Last weekend, Bangers Open Air 2026 brought together headbangers from various parts of Brazil and the continent at the Memorial da América Latina in São Paulo to celebrate heavy music once again.
To understand the true scope of the event, Wikimetal gathered testimonials from attendees over the course of several days about their experience of attending the festival firsthand. Fans commented on their opinions regarding the infrastructure, organization, logistics, concert lineup, and their expectations for the bands at the next edition.
Fans reported delays in getting into the first day of Bangers Open Air 2026
The conversations revealed two scenarios: on one hand, an impeccable and highly praised internal infrastructure; on the other, the complaint about the queues was practically unanimous among those interviewed on the first day.
“We arrived a bit early, around eleven in the morning, and there was already a line doubling around the block. We even ended up missing the first band we wanted to see,” Acélio, regarding his first experience at the event.
Marcelo pointed out: "They could have better organization at the gates, opening more access points so that the line wouldn't end up going around the block like it did for us."
Fan Paulo, who was already familiar with the place, suggested the same: “I think the only real difficulty was the entrance. Perhaps the organization should improve that part or put in two entrances to facilitate access.”
In a statement, the festival declared that, although the gates opened on schedule at 11:00 AM, a global instability in the operating system used by the event prevented the immediate start of the automated ticket scanning process.
“We emphasize that all teams involved, including the festival staff and third-party companies, worked intensively to normalize operations as quickly as possible. The same instability also temporarily affected food and beverage (F&B) sales during the early hours of Saturday, but returned to normal operation throughout the day and on Sunday, the 26th,” the organization added.
On Sunday, the flow of people entering presented a much more favorable scenario, although with reservations. Vinicius, who had participated in the first edition under the name Summer Breeze Brasil, pointed out the difference: “The flow of people entering on Sunday was very quick, taking less than 3 minutes, but outside there was a lack of better signage indicating where the lines ended and people providing guidance.”
The festival received praise for its internal infrastructure
Once inside the venue, the scene changed completely. The choice of the Latin America Memorial and the distribution of the stages were highlights.
Charles Bruno stated: “For me, it’s incredible. It’s the biggest metal festival in Brazil right now, and I believe it’s the best in Latin America.” First-time fan Guilherme praised the practicality: “The stage organization is great. They’re all close to each other, you don’t need to walk around a huge distance.”
André praised the acoustics and the intelligent use of space: “I found the structure impeccable, the stages have excellent height and sound. The choice to use the theater [Waves Stage] to host more shows with greater comfort and to discover new bands was absolutely right.”
Despite the praise for the proximity of the main stages (Ice and Hot), getting around required patience. "When you arrive from the Sun stage to the Ice and Hot stages with the festival already full, you often end up not being able to cross or have difficulty reaching the food and drink stalls at those stages," Vinicius observed.
He continued: “The lineup is very diverse and always features some bands and artists that I like and that other festivals wouldn't include, or wouldn't put in a prominent position on the lineup. In addition to national bands, we can have a different experience on a large stage and at good times.”
On the other hand, as is common in events with multiple stages, the overlapping of acts forced difficult choices. Humberto lamented the clash in Saturday's lineup: "We really wanted to see Marenna, and it's going to conflict with Jinjer 's show . It's a shame, but we'll end up giving them preference."
The audience also suggested bands for the next edition
With the dates for the next edition confirmed for April 24th and 25th, 2027, fans also left suggestions for bands they would like to see next year. Big names like Slayer, Helloween, Lamb of God, Blind Guardian, Nightwish, Behemoth, Amon Amarth , and Gojira were the most frequently mentioned.
The younger audience, however, also mentioned current bands such as Electric Callboy, Architects, Trivium , and Thy Art Is Murder, as well as prog metal names like Vola and Leprous.
The list also included names from the national scene such as VIPER, Dorsal Atlântica, Facing Fear, Trovão, Clenched Fistt, Operador , and Urdza. When questioned about this, the organization stated that there are no ongoing negotiations with bands for 2027.
READ ALSO: The 9 best shows we saw at Bangers Open Air 2026
