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13 September 2023

The Greatest Latin Music Festivals in 2023

THE GREATEST LATIN MUSIC FESTIVALS IN 2023 & OVER THE YEARS

MUSIC, OLD /
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    Who has had more of a global impact on the music scene recently than Latin artists? ‘Despacito’ by Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee remains in the top five most-viewed YouTube videos, having clocked up an astonishing eight billion views in five years – it’s currently at No. 2, behind ‘Baby Shark Dance’.

    And Latin music is a guaranteed money maker: Music Business Worldwide were reporting in the middle of 2022 that the recorded music market for Latin artists in the US was on course to generate over $1 billion in revenue for the year.

    Speaking with MBW, Alejandro Duque, President of Warner Music Latin America, said, ‘Latin music has gone mainstream in the US, and is having a huge creative and commercial impact.’ Duque said that it currently represents around 6% of the market, so there’s still plenty of room for growth – including crossovers and collaborations. Brazilian superstar Anitta, for example, has featured guest artists from Cardi B to Ty Dolla $ign and Saweetie – the latter on her hit ‘Faking Love’:

    High streaming numbers and winning new fans around the world – together with cross-cultural collaborations, not just with Anglo stars but also with African music artists – mean that Latin genres will continue to lead the way. And, of course, live music and festivals are a big element of awareness and success for Latin artists and producers. So, which are the best Latin music festivals to book tickets for this year?

    Latin Music Festivals 2023

    Rio Carnival

    Can anything beat a trip to Rio for the annual carnival? The world-famous event, from February 17th-25th, is billed as ‘the greatest show on Earth’, is the biggest event of the Brazilian cultural calendar and is surely on many a bucket-list. The parades at the Sambadrome are the main attraction – the stadium seats more than 80,000 and can accommodate more than 5,000 participants.

    The samba is at the heart of the Carnival, and the top samba schools are judged by 40 judges whose eagle eyes aren’t just looking at the dance moves, but also the costumes, which form part of the story.

    It’ll definitely take you longer than five minutes to perfect your moves, but if you want to shake a tailfeather along with the performers, then watch this video explainer:

    You’ll need to perfect your ‘samba bounce’ to join in with the street parties – no two are the same.

    Lollapalooza Chile

    This year’s line-up has everyone from indie darling Billie Eilish to Lil Nas X, Drake, Armin Van Buuren and The 1975, alongside Latin artists Polo & Pan, Elsa Y Elmar, Danny Ocean and Alvaro Diaz. The festival takes place at the Parque Cerrillos in Santiago from the 17th-19th March. Get your tickets now!

    Suenos

    New reggaetón and Latin trap festival Suenos is going to be headed up by some of Latin music’s biggest stars – J Balvin, Ozuna and Wisin Y Yandel all appeared at the inaugural festival last year. Suenos is taking place at Grant Park in Chicago from May 27th-28th (Memorial Day weekend). Presented by the producers behind Baja Beach Fest and Lollapalooza, the Suenos line up will feature 20+ artist performances, alongside experiential activities.

    Suenos will be joined by three-day reggaetón fest Mas Flow in Chicago from July 15th-17th, featuring headliners Don Omar and Ivy Queen. Latinos are the second-largest racial or ethnic group in the city, and can also enjoy Ruido Fest, a Latin alternative music festival that launched in 2015.

    Tickets for Suenos will be available from February 11th at www.suenosmusicfestival.com

    Calibash

    This downtown LA festival is one of the year’s hottest Latin music festivals. Myke Towers, Arcangel, Ivy Queen, Jhay Cortez and Nio Garcia are all on the bill.

    The festival takes place January 21st and 22nd at the Crypto.com Arena – follow the link to buy tickets.

    Cosquin Rock 2023

    Taking place from February 18th-19th in Cordoba, Argentina at the Aeroclub Santa Maria de Punilla, this is a rock and pop festival featuring a massive array of artists, including Bandalos Chinos, Fiesta Katana, Las Pastillas Del Abuelo and Tiesto.

    Last year’s festival won the award for Best LATAM Festival at the Fest 2022 Awards, held in Bilbao. This will be Cosquin’s 25th year.

    Check out the festival’s Spotify lists for a taster, then grab your tickets.

    La Linea

    The London Latin Music Festival returns in April and May across Central London. Time Out said that, ‘La Linea has spent years building an impressive international reputation as one of the world’s most eclectic celebrations of Latin music.’ Expect artists such as Emicida and Jorge Drexler and book your tickets through the venues – both are playing at the Barbican.

    BigSound Festival

    Taking place on the 29th June in Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias in Valencia, Spain, BigSound will be showcasing Latin, reggaetón and urbano artists including Duki, Lali Esposito, Beret and Juan Magan. Tickets are available through the BigSound website.

