Mais Alto!

Mais Alto! is an commented concert — and also a book-record – that invites young people to reflect on the power of music in political and social change.

We can learn about history from things other than ruins or treaties.

Songs can also be historical documents and give us clues as to what life was like in a particular place at a particular time: what people were worried about, what dreams moved them, what injustices made them sad or what made them happy.

Throughout the show, versions of songs from Portugal, Brazil and other parts of the world are interspersed with brief comments that attempt to frame them, explaining the context in which each song was created, as well as the concerns and demands they reflect.

Created in 2019 at the behest of LU.CA in Lisbon, Mais Alto! has grown until it crystallized into its current line-up on stage:

Afonso Cabral: vocals, electric bass, keyboard
Francisca Cortesão: vocals and guitars
Inês Sousa: vocals, keyboards and percussion
Isabel Minhós Martins: creator of the concert script (and of the texts for the record and book), comments or João Vaz Silva: comments
Sérgio Nascimento or Rui Freire: drums, percussion and vocals

upcoming Mais Alto! shows

louva-a-deus label

After more than 50 concerts all over Portugal, mainly for school-aged audiences, in April 2024 the project’s first book-record came out – which is also louva-a-deus’s first release in our own label. It’s available for sale in our store.

order the book-record

Mais Alto! also promotes a Protest Song Writing Workshop

In the band’s own words: “Based on our curiosity about the anxieties, concerns, desires and modes of expression of the audiences to whom we have directed our commented concerts, we decided to organize protest songwriting workshops for elementary and secondary school students.”

More information about the record-book, the concerts and the workshops on the Mais Alto! website.