Zé Ricardo explains K-pop and Jamiroquai day at Rock in Rio and admits strategy for 'parents not to suffer'

Zé Ricardo talks about a strategy for 'parents not to suffer' on a young day at Rock in Rio
"Rock in Rio is done surgically". Thus, Zé Ricardo summarized the entire curation process for putting together and choosing the programming on the festival stages.
"Everything has a narrative, it has a subliminal message behind it", stated the Artistic Vice President of Rock World (the company that created, organizes and produces Rock in Rio and The Town) during an interview with the Brazilian press at Rock in Rio Lisbon.
"Sometimes we manage to reach our goal, sometimes we get close, sometimes we try. But the idea is always to propose." Santo/g1
In 2026, one of these stage plans that combines the proposed factor with surgical engineering in the curation involves September 11th.
On this date, the headliners of the Mundo and Sunset stages, respectively, are Stray Kids and Jamiroquai. Although curious, the choice of artists from such different genres was not by chance.
And it involves two points. The first is about a proposal to bring different experiences to the two main stages of the festival.
"On this day, Sunset is built to have a type of dialogue dedicated to Soul Music. And, Palco Mundo, to have a dialogue more focused on K-pop. And also with the presence of Alok, who is an artist who enchants any type of audience. He brings them closer", explains Zé.
The second point involves the "family" factor. And it came with learning from another edition: the one in 2024, when Rock in Rio brought Travis Scott.
"When I did a trap night, the parents really suffered a little. They were left without a safe haven. Then I repeated Travis Scott in The Town because of the immense demand he had. And then I put Lauryn Hill in The One, it was a joy."
"Parents stopped saying: 'Wow, I'm going to have to take my son to see Travis' and said: 'Hey, son, don't you want to go see Travis, I want to see Lauryn Hill'."
"So, this dialogue also exists. We always try to bring things that they can embrace. Especially when we are talking to a teenage team."
Travis Scott performs at Rock in Rio 2024
Stephanie Rodrigues/g1
Surprise with sold out tickets
Despite the debut of K-pop at the festival, the first dates that had sold out tickets for this edition were the days of Calvin Harris and Maroon 5.
"Honestly speaking, we take a risk at a festival like Rock in Rio and that gives me a lot of butterflies", says Zé.
"It was a surprise, but it was also a message from the public: 'Okay, we'll buy your idea'", says Zé.
"And seeing a Stray Kids already on its way to selling out, too, is: 'We buy your idea. It's there. Great. We complain, but we go'. You know that meme that says: 'I'll go, but I'll keep complaining'. That's it." dreams
Adele
Reuters
In addition to the courage, which Zé says he has to bring new proposals, he also keeps his dream list of artists that he would like to bring to Rock in Rio.
"There are so many people. Adele, Beyoncé, Rihanna... There are a lot of people. But at least this top 3, they are artists that we really want to bring, that we fight hard and that also want to play at the festival, but that requires a lot of logistics."
Beyoncé and Rihanna would not be presentations unprecedented at the festival, as the first performed at the event in 2013, while the second was at the festival in 2015.
"Adele is still missing. But Adele, I don't know if she wants to," says Zé, who still dreams of Paul McCartney's presence.
"He's a guy we always dreamed of bringing and who always stays close for days, for months. We've already done it with him in Lisbon, but not in Brazil yet."
Rock in Rio Lisboa 2026
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Source: G1