
Juliana Areias – Baila Comigo (Dance With Me)
Saturday 01 July 7.00pm – BOOK NOW
Award-winning Brazilian singer-songwriter Juliana Areias, known as the “Bossa Nova Baby,” invites you to dance and celebrate the incredible music, life, and irreverent free spirit of Rita Lee. Rita Lee was a Brazilian superstar singer-songwriter with a career spanning over 50 years, who unfortunately passed away from cancer on May 8, 2023, at the age of 75.
Rita Lee’s eclectic music combines sunny Latin jazz rhythms with psychedelic guitars, smooth bossa-like vocals, and a witty mix of romantic, feminist, and transgressive ideas – all delivered with an elegance rarely found in pop music.
Having sold over 60 million albums worldwide, Rita Lee is considered the greatest musical exponent of São Paulo, Latin America’s largest city with a population exceeding 20 million. Both Rita Lee and Juliana Areias were born and raised in São Paulo, close to Paulista Avenue. The very first song Juliana Areias ever sung in public was a Rita Lee song, the same one that Prince Charles of England (now King) declared as his favorite song of all time. Bossa Nova creator João Gilberto also recorded with Rita Lee, and every iconic Brazilian recording artist since the 60s has performed her tunes. For decades, Rita Lee sang about the beauty of women’s freedom of expression, sexuality, pleasures, desires, and aspirations – well before Madonna and Lady Gaga hit the scene.
The concert will feature selections from Rita Lee’s greatest hits, including the infectious “Lanca Perfume” (Perfume Spray – King Charles’s favorite tune), “Ovelha Negra” (Black Sheep), “Doce Vampiro” (Sweet Vampire), “Mutante” (Changeable), “Nem Lixo, nem Lixo” (Neither Luxury nor Rubbish), as well as a few of her Beatles arrangements and collaborations with other major Brazilian composers and singers such as Cazuza, Zelia Duncan, Ed Motta, and Paulo Coelho (bestselling author of The Alchemist).
Juliana Areias is excited to share the stage with the grooviest cats in town: Paul Millard on sax/flute, Joshua de Silva on seven-string and hybrid guitars, Rafael Medeiro de Souza on percussion, and Julius Rogers on drums.
Come and discover or rediscover these irresistible tunes and perhaps experience Juliana’s own “psychedelic” side as she connects with the legendary intensity of the singular Rita Lee.
Juliana Areias has performed on major stages around the world, including the Sydney Opera House, Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London, the Green Room in New York, the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, the Auckland Festival in New Zealand, and the legendary Beco das Garrafas in Rio de Janeiro. Her original album “Bossa Nova Baby” won “Best Brazilian Album” at the US Focus Brazil Awards in 2019 and spent five weeks in the US Top 100 Jazz Charts. Juliana has also been nominated five times for the Western Australian Music Awards, including Best World Music Act and Best Song. Based in Perth since 2007, Juliana’s local performances include Perth Festival, Perth Concert Hall with West Coast Philharmonic Orchestra, Kings Park Festival, Perth International Jazz Festival, Western Australian of the Year Ceremony 2021 with The Perth Symphony Orchestra, and multiple sold-out concerts at The Ellington Jazz Club.
Now it’s your turn to feel spellbound by the Bossa Nova Baby, Juliana Areias.
The idea of mixing styles and cultures is reflected in Areias’ life and her music.” – Daily
“Rhythmically perfect and passionate vocal delivery. The toast of the Perth Jazz Scene. The release of Bossa Nova Baby has elevated her above a mere covers singer or bossa specialist. The singer excels in an elegant co-composed duet (Belas Artes) with Australia’s finest Brazilian-oriented 7-string guitarist, Doug de Vries” – The Australian
“We celebrate the changing face of Australian music with Brazilian-born, Perth based singer Juliana’s excellent, Bossa Nova-centred album.” – ABC Radio National
“It’s bossa that plays soccer with Jazz – as it has since the 60’s – and scoring a goal.” – O GLOBO – Brazil
“A wonderful Brazilian-Australian bossa nova baby with contemporary bossa nova songs.” – Key and Chords – Belgium