Rising regional Mexican artist Christian Nodal headlined Billboard’s annual THE STAGE at SXSW concert series at Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park, showing a packed crowd what his fusion of mariachi strings and horns paired with the norteño accordion sounds, and feels, like. Following a rousing opening set from Estevie, Nodal delivered the second of three stellar performances as part of the series, including PARTYNEXTDOOR, who kicked things off on Thursday, and Illenium, who will close out the set on Saturday.
Throughout the set, Nodal – who pioneered mariacheño, a subgenre that fuses mariachi’s strings and horns with the norteño accordion – leaned into his heartthrob appeal, blowing kisses and flashing his warm smile. He was accompanied by a six-piece mariachi string and horn section, along with a seven-piece backing band that included two percussionists, a vocalist, and an accordion player. “Soy listo,” says Estevie, who returned to the stage for one of Nodal’s final songs of the night for a duet of Luis Miguel’s “Sabor a Mí” bringing the evening full circle.
In the lead-up to SXSW, Billboard released digital covers of the featured performers PARTYNEXTDOOR, Christian Nodal, and ILLENIUM. Read the cover stories online now.
As it has for the past three years, Billboard and SXSW will donate a portion of ticket proceeds to Waterloo Greenway Conservancy. This nonprofit organization aims to create an urban park system in partnership with Austin. Waterloo Park, the first of the organization’s three phases, opened in 2021 to provide 11 acres of downtown green space, community programming, and performing arts and entertainment at the Moody Amphitheater.
Additionally, Billboard is working with Green Corn Project (GCP) a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is dedicated to helping low-income Central Texans grow their own organic vegetables. With the help of community volunteers, GCP installs food gardens for individuals and families in low-income areas of Austin who have limited access to fresh, nutritious food. They also help elementary schools, community service centers, and refugee shelters grow food gardens.
Billboard’s THE STAGE at SXSW concert series is presented by Carnival, Delta, the official airline partner of SXSW, and Smirnoff, who will be providing specialty cocktails.
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