Rodrigo Leão, Ana Moura, Brazilian Bnegão and Romanian Fanfare Ciocarlia will perform in the 2017 edition of the Festival MED de Loulé, which will take place between June 29th and July 2nd.
In addition to these, they were announced this afternoon, at the presentation at BTL, in Lisbon, in which the Sul Informação eight other names were present: Mayra Andrade (Cape Verde), Fábia Rebordão (Portugal), Marta Ren (Portugal), Tout-Puissant Orchester Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou (Benin), Rachid Taha (France/Algeria), Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino (Italy), Akua Naru (USA) and Throes+The Shine (Portugal/Angola).
It seems like a lot, but the announcement of more than 40 bands is still missing until the MED 2017 poster is closed, since there will be 55 artists/groups that will go up to the eight stages that will be distributed throughout the Historic Center of the city of Loulé, in a total of 20 nationalities.
In all, there will be 75 hours of music, a record for the festival, according to Hugo Nunes, vice-president of the Loulé Chamber, in the presentation at FIL, which was attended by Mayra Andrade and Fábia Rebordão.
Rodrigo Leão was not present, but he left a video message where he confessed that he was "very happy to participate in MED".
In addition to music, MED is back with handicrafts and gastronomy and, this year, there will be around 80 exhibitors.
In terms of street entertainment, there will be five groups that will guarantee that the party will be a constant during the festival.
Artists already confirmed:
Tout-Puissant Orchester Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou
Making their absolute debut in Portugal, from Benin come Tout-Puissant Orchester Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou, a mythical African band from the 60s that returned to the spotlight in 2009. Afrobeat, funk, soukous and other styles based on vodun rhythms mark the varied musical range that made this group a reference in the context of World Music.
Bnegão
Also performing for the first time in our country, the Brazilian BNegão became known as the lead singer of the rap band Planet Hemp. The fusion of hip-hop, rap, reaggae, rock and Brazilian funk, combined with lyrics with strong social criticism led to recognition, both by the specialized press and by the public, which earned him the VMB MTV 2012 award for best album of the year, as well as a participation in the closing ceremony of the London Olympic Games in 2012.
Fanfare Ciocarlia
Balkan rhythms return to the MED Festival through the glow of Fanfare Ciocarlia. Originally from Romania, this fanfare marks 20 years of career and will provide the MED audience with a truly mind-blowing concert. It is not by chance that it is known for the speed and complexity of the rhythms of clarinet, saxophone, trumpet and other instruments that sometimes emit more than 200 beats per minute. They also stood out for their reinterpretations of themes such as “Born to be Wild”, “Summertime” or “James Bond Theme”.
Rachid Taha
The French-Algerian Rachid Taha, author and performer of classics such as “Ya Raya”, “Menfi”, “Voilà Voilà” or “Ida”, takes to the MED stage to interpret the traditional Algerian music, Rai, mixed with other genres like rock, electronics or indie, with his hoarse voice that sets him apart from his peers. It is also known for the unique sound it transmits with the “mandolute”, a kind of oud, which combines electric and electronic musical instruments. Through his markedly activist lyrics, he exalts his Algerian roots, racial discrimination and the problems of immigrants in France, where he lives. It is one of the names that, year after year, is most requested by the public to be part of the MED Festival poster.
Grecanico Salentino songwriter
Italy will be represented in this edition of the MED Festival with Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino, a traditional folklore group from Salento.
Through music and dance, they take a contemporary approach to the musical style characteristic of southern Italy, the pizzica. Best Italian World Music Group winners at the 2015 Meeting of Independent Labels Festival released their album Quaranta (40) with Grammy-winning producer Ian Brennan.
Akua Naru
The mix of hip-hop rhythms, together with social awareness and soul-jazz elements mark Akua Naru's career. Associated with the hip-hop artistic movement of the 90's and performances such as Lauryn Hill & The Roots, this American singer has been very well accepted by her peers, especially due to the strength of her words. With a powerful poetic lyricism and talent for “story telling”, Akua Naru has the ability to integrate historical narratives into his music with incomparable eloquence. He comes to Loulé to present his latest work, “The Miner's Canary”.
Mayra Andrade
Mayra Andrade, one of the great voices of Cape Verde, will be present at this edition of the MED Festival. Her voice is a mix of radiant, dancing tones, velvety beats and peppery melodies and represents well the tropical warmth of her roots. So far, his career has been marked by collaborations with artists such as Cesária Évora, Chico Buarque, Caetano Veloso, Mariza or Charles Aznavour, and by several distinctions, including the BBC Radio 3 World Music Award in the Newcomer category. nomination in the “Victoires de la Musique”, in the category of World Music, with the album “Lovely Difficult”, from 2013.
Throes+The Shine
Back at the MED Festival, this time with a consolidated career and three albums in the bag, the Portuguese-Angolan artists Throes + The Shine bring the same electrifying energy to Loulé. Creators of the concept “rockuduro”, a fusion of rock and kuduro, throughout their short career they have been in the four corners of the world to be part of the posters of the most important international festivals. At MED they will present their most recent work, “Wanga”, which features collaborations from Congolese musician Pierre Kwenders, Argentinean La Yegros, Portuguese Da Chick and Colombian Meridian Brothers.
Fabia Rebordão
Owner of a portentous voice, Fábia Rebordão is unanimously considered one of the references of the new fado. Although fado is her great musical matrix, her artistic influences are diverse and range from soul, bossa nova, morna, blues or jazz. In 2012 she was distinguished by the Amália Foundation with the Amália Rodrigues Revelation Award and the renowned Jornal Expresso considers her one of the 50 new personalities of the year. Between national and international stages, the year 2016 marks the return of Fábia Rebordão to records. The most recent album, which will be presented in Loulé, has the participation of Rui Veloso, Jorge Fernando, Dino d'Santiago, Tozé Brito and Pedro da Silva Martins
Marta Ren
Between the frontiers of soul and funk, with a powerful one, Marta Ren will be back in Loulé after a memorable concert at the White Night 2015. The former vocalist of the late Sloppy Joe is coming to present her latest work to critical acclaim , after the resounding success at the Eurosonic Festival, in the Netherlands.
Rodrigo Leon
Owner of one of the most interesting discographies in our country, musician and composer Rodrigo Leão has known his success both indoors and abroad, a fact that has allowed him to have important guests on his records, as happened with Ryuichi Sakamoto or Beth Gibbons (Portishead ). Rodrigo Leão's music has also deserved the applause of the most demanding audience and this justifies its choice by the Portuguese Parliament to pay homage to the 40th anniversary of the 25th of April, which transformed the São Bento staircase into a unique stage.
Ana Moura
Arguably one of the most successful artists of our time, Ana Moura will be the great representative of fado in the 2017 edition of the MED Festival. With nearly half a million records sold, more than a dozen awards and prizes as important as two Golden Globes, two Amália awards and a SPA award, Ana Moura is also the most internationally recognized national voice. He collaborated with artists such as Prince, Rolling Stones, Caetano Veloso, Herbie Hancock, Milton Nascimento, Gilberto Gil, Orchestra Buena Vista Social Club, among others. Over the years, her husky and sensual voice broke free from the shackles of fado to enter new musical fields such as pop or traditional Portuguese music.
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