According to the festival director, João Carvalho, in this edition, which runs until Saturday, “the big news is the repetition”.
“It’s the repetition of a successful formula, whether in the hiring of artists, the festival’s musical curation, or the conditions”, said João Carvalho, in statements to Lusa.
“Once again, we have a Paredes de Coura line-up featuring big names such as Cat Power, Fontaines D.C., Killer Mike, Sampha, André 3000, and then some great new acts such as Nourished by Time, Destroy Boys, Glass Beams and Sextile,” highlighted João Carvalho.
The list of artists and bands also includes Idles, Girl in Red, The Jesus And The Mary Chain, Slowdive, Slow J, Baxter Dury, Gilsons, Nouvelle Vague, Allah-Las, Branko, Wolf Manhattan and Conferência Inferno, among others.
The shows will be divided between three stages, in the area next to the Taboão River Beach: a main stage, a secondary stage, “which turns into an after-hours stage after 2:00 am”, and the Jazz na Relva stage.
According to João Carvalho, the organisation has invested “a lot in the conditions” it offers to the public.
“It is a festival of sensibilities, which heals people, and tries to be as caring and tender as possible with the people who visit us,” he said.
For this reason, “once again” new camping areas have been created – “there is a luxury glamping site that has tripled in size compared to last year”, now “all the bathrooms are connected to the sewage system”, and there are also “new food areas”.
“We have this problem because there are no hotels in Paredes de Coura, so we try to create the best conditions within our limitations”, said the person in charge.
The festival, which many call “couraíso”, has a maximum capacity of 25 thousand people per day and this year the expectation is that it will be full for all four days.
The easiest way to get to the festival by public transport is by bus from Rede Expressos.
Those who choose to take a car should use the A3 motorway, which connects Porto to Valença, as a reference point. “Now Paredes de Coura is just five minutes away from the motorway exit, and that’s not an exaggeration, it’s actually five minutes. Which is fantastic for those coming from Porto, Lisbon and the Algarve,” stressed João Carvalho.
According to the festival organisers, there are car parks in the town centre, around 900 metres from the venue.
A four-day Vodafone Paredes de Coura pass costs 120 euros. There are also daily tickets, which cost 60 euros.