June Birthdays 
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I just would like to let you guys know that tomorrow starts the 14th edition of Primeiro Campeonato Mineiro de Surfe! Brazillian oldest, biggest, best, most wonderful and only Surf Music Festival! We will have 9 bands playing in 3 days. It happens in Belo Horizonte almost every year since 2000 and almost 100 different bands played the festival.
April 30th
Los Pollos Caipiras (Ouro Preto - MG)
Brand new surf band from one of the most beautiful cities in Brazil. Their firs time in PCMS.
Dead Pixels (Belo Horizonte - MG)
Garage-punk band from Claudão, who was Estrume'n'tal's drummer.
The Almighty Devilvogs (Bauru - SP)
Heavy and dark surf from Bauru. Their first time in PCMS.
May 1st
Violentures (Campinas - SP)
Veteran trash surf rockers from Brazil. Their 4th time on the festival and with a brand new album released on Reverb Brasil Records.
Intóxicos (Vila Velha - ES)
Brand new band! First time in PCMS and with a brand new album coming out on Reverb Brasil Records.
Drunk Demons (Contagem - MG)
Psychobilly band from Contagem.
May 2nd (Link Wray Day!)
Reverb All Stars (São Paulo/Vila Velha/Belo Horizonte)
Jam Session Band formed by people (me included) from a lot of different bands playing some surf classics.
Brian Oblivion e Seus Ráios Catódicos (Maringá - PR)
Great surf from Maringá. First time on PCMS.
Drákula (Campinas - SP)
Garage Punk band with some surf hints. They promissed a surf show for PCMS. They have one 7'' released on Reverb Brasil Records and brand new one (Death Surf) coming soon.
Here is an outdated released for the festival.
What about this Primeiro Campeonato Mineiro de Surfe? Does it really mean First Minas Gerais Surf Championship?
Yes, it means exactly that, and it’s the only national Surf Music festival in Brazil.
Yes, the nearest beach is over 400 km away from Belo Horizonte. So what? We don’t give medals, either.
The first Campeonato happened in 2000, during the first year of Reverb Brasil, which started as a mail list and a mIRC channel. The increasing contact led the participants to want to get together, leading to the first festival. There were three consecutive days of surf music at A Obra bar, featuring bands from Curitiba, Belo Horizonte and Rio de Janeiro. The Campeonato kept happening every year, except for 2001, when there was a shorter version of it, with only bands from Belo Horizonte and Rio de Janeiro. In 2008, we had the 8th Primeiro Campeonato Mineiro de Surfe, featuring bands from Paraná, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo and Ceará. In its eight editions, the Campeonato featured bands from Santa Catarina, Paraná, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Bahia, Ceará, Mato Grosso, Goiás, Distrito Federal and Pará, besides its first international attraction: Daddy-o Grande, the legendary guitarist of Los Straitjackets, backed-up by local musicians. A total of 55 bands have played the Campeonato so far, several of which in more then one edition. They are mostly surf bands, but other styles are also featured on at least one show every year.
New friendships came up, and so did new gigs. Bands from BH played in Rio, bands from Rio played in São Paulo, those from São Paulo played in Curitiba… All as a consequence of new contacts that started or got stronger through Reverb Brasil and the Campeonato.
But why is it called “First” Championship every year?!
For that, there are several lines of thought. One states that the first Campeonato was so great that it should be repeated every year, name and all. Others say that it’s because it was the first Surf Music festival in the country… Actually, it was just a repetitive joke, but the name caught, and it’s bound to stay.
