The Mexican singer-songwriter became the first artist to perform a Spanish majority set at the Stagecoach Country Music Festival on Friday, April 26.
Balladeer Carin León continues to carve out his place in Latin music as one of the most prominent acts in Mexican regional music, but he is also rapidly winning over the country music fandom, performing at the iconic Grand Ole Opry in Nashville in February and making history as the first artist to perform mainly in Spanish at the Stagecoach Country Music Festival this weekend.
“Long live Mexican, country, and all music, as it unites us the most,” León exclaimed to a roaring crowd during his performance at the Palomino Tent on Friday, April 26.
After his stint at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, León took the stage for the third consecutive weekend at the Empire Polo Club in Indio. In a similar fashion to the last two weekends, he did it with an effortless swagger that resonated with fans who sang and danced along to hits such as “Que Vuelvas,” “La boda del Huitlacoche” and “Te Lo Agradezco.”
He didn’t just stick to performing in Spanish; his set transitioned into his collaborative tracks “It Was Always You (Siempre Fuiste Tú),” with Leon Bridges and “The One (Pero No Como Yo)” with Kane Brown, where he filled in and sang the English verses for his counterparts.
There was a special moment, too, when he invited Ana Bárbara, the queen of Grupero Music, to join him to perform “Lo Busqué,” a song that they recently shared at the 36th annual Premio Lo Nuestro in Las Vegas earlier this year, where Bárbara accepted a Lifetime Achievement award.
Stagecoach has increased the diversity of its performers over the years. It has featured several Latin acts, including Los Lobos, Alejandro Escovedo, The Mavericks, The Last Bandoleros, Star De Azlan, and Lindi Ortega. However, León’s inclusion on this year’s lineup is the first time Stagecoach has brought on a huge regional Mexican performer to do a set mainly in Spanish.
León is one of the several artists riding a wave of success thanks to the mass appeal of regional Mexican music, a catchall term for various Mexican genres such as mariachi, banda, corridos, norteño, sierreño and others.
Some performers, such as León, have a particular disdain for the term, saying that lumping several Mexican genres is a disservice to the individuality of the different music.
