Paradise Lives Up To Its Name

Although the job of booking the festival appears to be something Portuguese promoters use to play pass the parcel, Paredes de Coura (“Paradise On Earth”) lived up to its name and pulled the usual crowd of about 20,000 per day.

Although the last few years have seen several promoters seemingly taking turns to source the talent, the festival that takes its name from the local region seems immune to the apparent turmoil going on behind the scenes.

The festival, which is owned by Ritmos and sited on a picturesque, 25,000-capacity natural amphitheatre at a park midway between Oporto and the Spanish city of Viga, was for a long time booked by Musica No Coracao. But that all changed in 2005.

After eight years of putting the bill together, Musica was ousted and replaced by a combination of Tournee and Portoeventos. Ritmos said it felt Musica had too many of its own festivals to book to give any sort of priority to Paredes.

The arrangement lasted three years but since 2008 it’s been booked by Everything Is New, which was formed by Alvaro Covoes, Nuno Vieira and Artur Peixoto – who’d all left Musica in 2007.

Viera says that apart from people enjoying the site, which also could be described as Paradise On Earth, the festival has also attracted a loyal regular crowd that is happy to buy tickets before the line-up is announced.

This year’s Paredes De Coura July 28-31 delivered a bill that included The Prodigy, Klaxons, White Lies, The Specials, The Courteeners, Cosmo Jarvis, The Dandy Warhols, and Caribou.