Rock NO Rio Febras went from a local party to a national festival route

At 10:00 pm the venue was practically full - the organization made 20 thousand free passes available for the two days of the festival - to hear the headliner of the night: José Pinhal - Post Mortem Experience, who took the Febras stage at 10:10 pm: "Thank you very much Briteiros, Thank you very much Rock NO Rio Febras", were the first words of the tribute band's vocalist.

The small music festival, which takes place on the banks of the Febras River, in the municipality of Guimarães, district of Braga, reached national dimensions in 2023, after Rock in Rio Lisboa notified the then called Rock in Rio Febras to change its name, alleging improper use of the brand and unfair competition, becoming Rock NO Rio Febras.

"In the second edition, there was the controversy with Rock in Rio Lisbon, and that catapulted us. We became known nationally and internationally. But in that edition, we only managed to get 5,000 tickets because the venue didn't have the capacity to accommodate more," Vasco Matos, one of the festival's driving forces and president of Casa do Povo de Briteiros, explained to Lusa news agency.

This growth of the festival, which maintains the social nature of the first edition, as the proceeds go to the local Casa do Povo, meant that the organization had to look for a venue with a different capacity, but always along the banks of the Febras River.

"We felt the need to move the venue to this new site last year. And this year we've expanded the size of the venue, going from one to two days of festival. This year we have a motorhome park and a campsite, which are in different locations. It's a huge difference compared to previous editions, especially the first one, which was a local festival for around 300 people," recalls Vasco Matos.

In a part of the grounds, on dirt and covered by trees, there is an area with dozens of wooden tables for food and drinks. There are several booths of well-known brands on display, dozens of drinks stands, and even a hair salon and tattoo studios.

This year the organization made available 20,000 passes, valid for both days, which "have been completely sold out" for weeks, despite strong demand, especially in the last two weeks.

"We've been checking the registrations for the caravan park, and we have motorhomes from all over the country. People come from every district in Portugal. And that's also interesting because people already see Febras as a well-established festival, as one that's on the national festival circuit, and we also want to participate in that and grow in that sense," revealed Vasco Matos.

According to the president of Casa do Povo de Briteiros, the space "has potential to grow", but this year, the conditions to receive festival-goers safely and with all the conditions, "only" allowed 20 thousand entries.

"There's a huge immigrant community that comes here during these two days, they plan their holidays around the date of Rock NO Rio Febras, there are people who come from abroad, we have people who tell us that they have friends from Switzerland, England, Sweden, Ireland, England. It's incredible," says Vasco Matos, who is proud of the progress he has made over the last four years.

The Febras "machine" relies on volunteers who volunteer to work before, during, and after the festival. Currently, there are around 200 volunteers working, many laid off by their employers so they could help out at Febras.

"That's the most incredible part of this festival. Admission is still free, and food and drinks are still perfectly affordable. Everyone who works at Febras is part of our community, completely selfless," says Vasco Matos.

Read Also: Rock NO Rio Febras in Guimarães opens its doors for a two-day festival