Omar Apollo to Perform at This Year’s Austin City Limits Music Festival

Omar Apollo is reaching his (Austin City) Limits

The 24-year-old Mexican American bilingual singer/songwriter will perform at this year’s Austin City Limits Music Festival.

Omar ApolloApollo, a two-time Latin Grammy nominee, will perform on both weekends of the festival, which take places over the course of two weekends at the city’s downtown Zilker Park, with bands playing across nine stages on October 7-9 and October 14-16.

But Apollo isn’t the only Latinx artist set to perform…

BIA, born Bianca Miquela Landrau, will also form part of the eclectic lineup at this year’s fest. The 30-year-old half-Puerto Rican singer rose to acclaim with the hit single “Whole Lotta Money.”

Other Latinx performers include The Marias, Sabrina Claudio and Lido Pimienta.

ParamoreLil Nas XP!nkRed Hot Chili PeppersThe ChicksSZAKacey Musgraves and Flume the event.

Three-day Tickets are currently on sale here, with layaway plans starting at $25 down and 3-day general admission tickets for both weekends on sale here.

The lineup for the Austin Kiddie Limits will be announced soon, with music fans ages 8 and under admitted free of charge when accompanied by a ticketed adult.

J Balvin to Co-Headline New ‘Viva! L.A. Music Festival’ This Summer

J Balvin is ready to Viva Los Angeles

The 36-year-old Colombian reggaetonero will co-headline Viva! L.A., a new, one-day festival set to take place at L.A.’s Dodger Stadium on June 25.

J BalvinThe new festival is being held to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Viva! Pomona, an annual festival launched 10 years ago.

Produced by Goldenvoice, the Viva! L.A. Music Festival will also be headlined by Daddy Yankee, Becky G and Kali Uchis.

The multi-genre fest will also feature performances by Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Lenin Ramirez, Carin Leon, Tainy, Carla Morrison, Ivy Queen, Cuco, Los Dos Carnales, The Marías, Los Tucanes de Tijuana, Chicano Batman, Ed Maverick, Cazzu, La Sonora Dinamita, Lido Piemienta, Eslabon Armado, among many others.

Additionally, the festival will donate $1 of every ticket sold to the Los Angeles-based nonprofit No Us Without You LA, which is committed to feeding L.A.’s undocumented immigrant communities.

Launched in the pandemic, the volunteer-run organization now provides support to “hundreds of food insecure hospitality, day laborers, street vendors and mariachi families.”

Viva! was originally created a decade ago by Rene Contreras who wanted to bring resources to his hometown in Southern California via backyard shows and gigs at local spots. “Viva! goes beyond just a music festival, it has a strong mission of building community and representation, which has led to its cult following that started in L.A. and has since gone global,” according to a press release. “The fest celebrates those often overshadowed immigrants, youth of color, the underserved, the working class in the suburbs, various marginalized communities and artists that have long been pushed out of the larger anglo music arena.”

The Viva! Pomona shows will still continue under the Viva! umbrella.

 

Ticket pre-sale starts Saturday at 10 a.m. PT. Tickets go on sale to the general public later that day at 2 p.m. For ticket and festival information, visit https://vivamusicfestival.com.

 

Kali Uchis Among the Artists Featured on Pandora’s New Latin Music Station “El Detour”

Kali Uchis is taking a special detour…

Pandorais adding a new Latin music station, El Detour, which aims to highlight the work of Latinx recording acts who don’t necessarily belong to a genre or have the exposure of mainstream artists, like the 25-year-old Colombian American singer/songwriter.

Kali Uchis

Uchis will appear alongside acts like Girl Ultra and The Marias, all known for their distinct and vibrant music styles, from R&B to psychedelic soul.

“We wanted to create a station that highlights the genres and artists that don’t necessarily fit in a box and defy genres, music that is outside of the mainstream created by Latinos both in Latin America and the U.S.,” Marcos Juarez, Pandora’s head of Latin music, tells Billboard. “We were very intentional in the way that we chose songs. We wanted to highlight Latin music in 2019 that is outside of the mainstream.”

The Pandora Latin team, including music programmer Leticia Ramirez who came up with the El Detour station name, oversees Pandora’s Latin offerings, including El Pulso’s urban music and RMX, a station dedicated to the regional Mexican genre. 

El Detour aims to show the diversity of Latin music in thoughtfully curated playlists that include everything from electro-pop to tropical fusion as the music streaming platform celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month


“It became clear to us that there were a ton of artists — and this has been true for ages — operating in the margins outside of mainstream commercial music,” Juarez said. “El Detour highlights some of these bigger artists who are huge right now such as Cuco, Kali Uchis and Bomba Estero, artists we have heard of and some are signed to major labels. But we also really wanted to highlight and celebrate a lot of those artists working to build audiences in their respective regions.”

Juarez revealed that Pandora is kicking off the El Detour marketing campaign with Cuco, Kali Uchis, Helado Negro and The Marias, adding that they represent a diverse cross section of distinct sounds.

“Something in English, something in Spanish, they are bicultural and they straddle both sides of Latin identity, American identity and they are emblematic of young Latinos of the U.S. consuming music from all over the place,” Juarez said. “We see this reflected in festival culture such as Viva Pomona[in Southern California] or Tropicalia, which is coming later in the year.”

Juarez also pointed out some of Pandora’s offerings of Latin classics, nostalgic music from around the world, such as Mexico, Puerto Rico and Colombia. It’s a way of “creating relatable listening music experiences in whatever genre or mood you are in,” he adds. 

“Pandora has always been adept at fostering discovery,” Juarez said. “With this project we are looking to accelerate that process of discovery and put music in front of people that otherwise may not be aware of. Latin music continues to thrive and I think we have had success in being reflective of Latino culture and being representative of the diversity of it all.”