just spent the night before dancing to Caribou and the Juan MacLean. It was time to lie back in the grass while Hamdan’s voice wailed through the wind.
The best opening set came on the final day. Manel Cruz’s show was mesmerizing. Best known for his 1990s alt-rock outfit Ornatos Violeta, Cruz performed some of the catchiest, most unpredictable songs I heard all weekend. His songs were built on determined grooves, but his band offset everything with an unexpected sweetness—whistling, three- and four-part vocal harmonies, two melodicas, banjo, and maracas were all involved. Several of his songs were Fado-inspired, but his use of electronics gave them a contemporary bent. Cruz was the people’s champion—a hometown hero. He drew the biggest crowd of any first-hour set that weekend. People sang along and cheered as he’d start a song they were familiar with. They laughed at his jokes between songs. They sang along to "Happy Birthday" (in Portuguese). When he was finished, he got called back for an encore. (As a frame of reference, the Replacements didn’t get an encore at what may have been their final show). And here’s the thing: He hardly had to work for all that adoration. His delivery wasn’t flashy, his banter was dry, and he had them eating out of the palm of his hand. If you get the chance, see this guy—preferably in Porto.
For more, check out our photo gallery from this year's Nos Primavera Sound here.