ROCK IN RIO USA TAKES OVER TIMES SQUARE AND ANNOUNCES METALLICA,
LINKIN PARK, TAYLOR SWIFT. NO DOUBT, DEFTONES AND JOHN LEGEND AS INITIAL PERFORMERS FOR FIRST U. S. FESTIVAL MAY 8-9 AND 15-16, 2015
PRE-SALE TICKETS FOR ROCK IN RIO USA IN LAS VEGAS NOW AVAILABLE
AT ROCKINRIO.COM/TICKETS
JOHN MAYER AND SEPULTURA WITH LES TAMBOURS DU BRONX PERFORMED TO
CELEBRATE LEGENDARY FESTIVAL’S 30-YEAR HISTORY; NO DOUBT ON HAND TO CHEER
THEM ON
Rock in Rio, the legendary music festival, has announced Metallica, Linkin Park, Taylor Swift, No Doubt (who attended the announcement), Deftones and John Legend as part of the initial lineup for its first stateside edition taking place May 8-9 and May 15-16 in Las Vegas. The announcement was unveiled as Rio de Janeiro and Las Vegas met in Times Square, the crossroads of the world, with an exciting surprise performance from past Rock in Rio artists John Mayer and Sepultura with Les Tambours Du Bronx to celebrate the festival’s 30th anniversary and first US edition in 2015. Sepultura and Les Tambour Du Bronx performed in honor of their past Rock in Rio collaboration and guitar hero John Mayer took the stage to bring hits like “No Such Thing” and “Gravity” to the gathered crowd. During the press conference, the organization also launched its Social Project “30 years, Many Dreams”.
Roberta Medina, Executive Vice President of Rock in Rio (and daughter of Founder Roberto Medina), expanded on Rock in Rio’s tremendous background by revealing some of outstanding facts around the global festival’s 30-year history. With more than 7.4 million people in 14 editions, more than 1270 artists have performed in 85 days of the event. Over the past editions, more than 148,000 jobs have been created and more than 1 billion people have watched the concerts worldwide. The statistics provided an in-depth look at creating a global giant as it celebrates its 30th anniversary with a new extension in the US.
“From the first Rock in Rio festival in Brazil in 1985 to next year’s anniversary and Las Vegas launch, it’s been an amazing journey with Rock in Rio fans and the artists that have taken part in the festival,” says Roberta Medina. “We’re thrilled to see the construction of our first U.S. City of Rock and to announce the first artists who will perform in Las Vegas in May 2015.”
Rock in Rio USA & Brazil: Line-up Confirmations
During the press conference, the organization announced the first artists that will take part of next year’s event in Las Vegas: Metallica, Linkin Park, Taylor Swift and No Doubt, who will all perform on the festival’s Main Stage. Metallica will return to the Rock in Rio stage after six previous performances at the international event. Appearing on the same day as Metallica, multi-platinum rock group Linkin Park are also returning after previous Rock in Rio performances.
The LA band No Doubt has also been confirmed and made an appearance at the Times Square press conference. The band stated that they are “extremely happy to be taking the stage of Rock in Rio’s first US festival and to be part of such an amazing musical history as the festival celebrates its 30th anniversary.”
In addition, the organization also announced the first names of the line-up for the Sunset Stage: The Deftones and John Legend. The Sunset Stage has quickly become a phenomenon featuring a line-up filled with special guests and unexpected musical collaborations.
As 2015 will also host the return of Rock in Rio to Brazil, the organization announced some of the performers scheduled for September. Katy Perry will take the Main Stage in Rio for the second time, bringing her spectacular stage show to the Brazilian crowd. John Legend will also take the stage in Brazil and make his debut at the festival headlining at the Sunset Stage.
The City of Rock
Rock in Rio has joined forces with entertainment giants MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM), Cirque du Soleil and Ron Burkle (The Yucaipa Companies) for the festival’s U.S. debut in Las Vegas in May 2015. An alliance founded on a shared commitment to creating innovative entertainment, Rock in Rio, MGM Resorts and Cirque du Soleil will redefine the modern music festival for U.S. audiences with a monumental combination of the biggest names in music and a fully immersive entertainment experience, all housed in a spectacular, custom-made “City of Rock.”
The permanent open-air concert venue will be located on The Strip near the corner of Sahara Avenue, spread out over 37 acres and have the capacity for 85,000 people per day. It includes six stages, three themed Rock Streets encompassing the culture and music of the U.S., UK and Brazil and a zip line that stretches 64 feet high and 600 feet long in front of Main Stage. The venue also includes a VIP area that can accommodate up to 4000 people; an air-conditioned area with a unique view of the City of Rock and an all-inclusive buffet.
LIMITED PRE-SALE: Opening today!
A limited pre-sale for the upcoming Rock in Rio USA festival in Las Vegas in May is now available at rockinrio.com/tickets with general admission weekend passes available for $298* and VIP daily passes available for $498*.
To secure your spot for next year’s Rock in Rio USA, visit rockinrio.com/tickets and choose preferred section (General Admission or VIP), then select a delivery method to receive your wristband (either Will Call or UPS Delivery). Shipments start approximately 10 weeks before the event.
At this moment you’ll only receive a voucher that can later be redeemed for an event access wristband. After completing the purchase, a confirmation email will be sent, followed by a voucher number and information on how to redeem the voucher.
Vouchers purchased during pre-sale can be used to select a preferred day or weekend during the January 12 – March 12 redemption period without the risk of tickets selling out. Once attendance date has been selected, wristbands will be delivered via UPS or Will Call. Voucher buyers will be guaranteed entry after March 12, but redemption for a specific date or weekend is subject to availability.
