Natanael Cano Among Headliners for 2025 Installment of Mexico City’s Axe Ceremonia Festival

Natanael Cano has a special axe to grind.

The 23-year-old Mexican rapper and singer will serve as one of the headlining acts for the 2025 edition of the Axe Ceremonia festival, which will take place April 5-6 at Parque Bicentenario in Mexico City, Mexico.

Natanael CanoCano is among a roster of headliners that includes Massive Attack, Tyler, the Creator, Charli XCXNathy Peluso, Parcels, Gesaffelstein, Fka Twigs, TOMORROW X TOGETHER and Meme del Real (Café Tacvba’s keyboard player).

The Marías, Hanumankind, A.G. Cook, NSQK, The Dare, Simpson Ahuevo and Brutalism 300 are other acts announced as part of the lineup for the festival, which has established itself as a cultural celebration featuring the best and most representative bands and soloists of the local and international scene.

Tickets were made available on Ticketmaster in a presale for CITIBANAMEX cardholders on Wednesday (Oct. 23), with the general sale beginning a day later, announced promoter Eco Live, which produces the event in collaboration with the Mexican promoter Ocesa.

The Axe Ceremonia, which will be celebrating its 12th edition, has become an interesting option within the circuit of major music festivals in Mexico, providing a space for diverse voices and multi-generational sounds, offering the freshest from the global scene on its lineup.

In the words of its promoters: “AXE Ceremonia is a platform that drives creative communities, cutting-edge talent and social activists so that their projects and ideas can reach a broader audience.”

Past editions have included global music stars such as Björk, Rosalía, Kendrick Lamar, LCD Soundsystem, Travis Scott, James Blake, Wu-Tang Clan, A$AP Rocky, Aphex Twin, Snoop Dogg, Animal Collective, Underworld, Nicolas Jaar and Fuerza Regida.

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Karol G to Make Three “Mañana Será Bonito Tour” Stops in Mexico in Early 2024

Karol G is heading to Mexico…

As part of its Latin American leg, the 32-year-old Colombian singer-songwriter’s Mañana Será Bonito Tour will make three stops in Mexico, starting February 8 at the capital’s emblematic Estadio Azteca, promoter Ocesa has announced.

Karol GAccording to Karol G’s official website, the other two dates scheduled in Mexico are February 16, at the Estadio Mobil Super in the northern city of Monterrey, and February 23 at the Tres de Marzo stadium in Guadalajara.

Pre-sale for HSBC cardholders for the Estadio Azteca show begins next Monday and Tuesday (October 23-24), and the following day they will be available to the general public at the venue’s box office or through Ticketmaster, Ocesa said.

The show at the Estadio Azteca will be produced by Ocesa and Westwood. The collaboration between both promoters had previously occurred last December, when Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny sang at the same venue.

The nicknamed “Coloso de Santa Úrsula” has room for about 83,000 people, according to its website. Among other stars that have performed there are U2, Madonna and Vicente Fernández.

The last time that “La Bichota” performed in Mexico City was in June 2022, when she gave two sold-out concerts at the Arena Ciudad de México, where she had RBD’s Anahí and Mexican rock band Café Tacvba as special guests.

Karol G’s upcoming shows in Mexico, after her successful U.S. stadiums tour, mark the beginning of a journey through 18 Latin American cities, including in her native Colombia, Peru, Chile, Guatemala, Argentina and Brazil.

Her previous arenas stint, the 2022 $trip Love Tour, became the highest-grossing U.S. tour by a Latina in history. It grossed $69.9 million across 33 shows in North America, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, surpassing Jennifer Lopez’s $50 million on the 2019 It’s My Party World Tour and Shakira’s $28.2 million on the 2018 El Dorado World Tour.

Last August, Karol G was the first Latina headliner at Lollapalooza. She subsequently released her second album of the year, Mañana Será Bonito (Bichota Season), six months after Mañana Será Bonito, which debuted atop the Billboard 200 becoming the first No. 1 by a woman singing in Spanish in the history of the chart.

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Grupo Frontera to Perform in Mexico City’s Zócalo During This Year’s Grito de Independencia

Grupo Frontera will be making a special visit to Mexico’s most iconic plaza…

The Regional Mexican group will perform at Mexico City’s Zócalo — the country’s most important public square — on September 15 for the annual Grito de Independencia event, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has announced.

