MPB84 Festival announces 15 finalists for Pop Rock 2026 competition

The MPB84 Festival has announced the 15 finalists for its 5th Band Competition – Pop Rock 2026 Edition. The competition received over 200 entries, with 163 proposals undergoing technical and artistic curation.

Due to the high quality and diversity of the submissions, organizers decided to increase the number of finalists from the originally planned 12 to 15. The selected artists represent various municipalities in Rio Grande do Norte, including Natal, Mossoró, Parnamirim, Santa Cruz, and Santana do Seridó.

The finalists will compete for R$ 18,000 in prizes, trophies, and a performance slot at the festival in December. The musical styles represented range from hard rock, heavy metal, and punk to alternative rock, grunge, emo, indie, and works that incorporate Brazilian popular music (MPB) influences.