Last Friday, I had the pleasure of attending the Bad Bunny concert, and it was an unforgettable experience. I arrived at 8 PM and the lines outside of Barclays Center went on for at least two blocks.
On Wednesday, The Knockturnal attended the New York City screening of the American Society of Magical Negroes, Starring Justice Smith, Nicole Byer, An-Li Bogan, 911’s Aisha Hinds, and Comedy legend David Alan Grier.
While Attending the Vibra Urbana Festival that Amazon Music had invited us to, we had the opportunity to meet an upcoming artist, Chris Palace. Born in Maryland but moved to the capital of Reggaeton, Puerto Rico, at the age of 15, Palace always had a passion for music and knew from early on that he wanted to be a performer. He’s only 22 years old, and he’s already accomplished more than some artists accomplish in a lifetime.
I recently spoke with the Latin Grammy-nominated group Piso 21 of their upcoming new music and huge success over the last couple of years. The international group comprises Pablo, David (DIM), Juan (El Profe), and Lorduy, each bringing a different talent that creates their unique sound.
Day two of Vibra Urbana festival with Amazon Music unfortunately, had a late start due to the rain, but it didn’t stop the star-studded lineup from performing including headliner Rauw Alejandro.
The festival alerted everyone on Sunday morning that the gates would open at 2 p.m.; however, an hour later, the gates and festival were still under wraps because of the time loss. Many artists had to reduce their set times, but they made the most of it and still brought an amazing performance. Now, in my opinion, the show was ten times better than Saturday, or perhaps I’m biased because all my favorite artists were together. Artists that performed were Nicki Nicole, Piso 21, Ivy Queen, Arcangel, and Chris Palace, just to name a few. Despite her personal life blowing up just days before the festival Nicki took the stage like the pro she is and slayed. She performed “Mamichula”, ”Una Foto” she also came back to perform her collab with Bizarrap during his set.
Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, La Caballota Ivy Queen only performed three songs. “Te He Querido Te He Llorado,” Que Lloren, and her classic “Quiero Bailar,”
Arcángel quickly followed and played a number of his hits that included “Pa’ que la pases bien,” Sigues Con El, and a few more he even took a moment in his set to take requests.
However, the crowd’s favorite of the night was clearly Bizarrap. He came out and performed an entire set as he was intended to do. However, another downpour started during his set. But it did not discourage the crowd from jumping up and down.
One of my personal favorites was the papi chulos from Colombia; Piso 21 performed all my favorites “Me Llamas,” Te Amo,” “Punto Suspensivos,” and “Dejala que vuelva.”
Finally, the festival ended with Sunday’s headliner, Rauw Alejandro. He began his set with Quiero Volver a Repetir” as the rain continued. He then sang “Todo De Ti” and many of his hits, such as “Panties y Brasieres” and “Desesperados.”
He ended the set with “Baby Hello” and as he closed, fireworks went off into the dark rainy night over the stage ending the 2 day perrero intense reggaeton party
This past weekend, Amazon Music invited me to attend Vibra Urbana Music Festival in Miami. It is the largest reggaeton festival in the country. It was a two-day event that included some of the hottest stars in the game, including Young Miko, Farruko, Ivy Queen, Anuel AA, and my favorite Rauw Alejandro.
I started my day on Saturday by attending a press brunch hosted by Amazon Music at the fabulous Mamey Miami restaurant. Located in Coral Gables, it’s a mix of Latin and Asian cuisine. They had a family-style menu that did not disappoint. We had the shrimp Poké bowl to begin with, which was amazing. Then we had some traditional avocado toast, followed by Mamey’s Benedict, which included vacca frita, tostones, hollandaise sauce, and some pickled onions. We then ended the feast suit for a king with some chicken and waffles, and eggs.
Once we finished our brunch, we made our way to the festival. As soon you arrived, The energy and vibes you felt were nothing but excitement and joy. Every Latin flag was present to represent all our beautiful Latin countries. The flags weren’t the only representation either. The food vendors from all over came to show off their traditional foods. There were al pastor tacos from Mexico, arepas from Columbia, and arroz con gandules from P FKKN R!
I had access to Amazon’s Music Lounge and VIP Lounge, which had games, a photo op, and an upstairs balcony where you could oversee the entire festival and locate all three stages. You could also create content for your social media, get access to makeup artists, and have a dedicated bar area.
Saturday’s lineup included Young Miko, Jay Wheeler, Farruko, and the headliner Anuel AA. To name a few. Young Miko is an upcoming female trap artist from Puerto Rico featured most recently on Bad Bunny’s latest album.
Jay Wheeler did not disappoint, performing all his hits, such as “La Curiosidad’ and “Dime que Si.”
However, Farruko surprised everyone by performing all his old hits despite turning his life over to God last year and now being a dedicated Christian singer. The Crowd could be heard loud and clear singing all his songs “Calma’, “Si Se Da” and the crowd’s favorite “Pepas”
Headliner Anuel AA was more than fashionably late his set time was 9:45 and he did not come out until 11:15, according to him his flight from the NBA All-Star Game was delayed. But he definitely made up to his fans by bringing on Ozuna as a surprise guest, and then all was right in the world.. well, the reggaeton world, that is. They performed their hit collabs such as “La Ocasion”. Despite the delayed set, all the artists killed it on stage.
