Linda Gómez looks at what’s on and when at this year’s massive music festival
It’s nearly time for the doors to the Estéreo Picnic festival to open, and it promises to be one heck of an event, with a huge variety of musical offerings ready to delight and surprise festival-goers.
If you’re still questioning whether to go (there are still tickets by the way), or if you’re not sure which bands you want to see, here’s the schedule to whet your appetite:
Thursday March 10
The Tigo Music stage kicks off at 5.45pm with experienced Colombian rockers 1280 Almas, followed by a one-hour set from Iceland’s Of Monsters and Men.
Australia’s Tame Impala will get the crowd moving at 8.45pm, with the eagerly-anticipated performance from Mumford & Sons closing out this stage.
Meanwhile, the party gets started on the Huawei stage with The Kitsch at 5.15pm, followed by indie rocker Albert Hammond Jr. Californian punk rockers Bad Religion take to the stage at 8pm, and the night continues to crescendo with the synths of Odesza at 10pm. For what promises to be a heart attack-inducing end to the night, South Africa’s Die Antwoord will arrive to spit their lyrics at 12.30am.
Local band Electric Mistakes will be tasked with getting the motor running on the Pepsi Music stage, followed by El Otro Grupo at 6.30pm. Welsh alt-rockers The Joy Formidable perform at 7.45pm, before Ela Minus gets the beats going. With a unique and exotic offering, La MiniTK del Miedo (10.30pm) set up a great finale from Canadian DJ A-Trak
Friday March 11
You might be voiceless and slightly hungover after the first day, but the energy levels certainly won’t be dropping – it’s perhaps a good start to the proceedings, then, with the Tigo Music stage hosting the relatively relaxed solo stylings of Mexican singer-songwriter Ximera Sariñana, before local band Oh’LaVille. Hopefully by then you’ll have had time to recuperate before the famed blues rock stylings of Alabama Shakes at 8pm.
But that’s just the start, with the legend that is Noel Gallagher taking to the stage before anticipated headliner Florence + The Machine (midnight).
Related – From little picnic to Bogotá’s biggest music festival
The main bands to look out for on the Huawei stage are the UK’s Jungle, with their unique and energetic offering, as well as their compatriot DJ Duke Dumont. The stage closes with Russian-German DJ and producer Zedd at 1.45am.
Local music gets things on their way on the Pepsi Music stage, with Ismael Ayende and Los Pirañas from 4.15pm. Multi-faceted Spanish/Danish/British singer-songwriter Christina Rosenvinge performs at 9pm, with beats from Unknown_Yet at 10.30pm and Brit Patrick Topping at midnight. Jamie Jones will close out the night with a set from 1.30am.
Saturday March 12
The last day of chaos begins on the main stage with local reggae artists Tarmac as early as 3.15pm. Energetic Colombian rockers Los Petit Fellas will get the audience ready for what’s to come, with one of hip hop’s most legendary names, Snoop Dogg, delighting thousands of fans at 10.15pm. Jack Ü rounds things off at 1.15am.
The afrobeat, champeta, funk and bullerengue stylings of Nelda Piña y La Boa will no doubt get things off to a good start on the Huawei stage at 4.15pm, with legendary local band Sidestepper bringing their electronic cumbia to the crowd. Kygo closes at 11.45pm.
The Pepsi Music stage will also be busy on the final day, with the likes of Kanaku y El Tigre, Alvvays, Nicola Cruz and New Yorker Nicolas Jaar, who performs at 1am.
Tickets are still available from tuboleta.com, at $265,000 for individual days and $735,000 for all three.
By Linda Gómez