Rock in Rio is a biennial Brazilian multi-day music festival held at City of Rock in Rio de Janeiro. It later branched into other locations such as Lisbon, Madrid and Las Vegas.

Rock in Rio
Rock in Rio logo before a concert
GenreVarious
Location(s)Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Lisbon, Portugal
Madrid, Spain
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Years active1985–present
FoundersRoberto Medina
Websiterockinrio.com

Nine incarnations of the festival have been held in Rio de Janeiro, in 1985, 1991, 2001, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2024; nine in Lisbon, in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2022; three in Madrid in 2008, 2010 and 2012; and one in Las Vegas, in 2015. Brazilian entrepreneur and advertiser Roberto Medina was responsible for the inception and organization of the festival, as well as moving the 2004 edition to Lisbon, while controversially keeping the brand "Rock in Rio".[1] In 2011, Rock in Rio returned to its original location, Rio de Janeiro, with a new line-up of singers and groups.

Rock in Rio is one of the largest music festivals in the world, with 1.38 million people attending the first event,[2] 700,000 attending the second and fourth, about 1.2 million attending the third, and about 350,000 people attending each of the three Lisbon events.[citation needed]

In May 2018, Live Nation Entertainment acquired a majority stake in the festival (including from previous stakeholder SFX Entertainment), with Medina continuing to manage the festival's operations. Live Nation stated that it intended to "[integrate] their industry expertise" into their overall business.[3][4]

In 2022, Lisbon hosted the 9th edition on several dates in June at Bela Vista Park. Rio de Janeiro hosted its edition on several dates in September.

History

edit
Year Name Place
1985 Rock in Rio   Brazil
1991 Rock in Rio II
2001 Rock in Rio III
2004 Rock in Rio Lisboa   Portugal
2006 Rock in Rio Lisboa II
2008 Rock in Rio Lisboa III
Rock in Rio Madrid   Spain
2010 Rock in Rio Lisboa IV   Portugal
Rock in Rio Madrid II   Spain
2011 Rock in Rio IV   Brazil
2012 Rock in Rio Lisboa V   Portugal
Rock in Rio Madrid III   Spain
2013 Rock in Rio V   Brazil
2014 Rock in Rio Lisboa VI   Portugal
2015 Rock in Rio VI   Brazil
Rock in Rio USA   United States
2016 Rock in Rio Lisboa VII   Portugal
2017 Rock in Rio VII   Brazil
2018 Rock in Rio Lisboa VIII   Portugal
2019 Rock in Rio VIII   Brazil
2022 Rock in Rio IX
Rock in Rio Lisboa IX[a]   Portugal
2024 Rock in Rio X   Brazil
Rock in Rio Lisboa X   Portugal

Rio de Janeiro

edit

Rock in Rio (1985)

edit
 
Queen performing in 1985.

The first edition of the festival was held from 11–20 January 1985. Queen, George Benson, Rod Stewart, AC/DC, and Yes were the headliners, each occupying top spot for two nights (Benson, however, ceded it to James Taylor for their second night in the same bill, due to the huge delay Taylor's extended performance had caused to his concert two days before). About 1.38 million people attended the 10-day-long festival.[2]

Rock in Rio in numbers

edit
  • The City of Rock, which was built for the festival, covered an area of 250,000 m2 (around 2.7 million square feet)
  • 1,600,000 litres of beverages were served, using 4 million plastic cups.
  • 900,000 hamburgers.
  • 500,000 pizza slices.
  • McDonald's sold 58,000 hamburgers in a single day, which was a Guinness World Record until the fourth edition in 2011, where 79,000 hamburgers were sold by Bob's.[6]

The full list of artists who performed at Rock in Rio:

