Backstage at an international Gilberto Gil concert

Gilberto Gil does not wear a watch. But that does not mean that he is cuff off from time.
"What time is it?" he asks, as he goes on stage at the Circo Theater in Braga, in northern Portugal, for the sound check for his 18th and 19th concerts on his European Gil In Concert tour. "Two minutes after six," is the precise reply from his granddaughter Flor, who is seated at the keyboards.

Gil knows that he is running 32 minutes late. Staying at a hotel in Porto, 54 km (33.5 miles) away, he and his wife, Flora, ended up arriving long after the band. Normally punctual, the singer is serious and focused. He needs to be businesslike if he is going to make the best use of the 30 minutes he has available for the whole sound check.

The first songs are those with Adriana Calcanhotto. A special guest for his first post-pandemic European tour, she rehearses her three numbers with Gil.His hit A Paz, one of her songs Esquadros, and the song they wrote together EloGil.

Inside the theater, Gil is shielded from the cool 10° C (50° F) outside, but those band members who went out to eat complain about the autumnal weather in Braga. Gil says that it does not bother him. Despite being from Bahia and living in Rio, at his age, he now prefers the cold to the heat.

As the musicians return, the dressing room area starts to get busy. While those around him are talking about the next day's engagements, Gil seems far away as he strums his guitar.

But he soon shows that he is still connected to the here and now when he asks the time. It is forty two minutes after eight. And off he goes to start an important ritual, which he calls "Janaína," in reference to the vocal coach Janaína Pimenta. 

According to Gil, it is the reason for his energy, which has been the subject of much attention in every European city he has visited: "When the voice is OK, the spirit can see more, it radiates out to everything else. The entire body sings. It's more interesting that way."

Gil's much-noted sartorial elegance on stage is down to Maria Gil. She is his fifth child and she takes care of every detail of her father's costumes. In Braga, Maria is just finishing dressing Gil when the news arrives about the death of the singer Marília Mendonça—an icon of the so-called feminejo movement of female musicians from the Bahian hinterland—in a plane crash. 

Sadness and disbelief floor everyone backstage. The glances exchanged between Gilberto Gil and Adriana Calcanhotto as they walk to the elevator to take them up to the stage are full of grief. After a few moments of not being able to find the right words, they agree to dedicate this concert to Marília. 

In the area behind the stage, Gil hugs his granddaughter Flor and they both come up with a typical Maria remark ("You'll get thrashed"), giving rise to general laughter and lightening the mood a little. Once again, Gil asks the time. Thirty five minutes after nine. Even without a watch, he knew that they were late. Five minutes. 

When the tour—which started on September 30 in Dijon, France—was first announced, theaters were still not allowed to open at full capacity. As the vaccination rates across the continent grew, the restrictions were dropped and theater audience sizes increased. With all the tickets for every concert sold out. 

In the eight countries that the tour visited, Gil performed in front of Brazilians and Europeans who were all feeling emotional. Even though the requirement to wear masks was still in place, being able to attend a concert was a sign that they had made it through a difficult time. And a sign of hope.

During the set of three songs with Adriana Calcanhotto, before singing Esquadros, they remark on this difficult time. On this evening, November 5, in Braga, they also talk about the painful loss of Marília Mendonça. Adriana quotes a line from Tempo Rei: "Everything right now might only be here for one second." 

Gil, who during the trip also lost his friend Letieres Leite, musician and arranger from Bahia, talks about the artist's challenge to bring joy to the people even in sad days. 

"Once, in Africa, I saw. People passing by and suddenly the road was blocked. Right ahead was a coffin. Someone was being buried and the drums were beating loudly. The joy of being alive contrasting with someone's deep feeling of loss. This is a bit like that. We are here, singing  for you. And, at the same time, feeling grief over her death."

The show goes on. Feeling moved, but with our spirits high. It cannot be any other way on a tour to honor Gil's lengthy career and to renew his legacy. Only he does not have his complete family band with him because his son José, who plays drums, ruptured his Achilles tendon three days before they were due to leave for Europe. He was replaced by Marcelo Costa.

To everyone's delight, 40 days after surgery, José was given medical clearance to at least take over the percussion. Since Paris, he has been on stage alongside Marcelo, his brother Bem (bass), his nephew João (electric guitar), and his niece Flor (keyboards and vocals). 

When it is time for the encore, there is yet more evidence that music is an integral part of the DNA of Gilberto Gil's descendants. Sereno, aged four, is traveling with his father, Bem, on this tour, and he comes onto the stage, playing the coconuts, singing, dancing, and stealing the limelight. 

Gil takes the elevator back to his dressing room with Sereno. "You're wicked, yeah!" says his grandfather, before praising the little one's talent: "He's very musical. He has a keen intuition. He knows all the lyrics and arrangements. He's incredible!"  At the end of the concert, even with the 75 years that separate Gil and Sereno, their faces epitomize the feeling of a job well done and the joy of doing what they love.

In two days' time, they will be back on stage, this time to close the tour. After 50 days on the road, it is time to swap the cold of Europe for the warmth of Brazil. Even though he prefers milder temperatures and is delighted to once again be taking his music on tour, Gilberto Gil is now keen to return home. He knows that everything has its time.