Há algo que nos faz girar

: sabemos o que é?: festival Rock Nordeste: história, contexto regional e potencialidades

Abstract

Music festivals are a type of event whose proliferation throughout the territory, multiplicity of initiatives and variety of typologies attest to their relevance, pertinence and popularity within the scope of local cultural policies. In this context, it is important to problematize the role that medium-sized music festivals can play in the capitalization of territories and their communities, and to do so, it is necessary to carry out not only a survey but also a study, contextualization and dissection of this type of event. By setting out to study the case of the Festival Rock Nordeste, we intend to create a narrative around it, show a lesser-known side and, above all, launch new paths, possibilities and ambitions for its realization. As methodological resources, we support our research in the collection of data and analysis (qualitative and quantitative) of documentary sources (academic works, articles, newspaper publications, among others) using repositories such as Veritati, Scopus, RCAAP, and Research Gate. A literature review was also carried out, combining elements of a documentary/official nature and of an academic nature. We conducted two interviews: one semi-structured and the other structured, with individuals whose careers are or have been directly or indirectly related to Rock Nordeste. As fieldwork, we visited several locations in Vila Real on several occasions in order to reconstruct a past that was being forgotten. These interactions were recorded in the form of a diary. We believe that medium-sized music festivals have a story to tell and only by looking at them, searching and questioning can we discover their contribution to the development of awareness, demand, infrastructures and cultural ecosystems. To conclude, these events and, in a broader sense, cultural policies, when viewed together with different sectoral areas, represent an opportunity to leverage territories, communities and identities, impacting festivals both individuals and their contexts beyond the mere sensory experience. In the case of the Festival Rock Nordeste, we note that there are reflections, attitudes and measures that can be taken in order to holistically conceive it as a structuring action in the territory.

Date of Award	11 Sept 2025
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Laura Castro (Supervisor)