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Debut Puerto Rico festival draws sellout crowds

A new festival in Puerto Rico curated by rapper Eladio Carrión and co-promoted by Move Concerts and Noah Assad Presents drew sellout crowds to its debut editions.

The Sauce Boyz Fest was the first music festival to be staged on the Caribbean island since the Covid pandemic began in 2020.

The first event took place on 18 May at Cervecera de Puerto Rico in Mayaguez before a 7,000-strong crowd and was headlined by Carrión, who was joined by surprise guest Bad Bunny to perform Coco Chanel live for the first time.  Acts such as Tokischa and Young Miko also performed.

The leg was held at the Convention District in San Juan – at just five days’ notice after switching from the original venue Estadio Sixto Escobar due to an infrastructure problem – on 20 May before a sold-out crowd of 25,000. Artists included Bizarrap and Duki, Wiz Khalifa and Carrión, who was joined onstage by Lil Wayne, Myke Towers and Jhayco.

“I’m so proud of all of the people that pushed and worked day and night to make this festival a world class event in just five days of buildup”

“I’m so proud of all of the people that pushed and worked day and night to make this festival a world class event in just five days of buildup, proud to be a part of this team and experience,” says Alejandro Pabon, MD of Move Concerts Puerto Rico.

Other attractions included a gaming area, multiple art structures, three stages and more than 30 international and local artists. The festival was also the first in Puerto Rico to be livestreamed via YouTube.

Move Concerts is Latin America’s biggest independent concert promoter with offices in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru and Puerto Rico, as well as its headquarters in the US in Miami, Florida.

 


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Latin music executives predict next superstar

Some of the biggest executives in the Latin music industry have shared their predictions for acts that will break through on an international level.

2022 has been a seminal year for Latin America’s homegrown superstars, led by trap reggaeton artist-come-global superstar, Bad Bunny.

With the Puerto Rican star paving the way for others, IQ asked Bruce Moran (Live Nation Latin America), Phil Rodriguez (Move Concerts) and Carlos Geniso (DG Medios) who might be following in his footsteps.

“The world is ready for a female reggaeton superstar, and in my personal opinion she might be Karol G,” Bruce Moran, president of Latin America at Live Nation, tells IQ.

“Although she is known for her work in reggaeton and trap, she does perform in other genres like sertaneja and more. Her live shows are the stuff of current legend. We think Karol G may be “the next (really) big thing.”

“The world is ready for a female reggaeton superstar, and in my personal opinion she might be Karol G”

Just yesterday (9 October), Karol G’s live legacy was immortalised after her recent $trip Love outing became the highest-grossing US tour by a female Latin act in history.

The Colombian singer-songwriter grossed US$69.9 million across 33 arena shows in North America, during September and October, according to Billboard‘s Boxscore.

The 31-year-old, whose real name is Carolina Giraldo Navarro, is represented worldwide by Jbeau Lewis and Ryan Soroka at UTA, and managed by Noah Assad who also looks after Bad Bunny.

Karol G is also the name on Phil Rodriguez’s lips, who says: “Great talent, top line management. On her next tour she will be moving up to stadium level in various markets.”

The Move Concerts CEO also gave an honourable mention to “other new artists bubbling up such as Tiago PZK, Quevedo [20-year-old Spanish rapper], Eladio Carrion [27-year-old, Grammy Award-nominated American-Puerto Rican rapper] and others that are establishing themselves at arena level such as Rauw Alejandro [29-year-old Puerto Rican singer]”.

Earlier this year, Rodriguez discussed Tiago PZK’s burgeoning career with IQ, saying tickets to see the 21-year-old Argentine rapper and singer were flying off the shelf.

“We went on sale with an arena in Buenos Aires, we sold out in a half hour”

“We went on sale with an arena in Buenos Aires, we sold out in a half hour,” said Rodriguez. “We had to announce a second date, sold that out, too. His debut album hasn’t even dropped, but he’s amazing live and we want to build on that.”

Tiago is now part-way through his 37-date Portales tour – his first-ever – which comprises a mix of arena dates in Latin America, as well as clubs in Spain, England and the US.

The rising star signed to Warner Music Latina earlier this year via a partnership with Rodriguez’s Grand Move Records label.

The Move Concerts boss manages Tiago, while Agustina Cabo, one of IQ’s 2022 New Bosses, is his personal and tour manager.

While Rodriguez and Moran are betting on younger and newer artists to break through, Carlos Geniso of Chilean promoter DG Medios is hedging his bets with more established artists.

“There are many Latin artists who will be presenting new material next year and who will be touring again with world tours,” he tells IQ. “For example, Alejandro Sanz and Pablo Alborán are always a hit in Chile and sell-out venues. They have a loyal fan base that always follows them, and they are very well-liked.

“Another very important artist is Fito Paez, who is celebrating 30 years of his most successful album “El amor después del amor” – a milestone for rock music in Spanish. In addition, urban artists are in a spectacular moment for their rising careers, and I think that’s where we have to put the eye.”

Sanz, a Spanish musician, singer and composer, has already won 22 Latin Grammy Awards and four Grammy Awards, while fellow Spaniard singer-songwriter Pablo Alborán has got five studio albums under his belt. Fito Páez, meanwhile, is a 59-year-old Argentine popular rock and roll pianist, lyricist, singer-songwriter and film director.

Read more about Latin America’s rising stars and burgeoning touring market in IQ‘s recent market report.

 


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