In Colombia, there had not been many festivals that go for diversity regarding music, in particular on a significant scale. Festival Estéreo Picnic came to be as the answer for all those people in Colombia that had a rather eclectic taste in music, and that would not mind seeing Pixies on the same day as Nine Inch Nails or Jack White mingling with Damian Marley or Skrillex. Since its inception in 2010, the festival has gone from a couple of good bands with a statement to a broader experience that includes anything and everything a festival should include creating the trance any participant would like to have. In three days, you can expect everything, from Colombian bands that have a solid musical proposal to everyone that wants to hear it, to a very diverse international selection of bands that include from British Pop from the nineties and South Africans bringing an interesting concept both musically and visually. Let us take a look at each day to see what you may encounter in three stages that are purposely not thematic to keep the eclecticism going on Thursday, March 10th to Saturday, March 12th, 2016.
March 10th
The first day of the festival, March 10th, comes with a bang, with a variety that would be a feast to your ears. There are three stages in which you can get through all of what the festival has to offer. The stage Huawei has several Colombian acts in its lineup for that day, starting with The Kitsch a band that mixes punk and rock; next to Albert Harmond JR, ex-guitarist of The Strokes that comes to Colombia to present his solo project. The act that follows is no other than Bad Religion that brings the punk rock from the nineties to satisfy your consciousness; the following group, Odesza, is a DJ duo straight of the United States, who perform indietronica, electropop and chillwave on every turn. Finally, to close the day, South Africans Die Antwoord will bring a mighty show for their debut with the rave-rap with whom they have become a well-known act. The second day, once again the opening act is a Colombian group called Revolver Plateado with a merged of everything rock ‘n’ roll; keeping the Latin groove going, Vicente Garcia will perform his fusion of Latin-Jazz-Soul. Continuing the rock vibe, Walk the Moon will bring the latest trend on pop-rock sound; after a funky group comes to entertain in the name of Jungle, a band that will make you move just by seeing them live; after the funk comes the electronic dancing with Duke Durmont and Zedd. For the third date at the Huawei stage takes a very tropical flavor with bands like Sultana, Nelda Peña y la BOA, Onda Vaga, Sidestepper and MNKYBSNSS all of them mixed tropical and Latin American grooves with rock, electronic music elements; to finish up the festival and the stage DJ Kygo will bring his mixes for the masses to enjoy.
March 11th
For the Pepsi music stage the first day is baptized with rock, as Electric Mistakes, EL Otro Grupo and The Joy Formidable bring guitar riffs mixed with other sounds to give audiences a very particular experience; later the mood changes towards the electronic music with Ela Minus, La Minitk del Miedo, who proclaimed themselves as the first tropical gothic project; and to end the day, the festival has A-Trak older brother of modern electronic scene it will definitely close the day with style. For the second day the alternative rock makes the starting sound with bands like Ismael Ayende, Los Pirañas, Little Jesus, Francisca Valenzuela and Christina Rosenvinge, all bands with a distinctive sound within the indie rock scene; as usual, the electronic sounds will come from the hand of Unknown_Yet, Patrick Topping, and Jamie Jones. The lineup for the third day is at the beginning more indie pop oriented with Xavier Martinex, Goli, Kanaku y El Tigre, Gabriel Garzón-Montano y Alvvays where the experiences are divided in the origins of each group; the final sounds are in charge of experimental DJ like Lunate, Nicola Cruz, and Nicolas Jaar.
March 12th
Finally, the last scenario seems to bring more known bands. However, those that are relatively unknown can make a lot of surprises for those willing to listen and experience them in full. For the first day there is little but impressive lineup with ska Colombian legends 1280 Almas with subversive lyrics and a great beat to them the promise of a good time is imminent, they are followed by Of Monsters and Men from Iceland who bring an unusual delivery on rock guitar riffs; after Tame Impala will remind you the psychedelic rock from the sixties and seventies to your ears, and the last group of the day is Mumford and Sons, a folk band with a modern touch that will bring many bearded fans together. For the second day it is characterized by flavored rock ‘n’ roll, and by flavored I mean the bands on this day have a very particular set of influence in each of their countries of origin starting with Ximena Sariñana, Oh’Laville and Alabama Shakes, the latter being a very impressive sound; the next two acts have serious recognition worldwide With Noel Gallagher and Florence + The Machine, proving that British rock ‘n’ roll scene remains active. The third and last day of the festival brings a more diverse list of acts proving that diversity is a major characteristic of the festival initiating with the reggae from Tarmac and Seeed, follow up by the Petitfellas with alternative music and the Flaming Lips with a very distinct scent of sixties psychedelia. The closing acts are rapper Snoop Dogg and electronic music duet Jack Ü proving that the samples and verse can go hand by hand just fine.
Conclusion
So, there you have it, three days, three scenarios and a lot of musical trends to follow. The festival which aims for musical diversity, moreover the “having a good time” motto will certainly try to go for it this year as well. With a price per day of $265,000 COP ($80 USD, $71 EUR) and a combo package of $4595,000 COP ($179 USD, $181 EUR) Festival Estéreo Picnic will prove once more that paid festivals that bring diversity, and an experience beyond the music realm are becoming successful in the tropical lands.