    Puro Latino Sevilla Fest

    Head to the Cartuja Center Cite in Seville, Spain on the 30th June to catch Maluma, Dellafuente, Jowell & Randy and DJ Jose de las Heras.

    Baja Beach Fest

    Aaron Ampudia is the co-creator of Suenos, and of Mexico’s Baja Beach Fest. He says that, ‘it’s a new era [for Latin music]. There’s never been this big of a crossover. There’s never been a Latin artist like Bad Bunny, crushing all the records in the history of streaming, beating Drake and American artists. That’s never happened for Latinos.’

    Ampudio founded Baja Beach Fest in 2018, 20 miles south of San Diego and it was the first of the sole reggaetón and Latin trap festivals in the region. With its mix of established and upcoming musica urbana stars, BBF doubled its attendance from 15,000 to 30,000 in its first two years. It also expanded to two weekends, following in Coachella’s famous footsteps.

    Baja Beach Fest 2023 takes place from August 12th-14th and 19th-21st at Rosarito Beach – there’s everyone from Daddy Yankee and Wisin Y Yandel to Maluma, Anuel AA to Natti Natasha on the bill. Get your passes through the website.

    Latin Music Festivals 2022

    Following the slew of Latin Music festivals 2021 offered up, 2022 proved a bumper year for Latin music fans. Last year, LatinoLife in the Park was billed as the UK’s largest Latin music festival and featured the Candela Stage – Britain’s ‘first and only festival stage dedicated to homegrown urban Latin music’. The La Clave Stage featured classic Tropical Latin Big Bands and there was a Salsa Stage and a Brazil Stage. Artists included Angelo Flow, Ava, Lisey Tigra and Alvarez Funk.

    Rumbazo

    Kicking off Hispanic Heritage Month in September, Rumbazo proved the quintessential Las Vegas Latin festival 2022. Stars who lined up to celebrate Latin rhythm and pride included Maluma, Prince Royce, Natanael Cano, Ivy Queen, Omar Apollo and Yendry.

    Pal Mundo Festival

    The Zuiderpark in Den Haag, Netherlands, hosted the Pal Mundo Festival in July 2022. Spanning Latin, Caribbean, Reggaeton, tropical dance and urban genres, Pal Mundo brings the heat of Central and South America to the heart of Holland. J Balvin was the 2022 headliner at what’s billed as ‘the biggest Latin and Caribbean festival in Europe’.

    Ruido Fest

    The Ruido fest 2022 line up featured Tijuana-based alt-pop-rock artist Bruses, Carmen DeLeon, Nortec Collective, Cuco, Carla Morrison and iconic hip hop trio Cypress Hill. The celebration of alternative music from different Latino backgrounds brings together some of the biggest artists across the Latin music scene to Union Park in Chicago.

    Lollapalooza Chile

    The Chilean iteration of the famous music festival has been held in Santiago since 2011. O’Higgins Park plays host to alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop bands from both Chile and abroad. It was the first edition of Lollapalooza to take place outside of the US and was followed by Lollapalooza Brazil in Sao Paulo in 2012.

    Lollapalooza Chile has featured everyone from The Killers to the Foo Fighters, Bjork to Calvin Harris and has also provided an important platform for Chilean music, bands and artists. Featured bands have included Chico Trujillo, Los Bunkers and Joe Vasconcellos, many of whom have then gone on to play at the original Lollapalooza in Chicago.

    Last year’s 10th anniversary show featured the Foo Fighters, Jane’s Addiction, Jhay Cortez, Miley Cyrus, Pablo Chill-E, Doja Cat, and Princesa Alba among its star-studded line up.

    Vibra Urbana

    Vibra Urbana, which has positioned itself as ‘the biggest reggaetón festival in the US’ grew from a small backyard event in Orlando to an indoor Miami venue in 2020. Festival co-founder David Adan said that he started it ‘out of love for the music and seeing an empty gap where we felt like we could provide for our city.’ The Miami-born Cuban American revealed that ‘Miami is full of Latinos, full of the love for Latin music. Everywhere you go out, you’ll see clubs playing Spanish language music. We needed to make something happen.’

    In the first year of the festival, Jhay Cortez, J Quiles and Myke Towers – all then in the early stages of their US breakthroughs – played sets. The organisers’ ambition for the next five years is to ‘expand it across the globe, to make an impact globally.’

    So, as you can see, Latin music festivals are not only experiencing a huge boom worldwide, but also bringing different genres and subgenres into one place for fans. Coachella 2022 saw more Latin acts than ever performing there, (its roster has doubled in Latin acts since 2020) whilst Grammy.com reported that half a dozen exclusively Latin music festivals debuted in the US last year.