  • Both Queen shows were filmed (early on 12 and 19 January) and broadcast throughout Brazil by Globo. Each show was watched by nearly 200 million people in over 60 countries and in front of 250,000-500,000 people for each night setting a world record for the biggest paying audience ever at the time. It was later broadcast in the United States on MTV as "Queen: Live in Rio".[7]
  • Iron Maiden was the only non-Brazilian act to play just one concert at the festival (on its opening night, headlined by Queen), due to other bookings, while every other international act performed twice. During the song "Revelations", lead singer Bruce Dickinson hit himself accidentally with a guitar and cut his eyebrow. Dickinson continued to sing in spite of heavy bleeding.[8] They performed in front of a crowd of 500,000 people.
  • The Go-Go's broke up after their two Rock in Rio performances, (headlined by Queen and Rod Stewart) though they would later reunite in the 1990s. The two Rock in Rio shows were the debut and swansong for short-tenured Go-Go's member Paula Jean Brown, who had replaced Jane Wiedlin. (Wiedlin would return to the reunited 1990s lineup.)
  • Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth, at the time Talking Heads drummer and bass player, respectively, took part at the B-52's concerts. They joined the band from the third song on and played along with them for the remainder of the performance.
  • The 20 January appearance of the B-52's would turn out to be their last with guitarist Ricky Wilson, who died from AIDS in October of that year as the band was finishing their next album.
  • Initially, Def Leppard was scheduled to play at the festival. However, they dropped out about two months before the event, due to delays on the recording process of the album Hysteria. Eleven days before the date Def Leppard would have played at the festival, drummer Rick Allen suffered an accident that cost him his left arm. They were replaced by Whitesnake, which happened to be the last touring date for the supporting Slide It In album tour.

Rock in Rio 2 (1991)

edit

The second edition was held from 18–27 January 1991 at the Maracanã stadium. Headliners were Guns N' Roses, Prince and George Michael, each being top billed for two of the event's nine nights. INXS, New Kids on the Block and A-ha also had top billing, for one night each. The third night, headlined by Guns N' Roses, attracted more than 100.000 people to the stadium, the biggest audience of the nine-day event.[9][10] A-ha broke the record for largest paying attendance at a concert with 198,000 fans in attendance.[11] Full list of artists who performed at Rock in Rio 2:

Guns N' Roses's 20 January concert was their first ever with then new drummer Matt Sorum and keyboard player Dizzy Reed. George Michael's second concert, on 27 January, the festival's closing day, featured his ex-Wham! partner Andrew Ridgeley, who joined Michael for a few songs at the encore.

Rock in Rio 3 (2001)

edit

The third Rock in Rio festival took place in 2001. Its seven nights were headlined, respectively, by Sting, R.E.M., Guns N' Roses, 'N Sync, Iron Maiden, Neil Young and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Once O Rappa complained about their assigned time, as the contract predicted a night concert that wound up scheduled for 6:30 PM while the lesser known in the country Deftones remained in the evening, they were expelled, and five other Brazilian bands, Jota Quest, Raimundos, Charlie Brown Jr., Skank and Cidade Negra, withdrew from the festival in protest.[12]

Iron Maiden released their set as Rock in Rio. Profits from the sale of the album were donated to the Clive Burr fund, helping their former drummer pay mounting medical bills for his multiple sclerosis.[13]

A notable appearance at Rock in Rio 3 was that of American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, their first large show since 1993, with a new line-up featuring vocalist Axl Rose, guitarists Buckethead, Robin Finck & Paul Tobias, bassist Tommy Stinson, drummer Brain and keyboardists Dizzy Reed & Chris Pitman.[14]

Carlinhos Brown, the opening act on the day Guns N' Roses performed, was attacked by water bottles throughout his performance.[15] Bassist Nick Oliveri of Queens of the Stone Age performed nude for part of their set and was arrested for indecent exposure after the concert, being released soon after.[16]

Full list of artists who performed at Rock in Rio 3:

Rock in Rio 4 (2011)

edit
 
The Palco Mundo (World Stage) at the Rock in Rio 4
 
The Rock Street at the Rock in Rio 4

The fourth edition of Rock in Rio, back to its origins, was held on 23, 24, 25, 29 and 30 September, and 1 and 2 October 2011, at an area (pt) to be built next to the old City of Rock – which is currently the site of the Olympic Village of the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Three different stages were employed, with the headlining concerts at the Palco Mundo (World Stage), the secondary ones in Palco Sunset (Sunset Stage), and DJs playing at a specialized stage for electronic music. The closing acts, Guns N' Roses and System of a Down, entered following a poll on the festival's website.[17] Maroon 5 was a last hour addition, following Jay-Z leaving for personal reasons.

