Kokopelli Times » peru

Beyonce in Peru

Erik Rostad — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:50:00 +0000

The latest artist to hit Peru was Beyonce. She just performed at Lima’s Estadio Monumental. Ticket costs were 175 soles (US$61) which is nearly 1/5th an average monthly wage for people in their 20′s. Beyonce is yet another artist who has recently performed in Peru. Peru has an active music loving population who have turned out strongly when artists based in the USA come to Lima.

Stay tuned,
Erik

Guns n Roses in Peru

Erik Rostad — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 12:13:00 +0000

I like to keep up with upcoming concerts in Peru. As I’ve written in the past, 1980′s & 90′s Rock n Roll bands from the USA have a huge fan base in Peru. Many of these bands have gone to Peru in recent years (Metallica, Collective Soul, Duran Duran) and have sold out stadiums. There is a loyal fan base that will pay a good portion of their monthly salary to buy a ticket. As a USA Rock n Roll band, you cannot ignore this fan base.

Guns n Roses is the latest band to make their way down to Lima, Peru. They will perform in the South American country on March 25 at the Monumental Stadium Esplanade.

Stay tuned,
Erik
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Depeche Mode in Peru

Erik Rostad — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:43:00 +0000

Depeche Mode played a show in Peru this past week and drew a crowd of 30,000 people. I write often about concerts in Peru, and they just continue to impress me. Depeche Mode would likely have trouble drawing a crowd of 30,000 in some major cities in the USA, but they are able to travel to Lima, Peru to put on a concert where fans likely paid between $30-50 per ticket.

Do the math, that is a nice paycheck at the end of the day. And this, from a country where people attending the concert are lucky to make $300 a month. A sixth of their paycheck to see a band from the USA.

There is tremendous potential here for bands traveling overseas. To take Peru as an example, they have a large portion of the population in love with USA rock & roll from the 80′s & 90′s. If your band fits that bill, you might have some good luck in Peru.

For the last song, lead singer Martin Gore donned a Peruvian Chullo (stocking cap) that was a major hit with the crowd. I remember seeing Collective Soul in Lima, Peru and each band member came out in Peruvian soccer jerseys midway through the concert, to the rapturous applause of their fans. This is a very easy way bands can connect with their fans in other countries. I think it would be an even better idea to have a famous musician from that country play with the band on a few songs, especially if the instrument is local to that country.

Stay tuned,
Erik
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Peru Concerts

Erik Rostad — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:48:00 +0000

The South American country of Peru continues to attract some big name USA artists for live concerts. KISS just did a concert and had 30,000 people attend. They played at the National Stadium in Lima. 30,000 people!

I’ve written many times about the large Rock n Roll culture in Peru and how there is a huge portion of the population that listens to 80′s & 90′s rock music from the USA. Typically, bands from the USA have not traveled down to South America for concerts. In the 80′s, Lima wasn’t exactly the safest city in the world and per capita income didn’t allow for ticket sales to be enough to be lucrative for the band.

Well, that is changing in Peru. In just the first part of this year alone, average income in Peru has increased 8.9%. Another change is that the Peruvian government has relaxed taxes on incoming performers. So, more disposable income amongst Peruvians and more money to be made by the band (and not paid to the Peruvian government.

This has led to some big names already this year (Peter Gabriel, Marc Anthony, Iron Maiden, KISS) and some others coming up later this year (Cypress Hill, 50-Cent, Daddy Yankee).

When I lived in Peru last year, I didn’t see much of a rap culture. The 80′s/90′s rock music fans were prevalent, but rap fans were not. So, a rap concert with Cypress Hill & 50-Cent is very intriguing to me. It just goes to show that times are rapidly changing and opportunities abound for USA bands to perform overseas.

Stay tuned,
Erik
erikrostad.com

Upcoming Peruvian Concerts

Erik Rostad — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 21:57:00 +0000

In 2008, I had the opportunity to live in Peru for a few months. While there, I saw the USA band Collective Soul do a concert near Lima. They sold 10,000+ tickets at roughly $50 a pop in a country where 20-yr-olds are lucky to make $300 a month. One thing that became very apparent while I lived in Peru was that 80′s and 90′s rock and roll music had a strong following in this South American country.

Since the Collective Soul concert in February of 2008, the following 80′s & 90′s rockers have also performed in Peru: Bryan Adams, Boy George, Duran Duran, R.E.M., and Cyndi Lauper. Additionally, the following groups & artists are set to perform in Peru during 2009: Peter Gabriel, the B-52′s, Oasis, Kiss, and the Village People.

A few years ago, not many bands from the USA were willing to make the trip to Peru. But now that older bands have gotten clued in to a thriving fan base, they are pursuing new revenue streams such as this opportunity. Madonna passed up Peru for her tour last year because she could not make enough income to cover costs, but there are plenty of other bands that are making money in Peru.

Stay tuned,
Erik
erikrostad.com

Soul Asylum in Peru?

Erik Rostad — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:32:00 +0000

Soul Asylum, the 1980′s alternative rock band out of Minnesota, is about to do a concert in Lima, Peru. Soul Asylum had a Grammy Award-winning single in the 1990′s – Runaway Train. Since the 90′s, there has not been a lot of activity from the band. And in 2005, Soul Asylum tragically lost their bassist, Karl Mueller to cancer.

And for a band that only had 5 live shows in all of 2008, all in the USA, Soul Asylum is headed to South America for one of their 2 scheduled shows for 2009. The reason for this is that Peru has a huge group of people who are avid fans of 80′s & 90′s rock & roll music from the USA.

Last year, Collective Soul sold more than 10,000 tickets to die-hard fans in Lima, Peru. Average ticket prices were around US$50.00 in a country where a decent salary would be pulling in $300/month.

I will be interested to see how many tickets Soul Asylum sells. The concert is set for tonight, January 15th, at the Parque de la Exposición. The band actually had the concert schedules for early December of last year, but had to postpone due to problems with their visas.

This just shows that there are ample opportunities for bands to tour around the world. There are pockets of fans in different countries. I would guess that Soul Asylum will be able to pull a better crowd at this Lima concert tonight than they would if they came to Atlanta or Dallas.

Stay tuned,
Erik
erikrostad.com

2008 Peruvian Concerts

Erik Rostad — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 20:12:00 +0000

It was quite a year for international music artists performing in Peru. As the economy of Peru continues to expand at very high rates, bands are noticing the increase in expendable income and are adding Peru to their list of tour locations. In the past, bands from the USA rarely made the trip to Lima for a concert. Now, take a look at the artists that traveled to Peru during 2008 from the USA and other locations:

February – Collective Soul, Deep Purple
April – Miguel Bosé, Marc Anthony, Bryan Adams
June – Olga Tañón
July – Camila
August – Molotov
September – Mercedes Soza, Boy George, Wisin y Yandel
October – Fito Paez, Andres Calamaro
November – Duran Duran, Kylie Minogue, R.E.M., Cindy Lauper, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs
December – Enrique Iglesias

As bands continue to see traditional income streams decrease, international tours to new locations will become major ways to make money and increase their listening base.

Stay tuned,
Erik
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