Who's Got A Ticket to Ride at Cavern Club São Paulo?

Last Saturday, November 15, Shopping Vila Olímpia (São Paulo) opened its doors to the first Cavern Club outside England. Some called it a replica; others, a recreation of the historical atmosphere and the British pub experience for the Brazilian audience. However, between us, there’s an inconsistency.

What Was the Cavern Club?

The Cavern Club became internationally known as the birthplace of one of the most influential bands of its generation and the counterculture: The Beatles, in the 1960s. However, the history of the place begins a little earlier, as a jazz club founded in 1957 by Alan Sytner.

Two years later, the Cavern Club was under the management of Ray McFall, who promoted skiffle music and lunchtime sessions. Both became a feast for young workers, who watched the bands while eating their lunch sandwiches.

Some artists who were already famous in the UK appeared in these sessions, such as Gerry & the Pacemakers, The Searchers, The Hollies, Billy J. Kramer, and Cilla Black. Additionally, some names who would later become famous during the British Invasion performed there, including the four young men from Liverpool who played 292 times at the Cavern Club between 1961 and 1963 before starting their international careers.

As a result, the Cavern Club earned its own hall of fame: a brick mural with the diverse names of everyone who had played there, along with statues of John Lennon and Cilla Black.

Cavern Club São Paulo

In 2025, the Cavern Club opened its first branch in São Paulo. In its first weeks, the schedule has been packed with names from the Brazilian rock scene and some tribute bands. The opening featured Paulo Ricardo on November 15, followed by Titãs on the 20th, Léo Jaime(J.P.M.A) on the 21st, Dado Villa-Lobos(Legião Urbana) on December 6, Virginie Boutaud on the 13th, Beto Guedes (Club da Esquina) on the 19th, and Blitz on January 30, 2026.

The decoration features a hall of fame, tables, and rock memorabilia, offering an accessible opportunity for passionate Brazilian fans who never had the chance to visit the original. At the same time, the venue promises to bring even more vibrancy to São Paulo.

Is Cavern Club São Paulo Honoring History or Playing Favorites?

There’s a fine line between honoring a historic place and brown-nosing.

The hall of fame already starts filled with the names of those who played at the original Cavern Club, alongside Beatles-dominated memorabilia. Some call the space a rock museum; others, a temple of music.

According to Spotify data from 2023, rock is the third most streamed genre in Brazil on the platform, behind only sertanejo and gospel. In the following two years, the genre lost prominence, and in 2025 it fell behind pagode, funk, and trap.

Bolsonaro’s government marked a grim period, with the extinction of the Ministry of Culture. After his term ended, Brazil faced a cultural rise, with growing international recognition of Brazilian cinema in Cannes, Berlin, and Los Angeles. But is this rise is due to foreign validation of our work or an authentic response to the dark ages?

It’s important to recognize that more Brazilians are producing and gaining access to cultural goods, thanks to the governments of Lula and Dilma, with incentives aimed at decentralizing public cultural policies and recognizing and valuing Brazil’s cultural, ethnic, and regional diversity. Even so, access barriers remain, even in the prestigious Rio–São Paulo axis, not to mention the realities outside this bubble.

Perhaps the Cavern Club is truly a museum, but with selective criteria. To be part of history, one must be foreign and white, preferably male, with acces$ and privileges.

Brazilians: Loyal People or Cultural Low Self-Esteem?

Brazil has always been a people that drank from foreign sources to create its own; this has been part of our DNA for years. Musically speaking, the phenomenon began in the 1950s and 1960s, with Europe and the United States. Initially, it sparked the March Against the Electric Guitar, defending national music against “foreign invasion.” However, it did not prevent the cultural colonization that would last generations.

I dare say it all started during World War II, with the Good Neighbor policy. At the end of the war, the United States pushed Latin America under the rug, but the reverse was not true. Especially with Europe’s decline during the conflict, the narrative of the “American dream” echoed through all continental media.

In the 1950s, it began innocently with the Jovem Guarda and Brazilian rockabilly, who adapted successful foreign songs for the Brazilian youth audience. This shaped an entire generation in terms of fashion, slang, and musical influences for decades to come.

Later artists were deeply influenced by this cultural colonization. They drank from the Cavern Club’s source: writing their own lyrics, shaping their visual identity, or adapting the aesthetics for Brazilian audiences. They challenged the authorities of an 21-years-old extreme-right military regime with authoritarianism, human rights abuses, political persecution, exiles, violence, victims and supporters' denial. Others influenced a generation of young people who grew up during these 21 years, giving voice to their anxieties and taking risks. Many created channels of communication for those previously excluded by socioeconomic barriers.

The Brazilian rock audience is described as loyal, perhaps due to the popularity of events they attend. But to what extent is this also a result of cultural colonization, which taught us not to fully value our own culture, reinforcing a certain cultural elitism?

Who Becomes Part of Cavern Club São Paulo History?

Brazilians still have lived — and sometimes selective — memories of generations slowly drifting away. In addition, there are underground stories that were and still are overshadowed and repressed, with little visibility or knowledge. Not to mention stories known locally in São Paulo, such as Angra, Titãs, Rita Lee, and Cindy Campello (both are the queens of Brazilian rock n' roll). Furthermore, we hold a rich and diverse cultural archive across our 8.51 million km².

On the other hand, restoration is questionable, carried out through dubious policies and administration, with recurring incidents and no supervision. Many privileged artists still turn to the exterior for greater exposure or access to quality materials — and all of this often goes to waste.

The Brazilian artist seems made to be a puppet in the Cavern Club São Paulo: attracting audiences, moving capital, and at most, seeing their name on a brick wall. On the stage of Cavern Club São Paulo, the requirement is already having an established base, not seeking new voices or opportunities. let alone broad historical redress. Culture doesn’t easily die and is constantly recreated, but it must be cultivated to avoid rotting.

Could the Cavern Club São Paulo be an attempt to revive the Hard Rock Café in Tijuca? Opened in the 2000s, it closed early in 2011 due to financial and operational issues, worsened by competition, leaving memories with Pain of Salvation, some cover bands, and few rare major Brazilian or international rock acts performing regularly.

Some say rock is dead, is this reality or just your vision?