    Samba, Son & More

    Latin music has a huge variety of genres – read our deep-dive blog to find out their roots and rhythms and most importantly, check out our incredible Latin Series collection. These are the diverse musical stories of Latin America. From reggaeton to rumba, son to tango, discover authentic Afro-Latin music shaped by its African, European and Indigenous origins and its evolution in the Caribbean, North, South and Central American continental regions.

    If that isn't enough, our World Lifestyle series has even more Latin tracks for you to license for your content, from YouTube videos to TV shows.

    Check out our Latin Series collection below -

    latin series

    Want more? Listen to our hand-picked Latin playlist on Spotify:

    Need Music for Your Project?

    At Audio Network we create original music, of the highest quality, for broadcasters, brands, creators, agencies and music fans everywhere. Through clear and simple licensing, we can offer you a huge variety of the best quality music across every conceivable mood and genre. Find out how we can connect you with the perfect collaborator today by clicking the button below!

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    THE GREATEST LATIN MUSIC FESTIVALS IN 2023 & OVER THE YEARS Read More »

    How Did African Artists Influence Latin Music

    HOW DID AFRICAN ARTISTS INFLUENCE LATIN AMERICAN MUSIC?

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      African and Black music has both created and influenced a huge array of music genres worldwide.

      From jazz to hip hop and country to R&B, disco to techno, some of the connections may surprise you. So, how did African artists influence Latin American music?

      African music originally spread around the globe largely because of the transportation of enslaved peoples, who took their music and instruments – mostly from Western Africa – to the ‘New World’.

      In the Americas, the earliest forms of music were probably within ceremonial contexts, such as religious worship. As with many cultures, percussion instruments such as drums and rattles were the first inventions.

      African & Latin American Music

      Many Latin American instruments, like drums, bells, rattles and flutes, are traceable to religions and ceremonies in Africa.

      The influence of African music can be most clearly seen in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti and Brazil, in the Latin American music genres of Afro-Cuban rumba, Brazilian samba, Jamaican reggae and Colombian cumbia.

      Afro-Cuban Rumba

      Afro-Cuban rumba originated in the northern regions of Cuba, mainly in urban Havana and Matanzas, during the late 19th century.

      There are three traditional forms of rumba - yambú, guaguancó and Columbia – based on African music and dance traditions. Its main African roots are Abakuá and yuka.

      Abakuá is an Afro-Cuban men’s fraternity akin to Freemasonry, the first of which was established by Africans in Havana in the 1830s. Its rhythmic dance music, combined with the Congo’s Bantu traditions, contributed to the rumba’s musical tradition.

      Yuka is another Afro-Cuban musical tradition based on drumming, singing and dancing, developed in Western Cuba by enslaved Kongolese people during colonial times. The Bantu word ‘yuka’ means ‘to beat’ and also refers to the drums used in the performances. These are traditionally made from hollowed-out avocado tree trunks; leather is nailed to one of the open ends and the player hits the skin with both hands. Alternatively, the drummer can use a small mallet to play rhythms on the drum body. The songs have a simple structure, with singing based on call and response.

      The rumba was traditionally performed by poor workers of African descent in streets and ‘solares’ (courtyards). It’s characterised by vocal improvisation, elaborate dancing and polyrhythmic drumming. Recordings began in the 1940s, and successful rumba bands include Los Papines, Los Muñequitos de Matanzas and Yoruba Andabo.

      The core instruments of a rumba ensemble are the claves – two wooden sticks struck against each other – and the conga drums.

      Other common instruments include shakers such as maracas, scraper percussion instruments (e.g. the guiro), bells and the guagua, a wooden cylinder.

      Samba

      Samba’s roots can be found in 17th century Bahia, where descendants of enslaved Africans combined their percussion techniques with Latin American folk music.

      It then developed in Rio de Janeiro, where the earliest recordings were made in the 1910s, starting with ‘Pelo Telephone’ in 1917. In the late 1960s, samba had a renaissance, led by Brazilian artists such as Nelson Cavaquinho, Guilherme de Brita and Cartola.

      Samba groups (baterias) use steady, hypnotic rhythms and repetitive chord progressions, with simple harmonies and call and response vocals.

      A large percussion ensemble is joined by guitar, bass and the cavaquinho – a four-string Portuguese instrument. Modern baterias also feature brass instruments such as trumpet and trombone and woodwinds, e.g. clarinet and flute.

      Cumbia

      Cumbia is a blend of musical traditions, including indigenous, African and European, all of which mixed together to create something new. In the early 1500s, the Spanish came to Colombia, as part of their Latin American conquest. They brought more than 100,00 captive Africans with them, some of whom eventually managed to escape and to build their own communities.