Grupo Frontera“The members of Grupo Frontera will be there on September 15 at night in the Zócalo,” said the Mexican president at the end of his usual morning conference, where he played Frontera’s cover of “No Se Va,” originally by Colombian group Morat.

López Obrador reiterated his taste for the music of the Regional Mexican group, which he has included in his playlist to challenge corridos tumbados, a musical genre that although he has said he will not prohibit, he considers to glorify drug traffickers.

Grupo Frontera joins a long list of national and international artists who have set foot in the second-largest public square in the world, only behind Tiananmen in Beijing. Musicians such as Paul McCartneyJustin Bieber, Manu ChaoShakira, Café Tacvba and the late icon of regional Mexican music Vicente Fernández, among many others, have performed at the Zócalo.

The attendance record for free concerts held in the so-called Primer Cuadro in the Mexican capital is held by the Argentine rock band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, which achieved the milestone of gathering 300,000 people on the night of June 3, beating Grupo Firme, who held the record after summoning 280,000 people in September 2022, according to figures from the government of Mexico City.

This week, the sextet scored their first top 10 hit on a Billboard album chart with El Comienzo, which jumped 39-4 on the Top Latin Albums chart on August 19 after its first full week of activity.

El Comienzo also jumped 12-2 on Regional Mexican Albums and debuted at No. 39 on the Billboard 200 all-genre chart.

Café Tacvba to Receive Special Award from Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF)

Café Tacvba is being feted with a special honor…

This week, the Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF) announced that Mexican rock band will be honored with the 2023 Hispanic Heritage Arts Award at the 36th annual gala set for September 7 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

Café Tcvba“A great honor [and] emotion to be part of this,” expressed the group on Instagram. “We are very grateful for the recognition of our trajectory!”

Celebrating a 34-year career, Café Tacvba is known for timeless Latin rock hits including “La Ingrata,” “Eres,” “Chilanga Banda” and many more.

“Café Tacvba has been inspiring audiences with their brilliant, eclectic sound for decades since they started in Mexico,” said Antonio Tijerino, HHF President and CEO, in a press statement. “We are thrilled to honor this remarkable group of musical visionaries with our Arts Award and we look forward to celebrating Café Tacvba and share our collective cultural pride and achievement at the Kennedy Center and on PBS.”

The Hispanic Heritage Arts Awards will broadcast on PBS and stream on PBS.org on Sept. 29th.

Gloria Trevi Among Headlining Acts for This Year’s Bésame Mucho Festival

Gloria Trevi will be performing at Dodger Stadium in December…

Following the inaugural edition of Bésame Mucho in Los Angeles last December, the music festival announced on Tuesday (Feb. 21) the lineup for its second edition, which includes the 55-year-old Mexican singer/songwriter.

Gloria-TreviTrevi, known as The Supreme Diva of Mexican Pop, will be one of the headlining acts.

Other headliners include Maná and Los Bukis.

Bésame will return to Dodger Stadium as a one-day event on December 2. Like last year, it will consist of stages representing different genres. Rock, classics and pop will get their own stage again.

The “Rockero Stage” will feature sets by artists such as Natalia Lafourcade, La Ley, Ska-P, Aterciopelados and Maldita Vecindad.

The “Las Clásicas Stage” roster includes Alejandro Fernández, Pepe Aguilar, Los Tucanes de Tijuana and Conjunto Primavera.

Meanwhile, the “Te Gusta El Pop?” stage’s lineup includes Reik, Camila, Belinda, Emmanuel and Jesse & Joy.

Returning artists from last year include Café Tacvba, Hombres G, Enanitos Verdes, Ramon Ayala and Banda El Recodo.

Last year, the inaugural Bésame Mucho festival edition sold out in 12 minutes, according to sources, when the 2000s-inspired lineup was announced. At the actual event, thousands of fans had to sprint across the stadium’s parking lot to catch whichever act was on their must-see list. The literal back-to-back sets were 35-50 minutes in length, which fans weren’t too crazy about, especially with technical difficulties that impacted the sound leaving artists to deal with the situation onstage and, ultimately, left them with a shorter set. This year’s lineup isn’t as packed as last year, which could lead to more efficient set transitions and overall production quality.

Tickets for Bésame Mucho 2023 will go on sale Friday, February 24 at 10:00 am PT.

Los Tigres del Norte to Co-Headline First-Ever Bésame Mucho Festival at LA’s Dodger Stadium

Los Tigres del Norte are puckering up

The legendary Mexican norteño band will co-headline the first-ever edition of Bésame Mucho, taking place on Saturday, December 3 at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium.