Full list of artists who performed at Rock in Rio 4:[18][19]

Rock in Rio 5 (2013)

edit

Rock in Rio 5 was held in September 2013. The headline acts, chronologically, were: Beyoncé,[20][21] Muse, Justin Timberlake, Metallica, Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen and Iron Maiden.[22]

Rock in Rio 6 (2015)

edit

The sixth Brazilian edition was held from 18 to 27 September 2015 at the City of Rock. The headliners were Queen + Adam Lambert, Metallica, Rod Stewart, Elton John, System of a Down, Slipknot, Rihanna and Katy Perry.

Rock in Rio 7 (2017)

edit

The seventh Brazilian edition was held in the City of Rock from 15 to 24 September 2017. The headliners were Maroon 5, Justin Timberlake, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Guns N' Roses, The Who, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Singer Lady Gaga was scheduled to perform on 15 September, but had to cancel 24 hours before due to fibromyalgia. Maroon 5 performed a second concert due to her absence. Shawn Mendes and 5 Seconds of Summer also performed.

World Stage
15 September (Friday) 16 September (Saturday) 17 September (Sunday) 21 September (Thursday)

Maroon 5
00:25
5 Seconds of Summer
22:35
Pet Shop Boys
21:05
Ivete Sangalo
19:00

Maroon 5
00:25
Fergie
22:35
Shawn Mendes
21:12
Skank
19:00

Justin Timberlake
00:25
Alicia Keys
22:35
Walk the Moon
21:05
Frejat
19:00

Aerosmith
00:25
Def Leppard
22:35
Fall Out Boy
21:03
Scalene
19:00

22 September (Friday) 23 September (Saturday) 24 September (Sunday)

Bon Jovi
00:25
Tears for Fears
22:35
Alter Bridge
21:00
Jota Quest
19:00

Guns N' Roses
00:25
The Who
22:35
Incubus
21:05
Titãs
18:58

Red Hot Chili Peppers
00:25
Thirty Seconds to Mars
22:35
The Offspring
21:07
Capital Inicial
19:00

Rock in Rio 8 (2019)

edit

The eight Brazilian edition was held from 27 September to 6 October 2019. It marked the first performance of singer Pink in Latin America

World Stage
27 September (Friday) 28 September (Saturday) 29 September (Sunday) 3 October (Thursday) 4 October (Friday) 5 October (Saturday) 6 October (Sunday)

Drake
Ellie Goulding
Bebe Rexha
Alok

Foo Fighters
Weezer
Tenacious D
CPM 22 + Raimundos Whitesnake

Bon Jovi
Dave Matthews Band
Goo Goo Dolls
Ivete Sangalo

Red Hot Chili Peppers
Panic! at the Disco
Nile Rodgers & Chic
Capital Inicial

Iron Maiden
Scorpions
Helloween
Sepultura

P!nk
The Black Eyed Peas
H.E.R.
Anitta

Muse
Imagine Dragons
Nickelback
Os Paralamas do Sucesso

Rock in Rio 9 (2022)

edit

The ninth edition of the Rock in Rio in Brazil took place between 2–11 September 2022.[23]

World Stage
2 September (Friday) 3 September (Saturday) 4 September (Sunday) 8 September (Thursday) 9 September (Friday) 10 September (Saturday) 11 September (Sunday)

