The band Bala Quero, which recently won the Latin Grammy in the category Best Pop Album in Portuguese, and the singer Céu withdrew from the opening of Erykah Badu’s show at the Nomade Festival in São Paulo on January 22, 2023 after criticism of the event not hiring black singers for the American’s opening performance.
A reference in R&B, soul and black music, Erykah was confirmed yesterday at the festival to be held at the Memorial da América Latina next year. In addition to the US artist, Brazilian artists have also been announced in the event’s lineup. Including Gilsons, Bala Desire and singer Céu.
However, what ended up attracting attention and having a negative impact on social media was the choice of mainly white Brazilian artists to participate in the festival.
Singer Xenia França also spoke about the lineup of the event. “And surprisingly, the show’s opening lineup has also been announced. Completely detached from the present moment, since this artist is an institution of black world culture and everyone knows that she is in dialogue with several black music artists from Brazil,” she began.
In the outburst, the singer said the industry really isn’t focused on trying to change the music scene. “The reality is that few people are genuinely interested in making a change. Even with some progress. There are few people who truly understand and are connected to the rebirth of black contemporary art in Brazil. (…) What I observe is addicted to the market making the same decisions as always: ignoring, not to say erasing, black artists from Brazil, especially women,” he said.
Faced with this, the band that won “Best Pop Album in Portuguese” withdrew from performing at the event, announcing the decision in a statement on their social networks.
“Yesterday we were announced as one of the opening bands for Erykah Badu’s concert in São Paulo. We accepted the invitation before we knew exactly who the artists would be in the lineup and the festival’s overall program. As a band, we always strive to be that close to the audience, but it’s also necessary for the audience to be close to a whole vibrant scene that’s often on the fringes of that curatorial gaze,” the group informed.
The band then wrote that they are waiting with the expectation that the names of black artists will be confirmed in the music festival’s lineup.
“We hope to be replaced by many of the talents of black Brazilian music, someone who will speak directly to Badu’s legacy. There are many artists with more potential to take this place than we do,” the band said.
In addition, Bala Quero hopes other festivals will understand the importance of casting artists who represent Brazil. The band also indicated that they are waiting for the manifestation of those responsible for the festival.
“And that all festivals in Brazil recognize the urgent need to build lineups that address issues of representativeness and respect the history and contexts in which each artistic manifestation takes place. There are countless ways brilliant artists put the schedules together and we disagree with their absence. We hope that the festival will speak out and make more changes than necessary,” he concluded.
Singer Céu published a story with a post about the festival and wrote: “Participation canceled”.
The Nômade festival also commented on the cancellations of artists and emphasized that it is now focused on restating the lineup of the event.
“Yesterday was a day of reflection and sharing with partners, friends and colleagues, but above all a day of listening! We have closely followed all your positions that make up the platform of Mundo Nômade In this sense, in consultation with our partner artists, we have reformulated Nômade Presentes Erykah Badu, which will take place on January 22, 2023, taking the date of the artists already announced, who already were with us on other occasions is stored. for the next nomad moment” the festival began.
The organizers continued the statement, highlighting the good fortune of bringing the American singer to Brazil, in addition to analyzing which artists will make up the program of the event and which will be announced soon.
“Our team is very grateful and honored to bring the legendary Erykah Badu to São Paulo next year and we look forward to welcoming you to a remarkable day of celebration and good energy. For this day we will bring the power of unique women that we admire from the Brazilian scene, which will be released very soon,” he stressed.
“We really appreciate the affection from our audience and look forward to our next moments together in December this year, January and May next year. We’re always here, as a pluralistic, diverse platform, always striving to expand the music scene. See you soon,” concluded the festival.