Los Tigres del NorteLos Tigres del Norte will headline alongside Julieta VenegasCafé Tacvba, ZoéSin BanderaJuanes and Banda El Recodo, among many other Latin acts who will perform.

The festival featured a head-turning, multigenerational lineup, featuring pop, Regional Mexican, merengue, cumbia and rock artists.

According to the Need Pastel-designed flyer, the Tropicália and La Tocada-organized event will be a one-day festival with three separate stages: Rockero stage, Las Clásicas stage and Te Gusta El Pop? stage.

The fest will also feature sets by Bronco, Banda Machos, Caifanes, Enanitos Verdes, Panteón Rococó, Los Ángeles Azules, Sonora Dinamita, Kabah, Fey and Aleks Syntek with additional headliners to be announced later this year.

Giving When We Were Young vibes featuring a packed lineup, the logistics of how the festival will pan out throughout the day are yet to be outlined by its producers.

But just hours after the event was announced, Latin music fans took to social media to comment on the nostalgia-provoking lineup while also confirming their attendance to a festival that’s 10 months away.

“I’m there,” someone tweeted. “The lineup is absolutely insane,” another Twitter user wrote.

Tickets for the Bésame Mucho festival will go on sale Friday, February 18 at 5:00 pm ET. General admission tickets will start at $199.99 with VIP tickets starting at $324.99.

Visit besamemuchofestival.com for more information.

Camilo Releases New Punk-Pop Single “Pesadilla”

Camilo is punkin’ things up…

The 27-year-old Colombian Latin Grammy-winning singer-songwriter has gone punk-pop on his new single titled “Pesadilla,” which was released on Tuesday alongside a quirky music video.

CamiloThe track — which features an earworm hook (“Bye bye bye bye”) — follows Camilo’s “Indigo,” a collaboration with his wife Evaluna Montaner, which they dropped back in October.

The Café Tacvba-esque track, penned by Camilo and longtime collaborator Edgar Barrera, takes inspiration from Camilo’s love for Mexican-music influences, which have always played an integral role in his sonority.

In “Pesadilla,” Camilo sings about the nightmare of losing one’s partner to a rival. “But not even in my dreams you’ll take her away from me,” he declares in song.

About the music video, directed by Evaluna, who’s expecting the couple’s first baby, Camilo said: “Evaluna and I felt like it couldn’t be a literal portrayal, or aesthetically coherent with everyday occurrences. It needed to be a dreamlike video that highlights our colors as well as Mexico’s, both of which always inspire us.”

Camilo spoke to Billboard during the 2021 Latin Grammys in November, where he won four awards, about his inspiration and how it shapes his identity. “Inspiration is not something you can reach. I think it’s something divine and a gift you receive from above. That’s when one finds their identity,” he said.

Camilo’s Mis Manos, which won the Latin Grammy for best pop vocal album, is now up for best Latin pop album at the 2022 Grammy Awards.

Bad Bunny to Perform at This Year’s Latin Grammys Awards Show

Bad Bunny is preparing for his next Latin Grammy moment…

The Latin Recording Academy has announced a new wave of artists set to perform at the 2021 Latin Grammys on November 18, with the 27-year-old Puerto Rican superstar making the list.

Bad Bunny

Bad Bunny, a four-time nominee this year, joins a roster of performers that includes Pablo AlboránAlejandro FernándezManáJuanes, and Myke Towers.

They join the roster of previously announced performers including Ozuna, Paula Arenas, Nella, Danna Paola, Banda El Recodo De Cruz Lizárraga, Los Dos Carnales, Calibre 50, La Arrolladora Banda El Limón de René Camacho, and Rubén Blades, who will be honored as the Person of the Year.

Five-time nominee, C. Tangana, is set to perform alongside Antonio Carmona, Diego del Morao, Jorge Drexler, Israel Fernández, La Húngara, Natalia Lafourcade and Omar Apollo.

Additionally, Juanes will perform a new arrangement of Juan Gabriel’s iconic “No Tengo Dinero,” alongside Rubén Albarrán and Meme del Real of Café Tacvba.

Colombian singer-songwriter Camilo leads the 2021 Latin Grammys nominees with 10 nods, including nominations in the album, record, and song of the year categories. He’s followed by tropical music icon Juan Luis Guerra with six, Spanish rapper Tangana with five nominations, and multiple artists, including Bad Bunny, with four.