Iron Maiden
Dream Theater
Gojira
Sepultura + Brazilian Symphony Orchestra

Post Malone
Marshmello
Jason Derulo
Alok

Justin Bieber
Demi Lovato
Iza
Jota Quest

Guns N' Roses
Måneskin
The Offspring
CPM 22

Green Day
Fall Out Boy
Billy Idol
Capital Inicial

Coldplay
Camila Cabello
Bastille
Djavan

Dua Lipa
Megan Thee Stallion
Rita Ora
Ivete Sangalo

Lisbon, Portugal, and Madrid, Spain

edit

Rock in Rio Lisboa (2004)

edit

After the huge success of Rock in Rio 3 in Brazil, Roberta Medina decided to organize a festival of the same stature in Lisbon. The decision to maintain the name Rock in Rio was controversial, and detractors of the idea in Brazil started calling it Rock in Rio Tejo,[24][25] after the Tagus river (rio Tejo, in Portuguese) which runs through the Portuguese capital.

The first edition of Rock in Rio Lisboa, as the festival was officially called, took place in 2004. Although the festival had a slight change of name, it kept the same structure as the Brazilian editions. An entire City of Rock, with an area of over 260,000 audience was erected at the Bela Vista park, with a large centre stage and several tents where different artists would perform, simultaneously.

Full list of artists who performed at Rock in Rio Lisboa:

 
Roger Waters in Rock in Rio Lisbon

Rock in Rio Lisboa 2 (2006)

edit

The second edition of Rock in Rio Lisboa was held in 2006, on 26/27 May and 2/3/4 June.

Rock in Rio Lisboa & Madrid (2008)

edit

The third edition of Rock in Rio took place in Lisbon, Portugal, on 30 May 31 and 1 June and 5–6. The dates for Arganda del Rey, Madrid, were 27 June 28 and 4–6 July.

Rock in Rio Lisboa 3

edit

30 May

31 May

1 June

5 June

6 June

Rock in Rio Madrid

edit

27 June

28 June

4 July

5 July

6 July

Rock in Rio Lisboa & Madrid (2010)

edit

Rock in Rio Lisboa 4[26]

edit

21 May / 82.000

22 May / 45.000

27 May / 85.000

29 May / 88.000

30 May / 38.000

Rock in Rio Madrid 2[27]

edit

4 June / 51.000

5 June / 90.000

6 June / 40.000

11 June / 30.000

14 June / 48.000

Rock in Rio Lisboa & Madrid (2012)

edit

Rock in Rio Lisboa 5[26][28]

edit
  • 5/25 Friday
  • 5/26 Saturday
  • 6/1 Friday
    • Palco Mundo: Lenny Kravitz, Maroon 5, Ivete Sangalo, Expensive Soul
    • Palco Sunset: Boss Ac & Zé Ricardo + Paula Lima, Orelha Negra + Hyldon + Kassin, Black Mamba & Tiago Bettencourt
    • Eletrónica Heineken: Jamie Jones, Maceo Plex, Dyed Soundorom, Kings of Swingers (Renato Rathier + Mau Mau), Magazino, José Belo + Zé Salvador, MC Johnny Def
    • Rock Street:
  • 6/2 Saturday
    • Palco Mundo: Stevie Wonder, Bryan Adams, Joss Stone, The Gift
    • Palco Sunset: Luis Represas & Joao Gil & Jorge Palma, Amor Electro & Moska, Ana Free + The Monomes
    • Eletrónica Heineken: Masters at Work (Louie Vega + Kenny Dope Gonzales), The Martinez Brothers, JohnWaynes Live DJ, Miguel Rendeiro, DJ Poppy, MC Johnny Def
    • Rock Street:
  • 6/3 Sunday

Rock in Rio Madrid 3[29][30]

edit

Rock in Rio Lisboa 6 (2014)

edit
World Stage[32]
25 May (Sunday) 29 May (Thursday) 30 May (Friday) 31 May (Saturday) 1 June (Sunday)

