Gilsons fans flocked to the Black Cat for the Brazilian band’s first D.C. performance
Brazilians and lovers of Brazilian music packed into the Mainstage concert room at the Black Cat earlier this month to watch the award-winning trio Gilsons perform for the first time in D.C. Fans sang along to classics like the group’s 2019 smash hit “Várias Queixas,” jumped up and down to “Presente,” the electronic hip hop collaboration with BaianaSystem and Tropkillaz, and swayed side to side to the romantic lyrics of “Devagarinho.”
Formed in 2018, Gilsons consists of José, Francisco and João Gil, the respective sons and grandsons of Brazilian singer-songwriter and co-founder of the Tropicália movement, Gilberto Gil. Similarly to Tropicália that blended traditional Brazilian rhythms with rock influences, Gilsons’ discography combines samba, MPB, rap and techno to add their own stamp to genre-bending artistry.
With a 2022 Latin Grammy nomination for their debut album “Pra Gente Acordar” and two 2023 Brazilian Music Awards for best group in pop/rock and audiovisual project for their video, “Pra Gente Acordar (O Filme),” Gilsons have made a name for themselves in the Latin American music industry.
They kicked off their North American tour on June 29 in San Francisco, following up on a European concert schedule last year. At their local performance on July 12, Francisco told the audience that among the cities they had visited on the tour so far, D.C. had been his favorite, although the Cariocans acknowledged the D.C. summertime heat was intense even for them. Despite the hot and muggy conditions outside, the band nearly sold out the Black Cat’s Mainstage, which has the capacity to fit 800 people.
The brief stopover in our nation’s capital may have been the group’s first, but it was clearly a success. A line of excited music lovers stretching out of the Black Cat illustrated how the band has a significant fanbase in the DMV. Once inside the intimate 14th St NW venue, audience members stood just a couple of feet from their musical favorites.
Even the food the band ate backstage before the performance was in line with the occasion. The spread featured a combination of Brazilian sweets, like the passionfruit dessert, mousse de maracujá, and savory finger foods like coxinha, a fried chicken ball that can be found at any Brazilian street food stand.
The concert was organized by EducArte, a Maryland-based nonprofit that aims to commemorate Brazilian music and culture in the Greater Washington D.C. area. The United States is home to the largest Brazilian population outside of Brazil, according to the Migration Policy Institute. The Institute also ranked the Greater Washington region in the top 10 metropolitan areas with large Brazilian populations, citing U.S. Census data. In all, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry says there were roughly two million Brazilians residing in the United States in 2022, with the vast majority living in three states: Massachusetts, New York and Florida.
Although the group has performed for hundreds of thousands of people at festivals, like Lollapalooza Brasil and Rock in Rio, José says smaller venues like Black Cat bring the group back to their roots, confessing, “Até prefiro [I even prefer it].”
It is this proximity that allowed for moments of spontaneous connectivity between the audience and the performers, such as when João found out that former students of his late grandmother, Portuguese professor Belina Aguiar Gil Moreira, were in the crowd.
Such an intimate interaction is at the core of Gilsons’ creative composition and lyrics that celebrate a resounding theme of unity. Their song, “Algum Ritmo,” utilizes the symbol of the ocean’s tide to describe the pull two people can feel to one another. Their renditions of samba classics had crowd members dancing with one another.
While introducing their song, “Voltar à Bahia,” Gilsons admitted that while they might have grown up in the city of Rio de Janeiro, they maintain a certain love for the Brazilian state of Bahia and its capital city, Salvador, in particular, as Gilberto Gil was born in the tropical northeastern city. For many in the crowd who hail from different parts of Brazil but now call the DMV their home, it may be this message of connecting across borders that most strikes a chord.
– Story by Tricia De Souza
– Copy edited by Michelle Benitez
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Excelente, nao para de oferecer mais talento Brasileiro