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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Move Concerts co-promotes WWE’s Puerto Rico return
Move Concerts and Noah Assad Presents co-promoted WWE’s first premium live event to be held in Puerto Rico in 15 years, headlined by Bad Bunny.
The show, titled Backlash, took place on 6 May at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, and marked the largest gate ever for any WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) event held in Puerto Rico and the largest gate in the history of the Backlash brand.
Bad Bunny, who is managed by Assad, wrestled WWE superstar Damian Priest in the co-main event.
“We have been very proud of our on-going relationship with WWE throughout the region and specially in Puerto Rico” says Fabiano de Queiroz, VP of talent & tours at Miami-headquartered Move Concerts.
“The rich wrestling history and the incredibly strong music scene made for the perfect combination on a historic night”
Organisers confirmed back-to-back sellout nights for WWE’s Backlash (17,944 attendees) and the previous night’s SmackDown TV show (16,896 attendees).
“The rich wrestling history and the incredibly strong music scene made for the perfect combination on a historic night with the best crowd in the world,” adds Alejandro Pabón MD of Move Concerts Puerto Rico.
In addition, Backlash broke merchandise and sponsorship records, as the first-ever WWE event under the expanded partnership with Fanatics overseeing the on-site event retail experience. Sponsorship revenue surpassed any Backlash event in history, breaking last year’s record with a 98% year-on-year increase through partnerships with Netflix’s FUBAR, Mike’s Harder Lemonade, and Xfinity.
Move Concerts is the biggest independent concert promoter in Latin America with offices in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru and Puerto Rico.
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Karol G stadium shows make history in Puerto Rico
Karol G has made history in Puerto Rico by becoming the first artist ever to sell out three nights at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan.
The Colombian reggaeton star drew more than 100,000 fans across the trio of shows, which includes guest appearances by Romeo Santos, Eladio, Sean Paul, Young Miko and Feid, among others.
The 10-12 March concerts were promoted by Move Concerts and Noah Assad, who also manages Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny.
“Puerto Rico has been selling out consistently and shows no sign of slowing down”
“Puerto Rico has been selling out consistently and shows no sign of slowing down,” Move boss Phil Rodriguez told IQ last year. “We co-promoted with Noah Assad three sold-out dates at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico [cap. 18,500] with Bad Bunny in San Juan that paralysed the island as the show was streamed live to 13 municipalities for free. It is estimated over 500,000 people saw the show between the Coliseo and the free transmissions.”
Move Concerts is headquartered in Miami, Florida, and has offices in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica and Peru, as well as Puerto Rico, the source of much of the current Latin music explosion.
“Our office in Puerto Rico is killing it,” said Rodriguez. “We sold out two arenas there with Karol G – over 24,000 tickets. We easily could have done two more arena dates there.”
Bad Bunny has been the most streamed artist on Spotify globally in each of the last three years
Bad Bunny usurped Ed Sheeran in 2022 as the highest-grossing touring artist in a calendar year. The rapper generated $435,388,660 for 81 shows in 2022, according to Pollstar data, surpassing the $432.4 million box office takings of Sheeran’s 94 ÷ tour dates in 2018.
Bad Bunny has been the most streamed artist on Spotify globally in each of the last three years, while fellow Puerto Rican acts Rauw Alejandro and Ozuna are also making huge strides internationally.
Puerto Rico’s Coca-Cola Music Hall, meanwhile, reported a total attendance of more than 165,000 people during its first 12 months of operation. Since its opening in August 2021, the 4,200-cap venue in San Juan has hosted 59 concerts and 43 private events by artists such as Ednita Nazario, Caramelos de Cianuro, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Stryper, Jesse & Joy and Louis Tomlinson, among others.
Revisit IQ Magazine‘s full 2022 feature exploring the growth of the Latin American touring market here.
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Bad Bunny concert spurs Covid case ‘explosion’ in Puerto Rico
Bad Bunny’s two-day concert in Puerto Rico triggered an ‘explosion’ of Covid-19 cases on the island, according to The New York Times.
The sold-out P Fkn R show, promoted by Noah Assad Presents and Move Concerts, took place at the Hiram Bithorn Stadium on 10 and 11 December 2021 with 60,000 attendees – all of whom were required to show proof of full vaccination.
Reportedly, 2,000 attendees fell sick as a result of the concert, contributing to a 4,600% increase in cases on the island. Business events, company holiday parties and family gatherings also contributed.
Rafael Irizarry, a Harvard University statistician who keeps a dashboard of Puerto Rico Covid-19 data, tweeted that a third of all coronavirus cases the island has recorded since the start of the pandemic occurred in the past month.
A third of all coronavirus cases the island has recorded since the start of the pandemic occurred in the past month
The number of cases per 100,000 residents jumped to 225, from three, in three weeks. In December, the number of hospitalisations doubled — twice.
Puerto Rico previously had one of the most successful vaccination campaigns in the United States. Nearly 85% of residents have had at least one vaccine dose and 75% of the population are fully vaccinated.
Following the increase in cases, officials have imposed tougher restrictions in a bid to stave off the new wave of cases.
As of 22 December 2021, those attending mass events (both indoors and outdoors) will be required to present proof of vaccination and also a negative Covid-19 test (either antigen or PCR performed by an authorised health provider) taken in the 48 hours prior to the event.
Get up to date with the latest live music restrictions affecting key international touring markets here.
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Move’s Bad Bunny stadium show sells out fast
Bad Bunny’s highly anticipated hometown shows at Puerto Rico’s Hiram Bithorn Stadium sold out in less than 20 minutes, promoters Move Concerts and Noah Assad Presents have revealed.
The urban sensation’s P Fkn R show, rescheduled from May 2020, went on sale on Friday (20 August) and sold out soon after. The concerts, which take place at the 18,000-seat stadium on 10 and 11 December, will be Puerto Rico-born Bad Bunny’s first shows this year.
P Fkn R is the first announced show of a new partnership between Miami-based Move Concerts, which has an office in Puerto Rico, and Noah Assad, whose Rimas Music represents some of the world’s biggest reggaeton artists.
Everyone attending the P Fkn R show will be required to present proof of vaccination
Everyone attending the 10 and 11 December shows, which have a capacity of 35,000 each, will be required to present proof of full Covid-19 vaccination.
The Hiram Bithorn Stadium, the island’s largest, has previously hosted concerts by the likes Bon Jovi, Ozzy Osbourne, Rihanna, Shakira, Sting and Whitney Houston, in addition to its regular use as a baseball park.
Multiple Grammy and Latin Grammy-winner Bad Bunny will follow up the show with a world tour, El Último Tour del Mundo 2022, which kicks off on 9 February 2022 at the Ball Arena (20,000-cap.) in Denver, Colorado.
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