Nice article by Christian Pielow from The Music Street Team
SWU Festival in Brazil was one of the biggest musical events to hit South America in a long time, and the 3 day event from October 9-11 could not have gone smoother. All acts performed on time to an over-excited audience, who seemed in disbelief about the opportunity to attend a 3-day festival with such a great line-up.
And expectations were unsurprisingly high. A standard ticket to the festival cost more than the national minimum wage, and if you wanted to be closer to the performers in the ‘premium area’ your looking at $600 US Dollars – the premium area reserved the first 30ft from the main stages, barring those less privileged from being close to their favourite acts; a controversial move that would not fly in the UK or US.
Nonetheless, festival goers drank, smoked and did everything else you are meant to do at a festival without a hint of bad feelings. The crowd were truly one of the best I have experienced, with each person treated you like a best friend – no need to play spliff politics here. If SWU comes back next year, which it is rumoured to do, expect more of an international audience and a line-up to match this year.
However, where the SWU Festival really succeeded was in the core to any festival – the music. SWU pulled together a stellar line-up of electronic and rock acts – from Dave Matthews Band, Queens of the Stone Age, Pixies and Rage Against The Machine, to Steve Angello, DJ Marky, Tiesto and the fantastic live act, The Crystal Method.
Many bands professed SWU to be their first trip to South America or a return after very a long time. However, with SWU’s ability to fill a quiet farm in Sao Paulo state for 3 days, I have a feeling South American tours are about to get a hell of a lot more frequent.
