As many artists performed on outdoor stages throughout Nashville's Lower Broadway on Friday (June 7), some of country music's up-and-coming Latin artists gathered for a panel and performance at Fan Fair X on the CMA Closeup Stage.
“Latin Roots: The 'Equis' Factor in Country Music” featured artists Frank Ray, Angie K, Leah Turner, LouieTheSinger and Sammy Arriaga, moderated by the panel Rolling rock author Tomás Mier.
Each artist spoke about their respective backgrounds and journeys in country music, which are varied. Texas native Louie TheSinger, who signed to UMG Nashville earlier this year and released his single “Brothers,” used to play R&B music before moving to country and is open about sharing his story of being incarcerated for two years on drug charges. . Meanwhile, Frank Ray was a cop in Texas before transitioning to performing country music. Angie K noted her roots from El Salvador, but also her identity as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
Angie K spoke about immigrating to Georgia from El Salvador, saying, “Moving here from El Salvador…when you're in a country where freedom isn't as easy as here…my dad, his grandfather was kidnapped and just came out, got cancer and died. My father was almost kidnapped, and that's one of the reasons we ended up moving to the United States,” recalls Angie K. “I remember talking to my dad and he said, 'It's okay because you're healthy and you're fine.' This is the Latino community that I want people to know about,” he said, drawing applause from the audience.
“We're a beautiful community and I think both Latinos and Latinos, there's real trauma in both of those worlds and we're here to make it a priority to take care of each other,” Angie K added.
“I'm a border town boy, I grew up in Columbus, New Mexico and Texas,” Ray said, noting the deep ties between country music culture and Latino culture. “The Latino community and country music… the American cowboy wouldn't exist without the Mexican vaquero. I just imagine, at one point, there was a guitar that was passed around a fire. So the themes are the same—love, family, heartbreak, whiskey. Growing up in a border town, country music [would be heard] as much as Mariachi”.
The artists' music was also front and center during the event. Mexican-American singer-songwriter Turner fully embraces her Latin roots with her 2022 EP It gets lost in translation, performed a scorching version of her sultry ballad “T Shirt.” Angie K performed her new song “Red Dirt on Mars” and Arriaga offered up the tearjerker “The Boat.” Ray, who won one Advertising sign Country Airplay's Top 20 hit with “Country'd Look Good on You,” performed a mash-up of his breakthrough song, the bilingual “Streetlights,” and his new release, “Uh-huh (Ajá).”
Each talked about Latino and country singers who inspired them, including Luis Fonsi, the late Tejano singer Selena, Jessi & Joy, Rick Trevino (who hit No. 1 on Hot Country Songs in 1997 with “Running Out of Reasons to Run”) George Strait, Garth Brooks, Carin León and the late country music singer Freddy Fender, known for the No. 1 Hot Country Songs hits “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights” and “Before the Next Teardrop Falls ».
Arriaga, a Cuban-American who grew up in Miami, first gained attention in 2011 with his tenure at American Idol. In addition to releasing his own original songs, including his recent single “Dominoes,” Arriaga has long cemented the ties between Latin music and country music with Spanish versions of country hits like Luke Combs' “Beautiful Crazy.” and Thomas Rhett's “Die a Happy Man.”
“The Spanish language, everything sounds more romantic,” Arriaga said. “These [songs] they are too beautiful for my culture not to experience. I wanted to do it in a way that we didn't change too much from what people are used to, so we just flipped the language. We had musicians from Mexico and Miami and added some flair. It opened some doors for me to enter a Latino community. I've noticed that a lot of Texans love music.”
Angie K told Arriaga: “You were one of the first people I saw… when I was trying to decide whether to release [her bilingual single] “Real Talk,” and you did that, so I thought, “Why not?” I feel you are also one of the pioneers with Spanish and the country.'
About working to increase visibility for Latino artists in country music, Ray said, “It takes a lot of work and I couldn't be more proud to do that with this group here. We love these opportunities and there aren't many. It also brings us closer together.”
“We should all do a big tour,” Ray also said, drawing agreement from his fellow artists and cheers from the audience.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/country/cma-fest-latin-roots-panel-performance-discussion-1235704011/