Ivete Sangalo
00:00
Robbie Williams
22:00
Paloma Faith
20:30
Boss AC & Aurea
19:00

The Rolling Stones
23:45
Gary Clark, Jr.
22:00
Xutos & Pontapés
20:30
Rui Veloso with Lenine & Angélique Kidjo
19:00

Steve Aoki
00:30
Linkin Park
22:30
Queens of the Stone Age
20:45
Capital Inicial
19:00

Arcade Fire
23:55
Lorde
22:00
Ed Sheeran
20:30
tribute to António Variações
19:00

Justin Timberlake
23:45
Jessie J
22:00
Mac Miller
20:15
João Pedro Pais & Jorge Palma
18:45
Kika
17:30

Rock in Rio Lisboa 7 (2016)

edit
World Stage[32]
19 May (Thursday) 20 May (Friday) 27 May (Friday) 28 May (Saturday) 29 May (Sunday)

Bruce Springsteen
23:45
Xutos & Pontapés
22:00
Stereophonics
20:30
Rock in Rio - the Musical
19:00

Queen + Adam Lambert
23:45
Mika
22:00
Fergie
20:30
Rock in Rio - The Musical
19:00

Hollywood Vampires
23:45
Korn
22:00
Rival Sons
20:30
Rock in Rio - The Musical
19:00

Maroon 5
23:45
Ivete Sangalo
22:00
D.A.M.A & Gabriel, o Pensador
20:30
Rock in Rio the Musical
19:00

Avicii
22:45
Ivete Sangalo (replaced Ariana Grande)
21:00
Ariana Grande (cancelled)
21:00
Charlie Puth
19:30
Rock in Rio - O Musical
18:00

Rock in Rio Lisboa 8 (2018)

edit
World Stage[33]
23 June (Saturday) 24 June (Sunday) 29 June (Friday) 30 June (Saturday)

Muse
Bastille
Haim
Diogo Piçarra

Bruno Mars
Demi Lovato
Anitta
Agir

The Killers
The Chemical Brothers
Xutos & Pontapés
James

Katy Perry
Jessie J
Ivete Sangalo
Hailee Steinfeld

24 June sold out almost three months prior to the festival.[34]

Rock in Rio Lisboa 9 (2022)

edit

The festival was originally set to take place in June 2020, but was postponed to 2021 and again to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[35]

World Stage
18 June (Saturday) 19 June (Sunday) 25 June (Saturday) 26 June (Sunday)
Muse Black Eyed Peas Duran Duran Post Malone
The National Ellie Goulding A-HA Anitta
Liam Gallagher Ivete Sangalo UB40 Ali Campbell Jason Derulo
Xutos & Pontapés David Carreira Bush HMB

Las Vegas

edit

Rock in Rio USA (2015)

edit

"Rock in Rio USA" was the first North American edition of the festival, being held in Las Vegas on 8, 9, 15 and 16 May 2015. The festival took place on two weekends, oriented towards rock and pop music. Rock Weekend took place on 8 and 9 May, and Pop Weekend took place on 15 and 16 May. It took place in the City of Rock (Las Vegas), located north of the Las Vegas Strip.

Live broadcasts

edit

The TV Globo Networks broadcast selected Rock in Rio concerts in Brazil, with cable affiliate Multishow broadcasting live concerts. In Nigeria, TNT and A&E broadcasts the festival live.

In Portugal, Rock in Rio Lisboa is broadcast by SIC Radical.

