By Chesney Hearst, Senior Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Frustrated by international indie bands and musicians not stopping in Rio de Janeiro during their tours of Brazil and South America, six friends set out to change things in 2010. Five years and over eighty successful shows later, they will celebrate the fifth anniversary of Queremos (We Want), the crowdfunded kick-starter they created, with a party including a live performance by Los Angeles-based duo Rhye and over a dozen DJs spinning in Saúde’s Sacadura 154 on Thursday, November 12th.
Knowing that booking agents would often bypass Rio due to fears of low attendance, friends and indie fans Bruno Natal, Tiago Lins, Pedro Seiler, Felipe Continentino, Pedro Garcia and Lucas Bori created a new and, at the time, unique way to schedule shows.
The startup, which began as Cariocas Empolgados (Excited Cariocas), worked by pre-selling tickets or units to possible shows to ensure both fan interest and turnout and that the fees and costs of the artists, the venues and all parties involved would be covered before the concerts were booked.
“We knew there was a public out there because we were that audience too,” Bruno Natal, said in an interview. “There were some cool shows but they were poorly marketed and tickets were too expensive. As big fans of live music ourselves, we have the chance to organize the event in such a way as we would like it to be – punctuality, for instance… no more gigs which start at 1AM on a Monday night!”
The first act Queremos helped bring to the city was Swedish indie pop group Miike Snow in September 2010. Scottish band Belle and Sebastian arrived two months later and during the five years that followed, the project helped to bring bands including Two Door Cinema Club, LCD Soundsystem, The National, Darwin Deez, Metronomy, The Kills, Warpaint, MØ, Jungle, Cut Copy, Feist, Yo La Tengo, Jagwar Ma, Au Revoir Simone, Iron and Wine, and Chet Faker among many others. The most recent shows were American band Spoon on October 15th and the return of Belle and Sebastian on October 16th.
Following the initial success of the project, Queremos began to include festivals in 2011 and later began branching out to work with other venues in Brazilian cities including Porto Alegre, Belo Horizonte, São Paulo, Curitiba, Brasília, and Fortaleza. In 2012, Queremos spread even further out, launching the platform retitled, WeDemand, in New York, New York.
“Our goal with this office is to seek business partnerships in the US, either with agencies, record companies, producers or artists,” Queremos co-founder Pedro Seiler recently told O Globo. “It also helps facilitate tours, including markets such as Chile and Argentina.”
For their fifth anniversary party in Rio de Janeiro, Queremos will host a live performance by Los Angeles-based duo Rhye, consisting of Canadian singer Milosh and Danish instrumentalist Robin Hannibal. Additionally during the night, DJs and performers will include Nepal, Zeh Pretim, Zedoroque, João Brasil, Omulu, Leo Justi, Marcelinho da Lua, Satta, Cadinho, Rapha Lima, Yugo, Nado Leal, Calbuque, Cix & Yasmin, Filipe Raposo, Pino, Andrei Yurievitch, Fernando Schlaepfer, Rodrigo Esper, Thiago Burgos, Bruno Natal, Pedro Seiler, and Tomás Pinheiro.
Future Queremos shows in Rio de Janeiro include Explosions in the Sky at Circo Voador on November 19th; Hot Chip at Sacadura 154 on November 27th and The Chemical Brothers at Vivo Rio on November 29th.
What: Queremos 5 Anos A Festa (Queremos Fifth Anniversary Party)
When: Thursday, November 12th, 8PM
Where: Sacadura 154, Rua Sacadura Cabral, 154 – Saúde.
Entrance: R$100 – R$200