      Cumbia’s main ingredient is the drum beat that the enslaved peoples brought over from Africa, but the music evolved to include the instruments from the indigenous people of Colombia, such as the gaita, a flute, together with a European influence in the form of Spanish vocals.

      Cumbia is ever-evolving, with DJs now using the underlying beats and fusing them with electronic beats.

      Latin American Music Genres

      Latin American music influenced by African music doesn’t stop there, though – if you look at bachata, batucada, cha-cha-cha, conga, funk carioca, mambo, tango, reggaetón, rumba, son and tropicália, you’ll find the rhythm of Latin American music across the board is underpinned by African music.

      Son

      Son is a musical style that emerged in Eastern Cuba, gaining popularity in the early 20th Century. Son conjuntos – ensembles – are usually trios (three guitars, or two guitars with maracas or clave); sexteto (guitar, tres, bass, bongo, maracas and clave) or septeto, which is the same as the sextet, with an added trumpet. The percussion instruments can be primarily traced to central Africa’s Bantu region.

      Son Cubano (‘the Cuban sound’) also forms the bedrock for most forms of salsa music and Latin jazz. Top Cuban bandleaders like Arsenio Rodriguez and Beny Moré and bands like Sexteto Habanero and Septeto Nacional helped build the genre’s popularity in Havana.

      Present-day Son Cubano ensembles are known as son conjunto and incorporate a wide variety of instruments, as well as vocals.

      These include piano, tres – a Cuban variation on guitar – trumpet, double bass, claves, guiro and timbales.

      Influential Artists

      ‘First and foremost, music is political. It’s societal. It’s resistance. It’s survival. Black people and Afro-descendents from all countries in Latin America have held on to music and dance as a means for joy and liberation,’ music journalist Jennifer Mota told Refinery29 Somos. Here’s our pick of the artists and bands you should know.

      Celia Cruz

      Cuban legend Celia Cruz, aka the Queen of Salsa, proudly embraced her Afro-Latina heritage through her music.

      Beginning her career in Cuba in the 1950s, she took salsa music to the US and around the world, receiving the National Medal of Arts from Bill Clinton in 1994. One of her most famous songs is ‘La Negra Tiene Tumbao’ (‘The Black Woman has Rhythm’.)

      Chocquibtown

      Chocquibtown is a Colombian hip hop group that draws influences from hip hop, electronica, salsa, reggaetón, ska and Afro-Latin rhythms.

      Their track, ‘De Donde Vengo Yo’ won a Latin Grammy in 2011. Lyrically, they discuss Afro-Latino identity, with a common theme of attaining more inclusion for Afro-Colombians in the rest of Colombian society.

      Combo Chimbita

      Combo Chimbita refer to their sound as ‘tropical futurism’. They explore Afro-Caribbean rhythms and traditions such as sacred drumming.

      Novalima

      Peruvian band Novalima blend Afro-Peruvian music with electronica and Latin American beats and chants (many from times of slavery).

      They’ve released six studio albums and have played prestigious festivals such as Womad, and the Montreal Jazz Fest.

      Aloe Blacc

      Songwriter, musician and philanthropist Aloe Blacc’s parents hail from Panama.

      Global hits such as ‘The Man’ and ‘I Need a Dollar’ have their roots in meringue and salsa.

      La Tribu de Abrante

      The New York Times described La Tribu de Abrante as, ‘a high-energy, 12-piece fusion orchestra [that] has blended the sounds of bomba with reggaetón, reggae and hip-hop.’

      They’ve also been credited as being part of the resurgence of the traditional Afro-Puerto Rican music and dance known as bomba.

      More Latin Music

      Latin music has a huge variety of genres – read our deep-dive blog to find out their roots and rhythms and most importantly, check out our incredible Latin Series collection. These are the diverse musical stories of Latin America. From reggaeton to rumba, son to tango, discover authentic Afro-Latin music shaped by its African, European and Indigenous origins and its evolution in the Caribbean, North, South and Central American continental regions.

      If that isn't enough, our World Lifestyle series has even more Latin tracks for you to license for your content, from YouTube videos to TV shows.

      latin series

      Want more? Listen to our hand-picked Latin playlist on Spotify:

      And for more on Black music and its place in history, check out our Black History Month playlist.

      Need Music for Your Project?

      At Audio Network we create original music, of the highest quality, for broadcasters, brands, creators, agencies and music fans everywhere. Through clear and simple licensing, we can offer you a huge variety of the best quality music across every conceivable mood and genre. Find out how we can connect you with the perfect collaborator today by clicking the button below!

      SIGN UP

      HOW DID AFRICAN ARTISTS INFLUENCE LATIN AMERICAN MUSIC? Read More »

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