So this year's Pachanga Fest line up was announced this week and I liked what I saw. It is now a two day festival, taking place on May 21st and May 22nd. They kept the variety of musical genres that they have always had since the festival's inception in 2008. Other than it being a celebration of Latino musicians, that variety of genres is what makes Pachanga one of my favorite music festivals. There really is something for everyone, not just Latinos.
Before I spotlight a couple of my recommendations or favorites, here is the full line up:
Bobby Pulido (Edinburg, TX)
Grupo Fantasma w/ Larry Harlow (Austin, TX/New York, NY)
Bomba Estereo (Bogota, Columbia)
Pacha Massive (New York, NY)
Tortilla Factory (Austin, TX)
Davíd Garza (Austin, TX)
Vallejo (Austin, TX)
Girl in a Coma (San Antonio, TX)
Hacienda (San Antonio, TX)
Brownout (Austin, TX)
Y La Orkestra (Tucson, AZ)
Pilar Diaz (Los Angeles, CA)
Bombasta (San Antonio, TX)
Amplified Heat (Austin, TX)
Carla Morrison (Tecate, Mexico)
Los Bandidos (Austin, TX)
DJ Dus (Corpus Christi, TX)
Piñata Protest (San Antonio, TX)
Mariachi Las Alteñas (San Antonio, TX)
Wille Alvarado (San Angelo, TX)
Brian Lopez (Tucson, AZ)
Making Movies (Kansas City, MO)
Vitera (Austin, TX)
24-7 (Victoria, TX)
A lot of the names should look familiar if you are in the Austin area. Pachanga Fest does a great job giving the local artists a spotlight where other festivals don't. The best local or regional artists in the line up include David Garza, Brownout, Hacienda, Grupo Fantasma and Amplified Heat. My favorite out of the local/regional is without a doubt, Piñata Protest from San Antonio.
Introduced to me my my good friend and Austin Vida photo editor, Mari Hernandez, Piñata Protest is puro San Antonio in every sense of the word. San Antonio has a big punk rock fan base as well as a large Latino population. In addition to the Warped Tour stops every year along, San Antonio hosts the annual Conjunto Festival. Piñata Protest could play either. Their style of punk rock, and it is punk rock first and foremost, blends the two worlds in the same way the Dropkick Murphy's blend traditional Irish folk with punk. I once read a quote that said Piñata Protest is "the love child of Flaco Jimenez and Sid Vicious". That's about right. Here's a video and article for you to get to know Piñata Protest.
Austin Vida interview: "The puro pedo punk rock of Piñata Protest"
Another artist performing at this year's Pachanga Fest is a hidden gem from Tucson, Arizona. His name is Brian Lopez. He is Chris Martin (Coldplay) meets David Garza. He is indie, folk, pop and definitely Latino. He will also be performing with Tucson's Y La Orkestra. With exception of headliners Bomba Estereo, I think Brian Lopez will be the one to get all the "best discovery" buzz from Pachanga and will be the one everyone is talking about. Mark my words. Check out Brian Lopez on these two clips:
Here Brian Lopez performs with Y La Orkestra. The music stars at the 1:15 minute mark:
Sergio Mendoza y La Orkesta cover Leda Atomica from J.M. Aragón on Vimeo.
I want to reiterate that all these artists on the line up are worth checking out. Given my profession and that I am the Editor in Chief of Austin Vida, I have seen just about all these artists multiple times. I sometimes take it for granted how talented they all are and feel bad that Austin Vida is the only real media source showing them love on a regular basis. I ask that if you see them at Pachanga for the first time, then please make sure to catch them anytime after Pachanga either while they are touring or playing around town.
For more on Pachanga Fest, visit the official website at http://pachangafest.com/. To buy tickets, visit Frontgate Tickets here: Buy Pachanga Tickets.
See you at Fiesta gardens! Be sure to check out Austin Vida for artists previews and blogs!
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