Baobá Festival: psytrance open air in São José dos Campos

Baobá Festival is a compact weekend event rather than a week-long gathering: roughly 27 hours of music over two days, held every year in early May. It takes place in the rural outskirts of São José dos Campos, in São Paulo state, and draws a mainly local crowd. Alongside the dance floor there is food on site and art installations. The 2021 edition was postponed to 2022; since then the festival has kept its May slot.

Event listings since 2022 place the festival at Luso Brasileiro, on Estrada Pedro Moacir de Almeida (km 5) in the Alto da Ponte area of São José dos Campos. The setting is rural and open-air. São Paulo is the nearest major city, and São Paulo/Guarulhos (GRU) is the main international airport; São José dos Campos also has a smaller airport of its own (SJK). In May, Brazil is in autumn.

The music is psytrance, with progressive and full-on at the core. Line-ups change from year to year, so follow the official Instagram for the artists of the next edition.

The audience is mainly local and Brazilian, and the event has the social feel of a weekend out with friends. If you travel from abroad, a few words of Portuguese help. Announcements are published on the official Instagram and Facebook pages; the festival also runs a YouTube channel.

Getting there is straightforward. A car gives you the most flexibility, and in past years organized bus excursions have run to the festival, for example with GoodVibesTour in 2024. Flying in, Guarulhos (GRU) is the main gateway. Our sources do not confirm on-site camping, so sort out where you will stay before you go.

Tickets are sold online through the festival's page on zig.tickets. Dates and prices for the next edition have not been published yet; watch the official Instagram and the zig.tickets page for the announcement.