The General Admission and the VIP tickets provide access to more than 10 hours of music and entertainment, as well as all attractions inside the venue. Re-entry is allowed – wristbands must be scanned upon exit at the gate in order to re-enter that same day with a maximum of 5 entrances per day. In addition to general venue access, VIP ticket buyers will also have access to the VIP area, an air-conditioned tent with all-inclusive food and beverages.
Rock in Rio USA Festival is open to All Ages; Children 16 and under are required to be accompanied by parent or guardian to enter the venue.
Rock in Rio’s global communication campaign
Further gearing up excitement for the US festival and its pre-sale, Rock in Rio has launched a mass-media campaign that will run in the U.S. with an overall investment of 25 million dollars. For the launch of the pre-sale ticket vouchers, the U.S. audience will see an action-packed commercial spot that will run for a 2 weeks period on television and online featuring Donald Sutherland. Featuring Hollywood blockbuster production values, Sutherland has a briefcase stolen and takes all necessary measures to retrieve it. After all, the suitcase contains Rock in Rio tickets!
“30 Years, Many Dreams”
The Times Square Takeover event also kicked off Rock in Rio’s “30 Years, Many Dreams,” this year’s theme for the event’s Social Project that will be granting wishes submitted by Rock in Rio fans. Since 2001, the festival has added a social component to the event and has raised and invested more than $23 million for environmental and social causes.
Rock in Rio was itself born from a dream that could have never been fulfilled had it not been for those people who believed in it. As part of the 30th anniversary celebrations the organization has decided to pay that gratitude forward by helping to make dreams come true for young people who fight for their causes. Contenders will upload a short text about their dream at rockinrio.com/usa/dreams, and the most compelling and passionate stories will be chosen.
To illustrate the project, a video campaign will be launched, presenting the first dream that has been fulfilled – 25 year old Brazilian clown Michel de Souza. Michel was born and raised in a small town near São Paulo and worked as a clown in the local circus. He dreamed of learning with the best professionals and taking the stage in a huge circus. His story moved Roberto Medina, and Souza is having the chance to train at Circus du Soleil and learn from the leading circus professionals in the world.
“Coming to the US was always Roberto’s dream and now that it is coming true with May’s festival in Las Vegas, we felt it was the perfect time to make others’ dreams come true with our ‘30 Years, Many Dreams project.’”
Rock in Rio USA: a world of partnerships
Rock in Rio has become a true entertainment phenomenon and top destination in all of its international locations. In Portugal it had a higher awareness than the 2004 World Cup and in Spain it was bigger than Formula 1. The Festival, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2015, has grown to be the largest music festival series in the world and its heritage as unique communication project and fan engagement platform is now coming to America.
Rock in Rio USA’s unrivalled media investment will be magnified by a partnership with industry-leading media companies in order to create a multi-platform communication campaign with scale never seen before by festivalgoers and sponsors. iHeartRadio, Yahoo and NCM Networks are the official media partners which together will deliver a massive consumer reach and impact, generate powerful fan engagement and boost the 12+ million followers Rock in Rio already has on its social media networks.
Rock in Rio powered by iHeartRadio
As part of its partnership, iHeartMedia will launch on-air and digital promotion designed to leverage the company’s powerful properties including more than 245 million on-air monthly listeners and 97 million monthly digital unique visitors. This campaign will connect Rock in Rio to listeners and fans on more than 150 stations across the U.S., as well as on their industry leading digital radio platform, iHeartRadio – home to the exclusive 24/7 Rock in Rio digital music station. The multi-platform promotion will also include the launch of an Ultimate Contest giving listeners the chance to win an all–inclusive trip to Rock in Rio Brazil, as well as promoting sweepstakes for Rock in Rio USA.
Yahoo and Rock in Rio USA will share exciting news and exclusive features to its global audience leading into the May 2015 event. Additionally, the entire festival will be live streamed exclusively on Yahoo Live.
Rock in Rio´s partnership with NCM Media Networks, the largest cinema network in the U.S., will extend the campaign into movie theaters nationwide including those owned by AMC Entertainment Inc., Cinemark Holdings, Inc., Regal Entertainment Group and other leading regional theater circuits.
“We’re thrilled to join Rock in Rio in introducing the United States to the world’s largest music festival by utilizing the national’s largest cinema network,” said Cliff Marks, president of sales and marketing with NCM Media Networks. “The big screen is the perfect medium to promote music and the pageantry of Rock in Rio to millions of moviegoers each week.”
Rock in Rio’s first global partner is edp Renewables, a global leader in the renewable energy sector and the world’s third-largest wind energy produce as well as #1 on Dow Jones Sustainability Index. edp Renewables is sponsoring Rock in Rio USA and Rock in Rio Brazil in 2015 and Rock in Rio Lisbon in 2016. Next year’s event also gathered the support of Las Vegas Events.
For more information, visit www.RockinRio.com. Get the latest updates via Rock in Rio’s Facebook page (Facebook.com/RockInRioUSA) and Twitter feed (Twitter.com/rockinriousa). For pre-sale tickets for Rock in Rio USA, visit: rockinrio.com/tickets
About Rock in Rio
Rock in Rio has been attended by more than 7.4 million and has showcased more than 1,270 artists in the 14 editions of the festival. Due to Rock in Rio’s efforts, more than 148,000 jobs have been created and more than 1 billion people have watched the concerts worldwide. In 2015, Rock in Rio will celebrate its 30th anniversary and the debut of Rock in Rio USA in Las Vegas.
