6 Latino artists to watch at Coachella 2024, from Peso Pluma to Young Miko
As the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival continues to broaden its scope internationally, its diverse array of artists from Latin America in this year’s lineup is hard to beat.
The lineup comes on the heels of two record-setting years for Latino artists at Coachella: Last year, Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny made history as the first solo Latino headliner in a pair of high-energy performances, and the 2022 lineup featured 20 Latino artists.
With a similar number of Spanish-speaking artists on this year’s lineup, here are six artists from Latin America to check out at Coachella.
Peso Pluma
Peso Pluma, the música Mexicana artista from Guadalajara who’s skyrocketed to global fame, is no stranger to the valley, after performing at Acrisure Arena last summer and making a guest appearance during Becky G’s set at Coachella last year. The 24-year-old, whose real name is Hassan Emilio Kabande Laija, will bring his signature corridos tumbados — a long-standing form of folksy, guitar ballads in Mexico, mixed with modern trap and hip-hop influences — to Coachella.
Peso Pluma is sure to play “Ella Baila Sola,” a collaboration with Eslabon Armado that topped the Billboard Global 200 chart and cracked the top five on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as songs from his most recent album, “Génesis.” The artist also recently revealed in a Rolling Stone cover story that his next album, “éxodo,” is coming this summer, so maybe he’ll even treat us to a snippet or two at the Friday shows.
Young Miko
Another artist on a rapid rise is Young Miko, a Puerto Rican rapper who just released her long-awaited debut album, “att.,” following a string of popular songs and an EP, “TRAP KITTY,” in recent years. The rapper, whose real name is María Victoria Ramírez de Arellano Cardona, has done collaborations with other Latino stars such as Bad Bunny (“Fina”) and Feid, with whom she recorded one of her biggest songs, “Classy 101.” An openly gay woman, Young Miko also recently received an impact award at the 2024 Billboard Women in Music award for her representation of the LGBTQ community.
As she continues her ascent, the 25-year-old is sure to bring a rambunctious, high-energy set to the stage Friday.
Bizarrap
The Friday slate is a strong one, especially because Bizarrap — an Argentine producer who helped create a couple of their recent hits — is set to perform that day, along with Peso Pluma and Young Miko. The 25-year-old, who specializes in a unique mix of Latin trap, hip-hop and EDM, is famous for his BZRP sessions, with more than 50 tracks recorded in tandem with a who’s-who list of Latino artists.
While his songs have gained popularity for the last several years, Bizarrap reached new heights early last year, when he and Shakira released “BZRP Music Sessions #53” — a diss track toward the Colombian star’s ex-partner and footballer Gerard Piqué. The song is his most popular on YouTube, with about 711 million (!) views. We can only pray that Bizarrap brings out Shakira at Coachella, but with a long list of collaborations, from Natanael Cano to Arcángel, he offers a high potential for guest appearances.
Kevin Kaarl
If you’re looking for a lusher, lax vibe (or you just want a break from dancing), Kevin Kaarl, a Mexican folk singer-songwriter, is worth checking out Saturday. Kaarl began his ascent in 2018, with the release of “Vámonos a marte,” which was followed by the release of an EP and two albums. Other standout songs include “Colapso” and “San Lucas,” but the 23-year-old has a deep discography of songs that combine his soft vocals, peaceful guitar strums and other instruments. We don’t yet know what time he will play Saturday, but his music would fit in well with the soft sunsets we often get at the Empire Polo Club.
LUDMILLA
Following in the footsteps of Anitta, the Brazilian star who performed at Coachella in 2022, LUDMILLA is set to keep the trend going as one of the few solo Brazilian acts to ever perform at the festival. Her debut performance will come in the same month she released “Pi?a Colada,” a single with Ryan Castro that is her first Spanish-language song (most of her songs are in her native Portuguese). LUDMILLA, who was reportedly the first Afro-Latina female to reach one billion streams on Spotify, will continue her rise with a Sunday performance.
Carin León
Rare is the artist with the range to perform at both Coachella and Stagecoach, the subsequent country festival at the Empire Polo Club, and Carin León is one of those special exceptions. The singer-songwriter, who hails from Hermosillo, Mexico, specializes in banda, mariachi and norte?o music, and while he’s been playing making music for more than five years, León won a Latin Grammy in 2023 (his second) for best norte?o album with his album, "Colmillo de Leche."
León will play on Sunday during the Coachella weekends, and he’s set to play a Friday show during Stagecoach. Just last month, he released “It Was Always You (Siempre Fuiste Tú),” a song with Leon Bridges, who’s also playing Stagecoach. Perhaps we get a duet performance at some point this month? Here’s hoping.
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This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: 6 Latino artists to watch at Coachella, from Peso Pluma to Young Miko
