The Children of the Revolution, the Nation’s Future: Understanding the Multigenerational Audience of the Rock in Rio Music Festival

Abstract

This article presents the results of a two-year research project on the Brazilian music festival Rock in Rio. The research consists of an analysis of the particular circumstances that led to the formation of the festival’s multigenerational audience. Rock in Rio was held for the first time in 1985, soon after the end of the military dictatorship in Brazil, which lasted for more than 20 years (1964–1985). Meanwhile, Brazilian youth cultures were experiencing the emergence of a new local rock music scene that highlighted some of the country’s most relevant social and political issues at that time. Since then, the festival’s various editions, held in its hometown of Rio de Janeiro, have brought together wide audiences from different age groups.