Nervos was once (between June and December 2011) a monthly webzine dedicated to portuguese music, with special emphasis on the country's underground musical scene. With an unpretensious and bold graphic signature, and relying only on analogic photography to capture the bands they discussed, they put together a free and beautiful insight on the pulse of portuguese music. In 2012 they converted their format but maintained their concept, leaving the webzines on halt, and creating a website and a Facebook page, where they interview and feature national musicians and bands for two weeks each, while building up an impressive archive.
Milhões de Festa was exploding at the time the first Nervos came out. Starting out as a small party between friends, Lovers and Lollipops, the label responsible for the festival, put together in 2010 the first big event in Barcelos, north of Oporto, with national and foreign bands that the major festivals wouldn't take or invite. And in 2011 the event exploded, atracting hundreds of people to their sunny, pool-side, smile-inducing and mind-erasing gigs. It came to be known as the hipster festival, or the place everyone went for musical and personal discovery, for inviting great bands that little people knew about. It has since grown in its programming, size and reputation, as a place of cult and chill, with a few thousands music lovers in attendance.
Of course the two entities would soon be related. Nervos dedicated their #3 edition, back in August 2011, to the festival. Interviewing the portuguese bands that played there, reviewing their concerts and their albums, and their own overall experience at the event. The special edition was the biggest to date, with lots to say and lots of beautiful, analogic photos taken in Barcelos.
I have always admired the people from Nervos, for their ability to envelop themselves in such an exciting spectre of culture, and putting themselves out there without any fears or regrets. I was drawn to their graphic structure as well, but mostly, their "no bullshit" attitude. As such, I was delighted when I met them, proud when I was able to call them my friends, and thrilled when I was asked to help out with the project.
This is a brief return to when webzines were cool. This is our experience at Milhões de Festa, the festival we look forward to since the time the last one ended. The sun, the dust, the smiles, the music, the love. We hope you like it.
