“Decibels & Animals” will bring punk, rock, metal and alternative music together in São Miguel for a festival with a purpose beyond the stage. Organized through Basalto Cultural – Associação de Artes, the event will raise funds, food and awareness for two Azorean animal-welfare organizations while welcoming Brazilian punk band Agrotóxico at the beginning of its European tour.
Some music is meant to disturb the silence, and sometimes that disturbance can be turned toward something useful. That is the idea behind “Decibels & Animals,” a São Miguel festival that combines the intensity of alternative music with solidarity for vulnerable animals. In an interview with Correio dos Açores, Jakub Niedorezo of Basalto Cultural – Associação de Artes explained that the event grew from conversations about creating a festival on the island and from an unexpected opportunity: Brazilian punk band Agrotóxico was preparing to begin a European tour in Portugal, providing the catalyst to transform an idea into a concrete event.
The connection with animal welfare is personal. Niedorezo has previously volunteered with animal-protection organizations and knows, he said, the considerable work required to care for animals in need. The organizers therefore wanted the festival to do more than assemble musicians and audiences. “We wanted to bring together people with different tastes within rock music and show that we can unite around a common cause while having fun and enjoying ourselves,” he explained. The beneficiaries will be Cantinho dos Animais dos Açores and Animais de Rua. Fundraising has been underway through GoFundMe since February, while part of the proceeds from ticket and merchandise sales, together with donations made during the festival, will go to the organizations. There will also be a collection of animal food, and volunteers will be present to speak directly with festivalgoers about their work.
Rock, punk, metal and alternative music were natural choices for organizers who are themselves musicians and longtime followers of those genres. But Niedorezo also sees something particularly appropriate in the sense of community that surrounds these musical scenes. A concert can temporarily dissolve differences between strangers, replacing them with the collective experience of sound. When that energy is connected to solidarity, he argues, entertainment acquires another dimension. He hopes audiences, musicians, organizers and donors leave not only remembering the performances but with “a feeling of camaraderie” and the knowledge that they participated in something positive.
The presence of Agrotóxico adds an international dimension. The São Paulo punk band will begin its European tour in São Miguel, something Niedorezo hopes will draw greater attention to an island music scene he believes deserves wider recognition. The local lineup includes Luís Barbosa, Fontes, Thin Rockschool, Drvzka, Morbid Death and Dog Meet, reflecting a range of sounds within the broader alternative community. For Niedorezo, the Azores’ Atlantic geography need not always be understood as an obstacle. Positioned between the Americas and Europe, the islands could also become a meaningful stop for touring musicians and a place where local artists establish relationships with international bands, promoters and record labels.
That ambition is particularly significant for original music produced in an island environment. Social media allows musicians to be heard almost anywhere, but digital visibility is not the same as the human connections created when artists share a stage, rehearsal room or audience. Niedorezo hopes events such as “Decibels & Animals” can help turn São Miguel into one of those meeting places, creating relationships that continue after the amplifiers have been switched off.
The organizers are already considering a second edition, with plans to involve additional local bands as well as artists from outside the island. For now, however, success will be measured by more than attendance. Niedorezo wants the festival to raise meaningful support for animal-protection organizations and make more people aware of the largely voluntary work required to care for abandoned and vulnerable animals.
There is something fitting in bringing these two worlds together. Punk and alternative rock have long found energy in questioning indifference; animal-welfare organizations work every day against another kind of indifference, usually with limited resources and far from the spotlight. “Decibels & Animals” places both beneath the same lights for one night.
The guitars will eventually become quiet and the audience will go home. What the organizers hope remains is something less measurable than a decibel and more enduring than an encore: the understanding that a community can gather around music, make noise together, and ensure that some of that noise is heard on behalf of those who cannot ask for help themselves.
Based on an interview by José Henrique Andrade for Correio dos Açores–Photos from CA.