Features
Optimus Holds Its Own
The Portuguese version of Spain’s Primavera Sound came within a hair’s breadth of doing the 25,000 per day it did in 2013, although organisers will be pleased to have established the event inside three years.
Photo: Hugo Lima
doesn't that look like Lorde up front?
NOS Optimus Primavera Sound, to give the Porto event its full name, did 20,000 per day when first staged in 2012.
Last year saw a 25 percent increase and this year that figure was more or less matched.
Using Lisbon-based promoter Ritmos & Blues as local partner and with money from Portuguese mobile operator Optimus Telecomunicações, the festival has tried to mix international headliners with showcasing a wide range of breaking acts.
Pixies, Kendrick Lamar, Haim, The National, and Television were among the heavyweights in this year’s lineup, but the festival also has plenty of slots for national talent.
The other acts at Porto’s Parque da Cidade June 5-7 included Neutral Milk Hotel, Trentemøller. St. Vincent, Godspeed You Black Emperor, and Warpaint.