In the 2022 edition of the biggest music festival in Latin America, female participation was present on and off the stage. From spaces created especially for the praise of women in music, such as the “She Rocks” podcast in partnership with TIM, to the organization of the event, which is 65% made by women.
In the first episode of the podcast, Roberta Medina, the producer of the event, said that because men mostly dominate the music world, an event of the size of Rock in Rio has a responsibility to bring great female artists to the stage and speak up for social causes, justifying the festival’s motto “Rock in Rio, for a better world”.
Here are some of the great moments of female praise in the edition:
Demi Lovato’s entirely female band
On the third day of the festival, the artist takes the stage to present her new studio album “HOLY FVCK”, where she returns to explore the punk rock genre, which is predominantly male-dominated.
Demi’s potency on stage singing songs like “Heart Attack” and “Sorry Not Sorry” in a rock version is enormous. She has often been branded as a great commercial pop artist, and sometimes not taken seriously, so this is an important twist.
In addition to this, Lovato has a fantastic band that consists only of women. The main focus was on the guitarist, Nita Strauss, a great artist who entertained the audience from start to end. The band also features Leanne Bowes (bass), Brittany Bowman (drums), and Dani McGinley (keyboard). Together, the strength of these five women showed one of the best rock attractions on the stage this year.
Brazilian artists
Iza and Ludmilla paid tribute to the great Elza Soares, a Brazilian singer who raised the flag for anti-racism and fought for the role of women, especially black women, in society. The artists stunned Rock in Rio with shows that strongly represented women’s culture and beauty.
In an emotional moment singing while her mother played the piano, Iza presented a mashup of Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry” and Gilberto Gil’s “Não, não chore mais”. The singer managed to finish the concert on the World Stage in a brilliant way by making a performance entirely focused on the black racial agenda.
Ludmilla, on the last day of the festival, brought to the Sunset Stage some funk carioca roots, which used to be marginalized in the country a few years ago. The singer showed herself in a complex way by singing other genres such as pagode, pop music, and afrobeat. With one of the most celebrated shows and worthy of a place on the main stage of the event, Ludmilla took her talent and artistic potential to another level.
Women’s Sunday
With an all-women lineup, the World Stage counted a lot of female strength on the last day of the festival. That was the biggest female presence act in the entire festival’s storyline.
In addition to the national artists who were spread across all stages of the festival, such as Lexa on the Favela Stage, Liniker and Ludmilla on the Sunset Stage, and Ivete on the Mundo stage, the festival also featured big names from the international scene such as Rita Ora and Dua Lipa.
Megan Thee Stallion was the first international artist to take the World Stage with top hits such as “Savage”, “WAP”, and “Sweetest Pie”. There was also an iconic moment when she took some people from the audience to dance with her on stage.
The headliner, Dua Lipa, delivered a show full of hits and a lot of charisma. The singer brought to the Rock in Rio stage a lot of references to the disco pop genre, which can be mentioned as a predominant style in the 70s. Also, the performance featured beautiful choreography and incredible vocals.
Showing itself as a festival that understands that it can increase the visibility of matters of great importance to our society, this year’s Rock In Rio was well aware of the place that women occupy in the music industry. And also outside of it, throughout the festival, there were support standing points where women could go if they suffered any discomfort or harassment, showing action towards the public too.
The festival’s slogan was taken by heart, and that’s clear by looking at the several incredible women performing for thousands of people, and female empowerment and safeness initiatives.
The article above was edited by Julia Bonin.
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