This year was the first year Amazon was live streaming the event viewers at home were able to join the festival from the comfort of their own home via Amazon Music and Amazon Music En Vivo‘s Twitch pages, as well as on Prime Video. The stream ran for eight hours each day. YouTuber Chente Ydrach and Amazon Music host Grecia Lopez were on-site conducting interviews and giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at the festival.
We had a chance to ask Rocío Guerrero, the Global Head of Latin Music at Amazon Music, what inspired Amazon Music to Livestream the festival this year, she explained.
“At the core of what we do is getting fans and artists closer than ever before with unique experiences. Igniting fandom, so we think a lot about how we can do that and what tools we have to continue that mindset, and the strategy to live stream seemed to act like the perfect marriage of that, so we are igniting fandom even when they’re home watching TV. They can be with their friends and with their family, or they can be alone. They can be present at a music festival that is in a different country.”
Overall, Day 1 of the Vibra Urbana Festival did not disappoint. It was a celebration of one of the most popular Latin genres, and this event proved that, at least for now, the PERRERO is not stopping!
The brightest of stars gathered in honor of the American Heart Association. The AHA hosted their annual Red Dress Collection® Concert, the marquee event of the Go Red for Women campaign, hosted at the Appel Room in Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York City. This event paid homage to the Red Dress Collection fashion show tradition; it focuses on the importance of women’s hearts and those affected by cardiovascular issues.
Sherri Shepherd hosted the event. Guests that attended included country star Mickey Guyton, who gave an amazing performance, and Damar Hamlin, who is a cardiac arrest survivor and an American Heart Association national ambassador. Heather Dubrow from The Real Housewives of Orange County, Brianne Howey from “Ginny and Georgia,” and of course, the amazing Demi Lovato, who was the main performer and killed all her hits, talk about nostalgia! Her songs included “Confident” and “Cool for the Summer, “Sky Scraper”, “Give Your Heart A Break” and many others. Other celebrities who also slayed the runway included Francia Raisa, Bellamy Young, and Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion Star Mira Sorvino. It was a magical night to remember, and for an amazing cause, the event was sponsored by KISS, who gave each guest a goodie bag full of their products, including lash, nails, and hair tools.
Discover resources for supporting women’s heart health at GoRedforWomen.org.
Last week, I attended the RUN DMC Kings From Queens premiere. The 3 part docuseries now streaming on Peacock. It takes you back to 1983 when three kids from Queens had a dream of having their music played on the local radio. What they accomplished was so much more.Run-DMC is recognized as one of the most influential groups in the history of hip-hop culture and especially one of the most famous hip-hop acts of the 1980s. The group was among the first to highlight the importance of the MC and DJ relationship. In this series, you will see all the ups and downs, the sacrifices, and the influence that made RUN DMC. You also will hear from hip-hop legends, such as Eminem, LL Cool J, Jay Z, Nas, and many more, how RUN DMC inspired and influenced them in their careers. Their unique take on combining two genres of music, hip hop, and rock, which tore down racial barriers, made them international stars and fashion leaders of the ’80s. After a series of turmoil events and obstacles including the murder of DJ Jam Master Jay. Rev Run and DMC reunite to tell their story and celebrate the genre of music they established.
On Wednesday evening, showtime hosted a pre-screening of their brand new series “The Woman In The Wall” at the Metrograph in New York City. Starring Ruth Wilson and Daryl McCormack. The series is a six-episode suspense thriller produced by Joe Murtagh. The series takes place in Ireland about a deranged not so stable Lorna Brady (Wilson), who wakes up in her home to find a dead woman on her floor. She’s not sure if she’s responsible for the women’s murder or how the corpse even ended up in her home. Now, you might be wondering how one cannot know if they’ve killed someone. Lorna has suffered a lot of emotional and painful trauma ever since she was incarcerated at a convent at just 15 years old, where she gave birth to her only daughter, who was stolen from Lorna and never to be seen again. We then meet Detective Colman, who comes into town to investigate another crime, the death of a beloved priest. Still, these two storylines quickly become one, and Lorna becomes Colman’s number-one suspect. The series is inspired and loosely based on the Magdalene laundries. These were institutions run by the Roman Catholic Church and operated from the 18th to the late 20th centuries. They were run to house “fallen women.” When asked what attracted Executive Producer Joe Murtagh to create the series he responded,
“I knew it nothing about this, this unbelievable scandal which rocked Ireland until 1996 and 1998 that touched thousands of lives. I couldn’t believe it happened, but more so, I couldn’t believe that I didn’t know it had happened, and anyone I spoke to after that didn’t know what happened outside of Ireland even to this day, they never heard of this, and so ultimately it was it came from a desire to rectify that, but just to get the story out there by any means possible so the people who are still fighting for justice, will hopefully be more empowered to do what they do best because more people know.”
| THE WOMAN IN THE WALL, Starring Ruth Wilson and Daryl McCormack, Premieres on Streaming January 19 on Paramount+ with the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME® Plan, Ahead of Its On-Air Debut on Paramount+ with SHOWTIME on January 21 |
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