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How Chicago Built a Rising Latin Music Festival Scene From the Grassroots Up
Chicago’s Latin music festival scene is thriving thanks to grassroots events that built a foundation for big fests like Sueños and Miche Fest.
After starting Baja Beach Fest in Rosarito, Mexico in 2018, which captured the ever-growing reggaeton scene with a lineup that included headliners like Bad Bunny, Yandel and Farruko, Aaron Ampudia and Chris Den Uijl were looking to take the concept to a whole new market. Produced by local-based production company Metronome, its concept was unique as it catered to a fervid Latin alternative, rock en español fanbase with headliners like Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Panteón Rococó and Café Tacvba, forging its own path in a reggaeton-dominated world. Chicago’s ever-evolving yet booming Latin music festival landscape reflects what we’re seeing across the country, with a growing market that now includes the nostalgia-inspired Bésame Mucho in L.A., which this year expanded into Austin, and the debut of Bottle Rock’s La Onda in Napa Valley set for June.
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