Summer in the Global Village: Brasil Summerfest – Part One

Last week brought the second edition of Brasil Summerfest to NYC. Founder Petrit Pula (Nublu Records) and co-curator Erika Elliott (Summerstage), created the series with the intention of showcasing the best of contemporary Brazilian music, and this year they brought Beco Dranoff (Red Hot Organization/Ziriguiboom) into the fray as a guest curator. As things kicked off I had the chance to briefly chat with Pula about the impetus to create the festival and what he was looking forward to during the weeklong festival:

The first concert of the festival was a blowout at Summerstage. The queue to enter the concert stretched deep into Central Park, and lilting Portuguese chatter filled the air. As I arrived Dranoff was DJing and Criolo was about to take the stage. One of the clear breakout stars of the festival, Criolo’s unflinching lyrics about the hardships of life in the favelas and his classic hip-hop flow have struck a chord in Brazil, and the word has spread to stateside Brazilophiles.

During the early part of the show Criolo was a somewhat demurring MC, allowing his sidekick Dan Dan to pogo around the stage. The set ranged from MPB, to forro, to a horn-heavy afrobeat track, but as he launched into his hit “Não Existe Amor em SP” (Love doesn’t exist in São Paulo), things really started cooking. The rapt crowd couldn’t help but sing along. Here’s an excerpt:

All in all it was a great set that the crowd welcomed with open arms. As I chatted with Criolo after the show it was clear that for him the experience of playing New York for the first time had been deeply emotional. Stay on the lookout for a longer feature at a later date.

Bebel Gilberto performs at Brasil Summerfest 2012 (Photo: Mirissa Neff)

Bebel Gilberto closed out the day with her trademark dreamy electro bossa. Her band was almost completely comprised of members of Forro in the Dark, NYC’s premiere purveyors of Northeast Brazil’s irresistible rhythms.

The next installment of Summer in the Global Village will delve a bit more into Brasil Summerfest with a focus on “forro de rabeca.”