If anyone doesn\u2019t think music is amazing and decided to keep quiet about it, there was plenty for them to do anyway. Fancy zip-wiring past the main stage? Bizarrely and brilliantly, Rock In Rio Lisbon can cater for that. There was also an aircraft show, as planes darted out in formation over the site \u2013 and there aren\u2019t many festivals you can say that about.<\/p>\n
As it celebrates its 11th edition, the shindig is still flying high. Here\u2019s what went down on day one. JB<\/p>\n
Katy Perry roared<\/p>\n
Topping the bill on Rock In Rio Lisbon\u2019s Friday night, Katy Perry put on a pure pop spectacle that made you realise why pop\u2019s new guard such as Chappell Roan<\/a> and Olivia Rodrigo<\/a> cite her as an influence.<\/p>\n Resplendent in a star-spangled tie and a white shirt-style dress emblazoned with the words \u201cI AM NOT A ROBOT\u201d, she took aim at her recent shaky reviews with wit. \u201cGROBAN\u201d flashed on the giant novelty phone screen, a nod to her relationship with Josh Groban in 2009, causing her to furiously pantomime hitting \u2018DECLINE\u2019 to knowing laughs from the KatyCats. On another prop phone, the contact \u2018RB\u2019 called, as she kicked the \u201cBLOCKED\u201d button (Perry was married to Russell Brand<\/a> from 2010 until their divorce in 2012).<\/p>\n Midway through the performance, she touched on her flight aboard Jeff Bezos\u2019s Blue Origin New Shepard rocket<\/a>. \u201cThe most interesting headline I saw \u2013 which I resonated with a lot \u2013 was that most people say that they\u2019d go to space, but most people lack the courage,\u201d she noted, tongue in cheek. Perry brandished a Portuguese flag and commanded, \u201cMake some noise for the first gays in space\u201d \u2013 to applause from the sizeable LGBTQ+ contingent in the crowd. \u2018I Kissed A Girl\u2019 predictably went down a storm, as Perry sang while rolling over the crowd, Flaming Lips-style, in a translucent water bottle.<\/p>\n During \u2018E.T.\u2019, she was joined by a breakdancing extraterrestrial in a beanie hat, whom she declared \u201cthe gayest alien\u201d. Even the tracks from \u2018143\u2019<\/a> seemed better live, with the EDM anthemics translating well to a festival setting. She played her forthcoming single, the Kelly Clarkson<\/a>-style rocker \u2018Watch It Burn\u2019, and before an emotional acoustic version of \u2018Roar\u2019, admitted that last year \u201cI lost my roar\u201d. Yet the reaction from the crowd tonight proved it was cacophonously, defiantly back. GR<\/p>\n Charlie Puth paid tribute to Oliver Tree<\/p>\n Appearing on the main stage before Katy Perry, pop\u2019s boy-next-door Charlie Puth (literally in her case \u2013 they\u2019re neighbours) rolled out one feel-good, funk-infused banger after another as the dusk descended.<\/p>\n Charlie had dressed up for the occasion, rocking a lime green collared shirt, a red tie and red baseball cap. Puth\u2019s onstage banter was a little less kooky than Perry\u2019s \u2013 relatability is his strong point, after all \u2013 but he did acknowledge the unlikeliness of the ensemble when he shouted: \u201cI look like a substitute teacher! Or Garfield\u2019s dad!\u201d As a side note, it was also the ideal outfit for when you need to go straight to work from your CBeebies audition.<\/p>\n In any case, Puth\u2019s sentimental pop-R&B was undercut by winning sense of humour throughout. Case in point: the show began with a gospel choir, who did crowd work in their devotional style, jokily warbling: \u201cRock in Rio, let me hear you scream \u2013 no, no, no: that wasn\u2019t loud enough\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Yet he also leaned into his earnest side, prompting a sea of phone torches with the schmaltzy \u2018Marvin Gaye\u2019. Before the yearning \u2018See You Again\u2019, he announced: \u201cIf anyone\u2019s lost anyone, they\u2019re here with us. All 100,000 of us. They\u2019re here in the trees; they\u2019re on the Ferris Wheel.\u201d Puth touchingly dedicated the track to his \u201clabel-mate\u201d Oliver Tree<\/a>, who died in a helicopter crash<\/a> in Brazil earlier this month, as well as the late producer Tay Keith.<\/p>\n By the end of the show, Charlie had flipped his cap backwards, looking very much like a groovy substitute teacher who was about to teach the class about the fall of the Roman Empire via the medium of rap. \u201cY\u2019all feel the vibe?\u201d he asked at one point. We do, Charlie. Now get a move on \u2013 you\u2019ve got Year 10 Maths in the morning.\u00a0JB<\/p>\n The best of the rest<\/p>\n \u201cDo you guys fucking love me?\u201d enquired Bebe Rexha, topping the line-up on the Palco Super Bock stage. Judging by the crowd\u2019s reaction \u2013 they jumped up and down like Boggle dice and held up their phones with the message \u201cI LOVE YOU BEBE\u201d flashing on screen \u2013 she didn\u2019t exactly need to take a poll. Making her debut in Portugal, she looked genuinely overwhelmed by the love for her. Opening with \u2018\u00c7ike \u00c7ike\u2019, her unpretentious pop hurled easily recognisable samples like Donkey Kong barrels \u2013 perfect for a festival vibe.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t believe you were singing all the words to \u2018New Religion\u2019,\u201d she said at one point, referring to the track that filches Faithless<\/a>\u2018 \u2018Insomnia\u2019 and boasts a drop like an open manhole. \u2018Hands up!\u201d she commanded during her David Guetta<\/a> collab \u2018I\u2019m Good (Blue)\u2019, which cuts and pastes the hooks from Eiffel 65\u2019s \u2018Blue (Da Ba Dee) like a sonic ransom note. Delirium ensued. GR<\/p>\n Brazilian DJ Pedro Sampaio got an enormous crowd moving in the early evening sun, rolling out thumping dance-pop from the World Stage, inciting a huge Mexican wave and deeply enjoyable coordinated dances moves. When they\u2019re firing flares from the main stage four hours before the headliner, you know you\u2019re onto a winner. The word \u201cchaos\u201d flashed up on the video screens, which pretty much said it all.<\/p>\n That would also be a good word to describe the genre-smashing stylings of Audrey Nuna, who annihilated the Music Valley Stage with a wrecking crew of backing dancers. Nuna really turned on the charm, profusely thanking the appreciative crowd and addressing them in Portuguese, though her music was a pitiless blend of pop, R&B, rap and eviscerating nu-metal. Yes, she did the one from KPop Demon Hunters <\/a>(for which she provided a character\u2019s singing voice). All in all, Audrey showed us \u2018How It\u2019s Done\u2019. JB<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In partnership with Rock In Rio Lisbon Words: Gary Ryan and Jordan Bassett \u201cIsn\u2019t music amazing, everybody?\u201d Charlie…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":511307,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[93,61,60,278,15944,641,648,646],"class_list":["post-511306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-music","tag-nu-metal","tag-pop","tag-rb","tag-rap"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=511306"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511306\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/511307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ROTA85_SCHOOLOFROCK_SABADO20_162.jpg\")
Rock In Rio Lisbon 2026<\/p>\n