The Festival Imperial 2008 will return to Costa Rica this April 19th and 20th after its 2007 hiatus, featuring music by 80s band Duran Duran (left photo) and 90s alternative rock group Incubus (Right Photo). This year’s Festival is themed “La musica nos une” or “Music unites us”, and will take place at the Autodromo La Guacima in Alajuela.
Like children in a scavenger hunt, media and die-hard music fans flocked to Escazu this past Friday to hear festival organizers from La Cervezeria announce the top performers. The other confirmed guests include British groups Reflex and Wild Boys, Light Grenades, and Costa Rican groups LePop and Porpartes.
Rumors had been circulating since last year that the scheduled Dec. 2007 Incubus concert was canceled so they could perform at the Festival Imperial instead. Further rumors suggest that AC/DC, Daft Punk, Bon Jovi, Avril Lavigne, The Cure, Nelly Furtado and even pop star Madonna might make an appearance.
While these are only rumors, there is no doubt why fans have such high expectations for the event after the 2006 Festival lineup which included Jamiroquai, Sting, The Rasmus, Belanova, Vicentico, Tito El Bambino and Diego Torres.
The Festival Imperial has quickly become one of the most anticipated events in Costa Rica and Central America. To keep the anticipation and excitement sky high, the organizers have planned to announce the concert performers throughout the three months leading to the festival, at events along the “Festival Route”.
The Festival Route began in Palmares in January with performances by Fanny Lu y Bonka and Alek Syntek and Moderatto.
The rest of the concerts leading up to the main event will be announced later this week. At each event, organizers promised to reveal the names of at least three international artists that will perform at the Festival in April. The Festival Route will include performances by national bands LePop, Marta Fonseca, Parque en el Espacio, Kurt Dyer, Moonlight Dub Xperiment, The Movement In Codes and Porpartes.
The entire festival is being organized by AEG, a company that also organizes the Coachella Festival in Los Angeles. They have already promised to improve the setup for this year’s event, giving guests closer access to the main (and only) stage.
The event website, festivalimperial.com, will post new information as it is announced, and includes a running countdown to the event, down to the second.