The 22nd annual Latin Grammys will air live on the Univision network on November 18 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Los Fabulosos Cadillacs to Perform at Next Year’s Chicago-Based Ruido Fest

Los Fabulosos Cadillacs are ready to make some ruido

After a year away, Chicago’s Ruido Fest is set to return in August with a star-studded lineup that includes the Argentine ska band, Café Tacvba and Panteón Rococó as headliners.

Los Fabulosos Cadillacs

Marking the return of one of Latin music’s biggest festivals to the Midwest since the COVID-19 pandemic, the alt-rock fest is set to take place on August 20-22 at Union Park. Other artists set to perform throughout the three-day event include Moenia, Los Amigos Invisibles, La Doña, Lido Pimienta, Mexican Institute of Sound and Little Jesus, among others.

The announcement arrives as cities across the country are beginning to loosen COVID restrictions, including Chicago, which is currently in its “bridge phase” of its reopening plan.

Max Wagner, co-founder of Ruido and owner of event production company Metronome, tells Billboard that production will follow state and city guidelines.

“The hope is that by late August things are somewhat back to normal,” Wagner says. “We will try to keep everyone safe. There will be more people cleaning and all of our staff will be required to have masks across the grounds. With fans attending, we’ll follow CDC guidelines and whatever they’re saying at the time of the festival in terms of mask or no masks outdoors.”

Launched in 2015, Ruido Fest has featured an array of Latin artists, including Enanitos Verdes, Hombres G, Zoé, Molotov, Vanessa Zamora, Bomba Estéreo, Intocable, El Tri, Los Tigres del Norte and Maldita Vecindad.

For more information on the festival and how to buy tickets, visit ruidofest.com.

Here’s the Ruido 2021 lineup in alphabetical order:

Ambar Lucid
Café Tacvba (Sunday headliner)
El Chisme
El Shirota
Evil Empire
Inner Wave
Kaina
La Armada
La Doña
Las Nubes
Lido Pimienta
Little Jesus
Los Amigos Invisibles
Los Fabulosos Cadillacs (Friday headliner)
Margaritas Podridas
Maye
Mexican Institute of Sound
Moenia
Nahuales Underground
Nanpa Básico
Panteón Rococó (Saturday headliner)
Rosalba Valdez
Silverio
The Mini Projects
Tone Zone Skam

Julieta Venegas to Take Part in Soda Stereo’s Gracias Totales Tour

Julieta Venegasis helping Soda Stereogive Gracias.

The 49-year-old Mexican American singer and Grammy winner will serve as a special guest on Soda Stereo bassist Zeta Bosio and drummer Charly Alberti’s Gracias Totales tour, which will be making stops in New York, Miami, Los Angeles and Houston. 

Julieta Venegas

Soda Stereo and their guests will take the stage to sing some of the band’s greatest hits and honor the legacy of late frontman Gustavo Cerati.

In addition to Venegas, other special guests include Soda Stereo’s first vocalist and the Cerati’s great friend Richard ColemanAterciopeladosAndrea EcheverriDraco Rosa; and Gustavo Santaolalla

More than 10 years after Cerati last hit the stage at Miami’s AmericanAirlines Arena in 2007, Soda Stereo’s members – joined by their special guests via in-person or audiovisual format – will perform some of their timeless hits, like “De Musica Ligera,” “Persiana Americana,” “Tratame Suavemente” and more.

Coleman, Draco, Santaolalla and Venegas will join Zeta and Charly at their shows in New York and Miami. Echeverri will then take over Venegas’ spot at the Los Angeles and Houston shows.

Joining via video are Rubén Albarránfrom Café Tacvba; Cerati’s son BenitoBabasonicos’ Adrián DárgelosLos Tresand Pettinellis’ Álvaro HenríquezJuanesMon LaferteLeón LarreguiFernando Ruiz Díazfrom Catupecu Machu; and Coldplay frontman Chris Martin

The tour, presented by Loud and Live and Move Concerts, will honor the late Argentine frontman and guitarist Gustavo Cerati, who died on September 4, 2014, after suffering a stroke. According to an official statement, technology will allow Cerati’s voice and image to be part of the show.

The Gracias Totales tour marks Soda Stereo’s farewell trek. Tickets are on sale via Ticketmaster.

Here are the dates:

April 14 — New York @ Barclays Center
April 17 — Miami, FL @ American Airlines Arena
April 22 — Houston, TX @ Smart Financial
April 25 — Los Angeles, CA @ Forum