See also

edit

References

edit

Footnotes

edit
  1. ^ Originally set for 2020, but was postponed one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was "postponed" (sic) once again in 2021, this time to 2022, due to the same reason.[5]

Citations

edit
  1. ^ "Roberta Medina: The Business of Rock in Rio". The Rio Times. 20 August 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Rock Madness Sweeps Rio". ABC News. 11 January 2001. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  3. ^ "Live Nation Acquires Rock in Rio Festival". Billboard. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  4. ^ "Live Nation Acquires Rock in Rio Festival". Variety. 2 May 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  5. ^ "Festival Rock in Rio adiado para 2022". www.jn.pt.
  6. ^ "Jornal do Brasil – Rock in Rio 2011 – Rock in Rio divulga balanço geral de mega evento". Jb.com.br. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  7. ^ Queen: Rock in Rio Boston Globe. Retrieved 2 June 2011
  8. ^ "Iron Maiden – Revelations". Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2010 – via YouTube.
  9. ^ "Jornal do Brasil - Google News Archive Search". 28 January 1991. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  10. ^ "Jornal do Brasil - Google News Archive Search". 21 January 1991. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  11. ^ "Rock in Rio – Informações oficiais em tempo real. Novidades, line-up e muito mais".
  12. ^ do Vale, Israel (2000-10-31). "Bandas nacionais deixam Rock in Rio 3". Folha de S.Paulo.
  13. ^ "Iron Maiden, Rock In Rio (EMI) *****". 30 May 2002. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  14. ^ Hotten, Jon (January 2002). "Mad bad and dangerous to know?". Classic Rock #36. p. 84.
  15. ^ "Rock in Rio: Carlinhos Brown undergoes the first scandal in the festival".
  16. ^ "Baixista do QOTSA que ficou nu toma advertência da Justiça e é liberado". Folha de S. Paulo. 19 January 2001. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  17. ^ "Escolhido por voto popular, System of a Down entra na programação do Rock In Rio 2011 – 06/05/2011 – UOL Música – Da Redação". Musica.uol.com.br. Archived from the original on 19 May 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  18. ^ "Rock in Rio volta ao Brasil com mais de 100 bandas na programação – Música – iG". Ultimosegundo.ig.com.br. 16 August 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  19. ^ "Rock in Rio - Metallica, Sepultura e Angra confirmados". www.rockinrio.com.br. Archived from the original on 12 November 2010.
  20. ^ "Beyoncé será a atração principal da noite de abertura do Rock in Rio 2013". O Globo. 3 February 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  21. ^ "Beyoncé, bem-vinda ao Rock in Rio! | Rock in Rio Brasil". Rockinrio.com.br. Archived from the original on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  22. ^ "Bruce Springsteen, Metallica and Iron Maiden to headline Rock In Rio 2013 - NME". NME. 17 October 2012.
  23. ^ "Os gigantes do metal e dois ícones brasileiros confirmados no Palco Mundo". RockinRio.com. 19 August 2021.
  24. ^ "Coluna Ialdo Belo". Planetanews.com. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  25. ^ "::Peixe na rede: Rock in Rio? Só se for Rio Tejo". Peixenarede.blogspot.com. 22 February 1999. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  26. ^ a b "Rock in Rio-Lisboa 2012". rockinrio-lisboa.sapo.pt. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013.
  27. ^ "Rock in Rio Lisboa". Rockinriomadrid.es. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  28. ^ "Rock in Rio-Lisboa 2012". rockinriolisboa.sapo.pt. Archived from the original on 15 May 2012.
  29. ^ "Rock in Rio Lisboa". Rockinriomadrid.es. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  30. ^ "Rock in Rio Madrid 2012". www.rockinriomadrid.es. Archived from the original on 9 April 2012.
  31. ^ "Rock in Rio Madrid 2012". www.rockinriomadrid.es. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012.
  32. ^ a b "Cartaz". rockinriolisboa.sapo.pt. [dead link]
  33. ^ "Rock In Rio Lisboa 2018 Line-Up". Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  34. ^ Group, Global Media (9 April 2018). "Esgotado dia de Bruno Mars e Demi Lovato no Rock in Rio". jn.pt. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  35. ^ "Rock in Rio Lisboa announces new dates for 2021 | News". 3 April 2020.
edit

  Media related to Rock in Rio at Wikimedia Commons