Peso Pluma's sold-out Phoenix concert: An electrifying show from a superstar in the making

Seeing Peso Pluma in action, it’s easy to understand how he’s become the hottest young artist in regional Mexican music.

Tickets for Pluma’s performance at the 5,000-capacity Arizona Financial Theatre in Phoenix on Saturday, July 22, sold out so quickly that he added a second performance the following night at the 18,000-capacity Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

And that show sold out just as quickly — 30 minutes.

The corrido tumbado sensation, also known as Doble P, arrived in downtown Phoenix on his first headlining U.S. tour in support of “Genesis,” which hit the Billboard album chart at No. 3 in June.

That’s the highest a regional Mexican album has ever landed on that chart, making good on Pluma’s stated goal to take corridos — a century-old Mexican music tradition — further than ever before.

At 24.

He’s also coming off the first regional Mexican song to crack the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 — "Ella Baila Sola," a collaboration with kindred spirits Eslabon Armado.

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Doble P is so big, we may have to stop calling it regional Mexican music

What makes that mainstream breakthrough even more impressive is that Pluma’s music is steeped in tradition, infusing acoustic-guitar-driven corridos with more contemporary flavors pulled from reggaeton and hip-hop while taking the sound of his ancestors to a new generation.

Spin magazine hailed his latest release as "the beginning of a Mexican corridos takeover."

Pretty soon, we may have to stop calling it “regional” Mexican music.

It doesn’t hurt that he’s a charismatic, energetic entertainer with an expressive voice who never stopped working the room in the course of a nearly two-hour performance that began with a video introducing the members of his touring band to the throbbing bass groove of the Talking Heads song “Psycho Killer.”

Peso Pluma's hit-filled Phoenix concert included 'Ella Baila Sola' and 'Lagunas'

He rarely stopped moving, from the time the curtain fell on Pluma and his bandmates as they set the tone with “La Melena” through "Lady Gaga" and "Lagunas" to the hit-filled finale of “Ella Baila Sola” and “PRC,” a collaboration with Natanael Cano that he dusted off as a duet with Becky G at Coachella in April.

He spent much of the concert chatting up the fans and leading them in massive singalongs — not that they required any prodding. The excitement in that room was undeniable. It felt like an electric current in the air.

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Peso Pluma has surrounded himself with amazing musicians

For as much as Pluma, who opened the concert in a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball cap and donned a Phoenix Suns shirt later, tends to occupy the spotlight, from his yearning vocals to his animated dance moves, he’s surrounded himself with a cast of truly talented musicians, all playing traditional instruments.

He was joined by two acoustic guitarists (one 12-string, one six-string), two bassists (one standup, one electric), two trumpet players and a trombonist who turned in a series of jaw-dropping solos.

There was was such a rhythmic intensity to the playing that a listener would be forgiven for not noticing there was no drummer.

Jasiel Nu?ez and Aleman joined Peso Pluma on stage in Phoenix

Pluma welcomed Jasiel Nu?ez to the stage to share the vocal spotlight on three songs early in the set — the romantic yearning of “Lagunas,” “Rosa Pastel” and “En Mi Mundo.” The chemistry between them was contagious.

Two or three songs later, Pluma sent his touring band away as Aleman, the Mexican rapper who opened the show with a crowd-pleasing set, returned to the stage to join him on “Delivery,” rapping along to piped-in beats.

It was the first of three songs he performed to prerecorded tracks, playing more to the raised-on-hip-hop side of his aesthetic. The rest of his set was deeply rooted in tradition while at the same time sounding as fresh and vital as it may have felt when those traditions were just taking shape as he made his way through all his biggest hits, from “Por Las Noches” to “La Bebe," his reggaeton-flavored collaboration with Yng Lvcas.

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Peso Pluma in Phoenix: This is how cultural icons are made

It’s clear that Pluma is not just a student but a fan of those traditions. But what makes it even more refreshing is the way he’s taking a whole new unsuspecting TikTok-friendly generation along for the ride.

That’s how cultural icons are made.

Reach the reporter at [email protected] or 602-444-4495. Follow him on Twitter @EdMasley.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Peso Pluma's Phoenix concert: A superstar in the making