Hours before música mexicana heartthrob Ivan Cornejo took the stage at Austin’s ACL Live at the Moody Theater, his fans had already begun to hype him up. They showed up in droves, some of them carrying the signature red roses Cornejo tends to give out during his sets, and let out seismic, window-shattering roars whenever images of the 20-year-old singer-songwriter popped up on the LD screens at the venue. Most of them seemed ready to get into their feelings, something Cornejo always opens up space to do during his performances.
Letting it all out felt like the theme on Thursday, as all the acts came ready to reveal who they are and where they’d come from. First up, there was Puerto Rican pop princess Gale, who opened the show by channeling the spirit of the Nineties in snap hairclips and a babydoll tee, all a nod to the bright, nostalgic elements in her music. For Gale, bearing her heart to everyone is nothing new: She’s been writing songs for some of the biggest names in Latin music and sharing her deepest, most personal experiences with love and heartbreak for years. After scoring hits with acts like Christina Aguilera and Juanes, she veered off on her own as a solo artist to pen some of the music she brought to the stage on Thursday.
A lot of the material came from her brilliant 2023 album Lo Que No Te Dije. Backed by her bassist and her guitarist, Gale launched into endlessly catchy songs like “Inmadura,” an ode to being your pettiest during a break-up, and “D-Pic,” a screed about how enraging it is to get unsolicited dick pics. Throughout the performance, Gale peppered in anecdotes about her first relationships and her songwriting process. “These things are tough,” she said at one point in Spanish, referencing a complicated situationship. But Gale was there to open up. Midway through her set, she launched into an acoustic medley of major pop bangers she helped write — Shakira’s “Copa Vacia” and Manuel Turizo’s “El Merengue,” among them — showing some fans who were discovering her for the first time that they’ve actually known her longer than they thought.
Lorén Aldarondo of Chuwi
Samantha Tellez for Rolling Stone
Next came the Puerto Rican wunderkinds from Chuwi. Made up of four radically different characters — siblings Willy Aldarondo, Lorén Aldarondo, and Wester Aldarondo, and their close friend Adrián López — Chuwi wasn’t afraid to put everything out there. The band is from Puerto Rico’s coastal town of Isabela, and they’d all flown out to be in Austin for the first time ever and introduce themselves to an audience ready to take in their stories. They were going to do it over bold, infectious beats, powered by merengue and bomba rhythms from back home. They immediately hooked in the crowd with “Judy Nelson,” a track that shows the full range and body of singer Lorén’s captivating voice.
From there, they jumped into vibrant renditions of “Rico Y Pico” and “Mundi,” each song letting different members take the spotlight for a bit. At one point, toward the end, Lorén shared in both Spanish and English that they had been watching for a long time as displacement and gentrification took place in Puerto Rico, reflecting some of the larger realities around the world. They teed up the emotional song “Tierra” but then brought everyone’s heart rates back up when they signed off with the percussive “Tikiri. “ In a whirl, they were off, leaving the crowd pumped for more.
Mexican producer and singer/rapper NSQK
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Good thing NSQK had a ton of energy. The Mexican producer and singer/rapper has been on the rise since releasing last year’s monochromatic album ATP, an LP that plays out like a radio station of channels that offer all kinds of sound and vibes. That was how the rising alt-star, who’s been a favorite collaborator of artists like Alvaro Diaz and Paopao, modeled his setlist, providing a look into the range and eclecticism that makes him so unique. He started things off with ATP’s title track and from there dove into cuts like the ultra-melodic “Tarde o Temprano” and “Blamegame,” standouts that show his pop versatility and knack of hooks.
Wearing dark sunglasses and a muscle tee, NSQK bounced across the stage, activating the crowd. The wild, video game-like production of “Bad Intenciones” proved to be a peak of the night that got most people dancing and then, to close things off, he ended with the dubby, club-inspired “MUBI.” “You guys excited for Ivan?” he asked the crowd at one point. The response was so enthusiastic, you could almost feel the walls shake.
Puerto Rican pop princess GALE
Samantha Tellez for Rolling Stone
By then, the theater had filled up with even more fans. All of them screamed in unison when the stage lights blinked and a video popped up, showing Cornejo declaring his pride and love of musica mexicana. In the video, he shared his reaction to finding out he would be one of this year’s Future of Music stars: “I just remember looking back and thinking of all the fans, and thinking this was going to stay a dream, and now we’re here.”
When Cornejo walked onto the stage, the mood had been set. Light twinkled from the stage, the dreamy strum of requintos filled the theater, and fans instantly began singing along as he pulled off a 1-2 punch, first performing his hit “Está Dañado” and then following it up with its sister smash, the endlessly brooding “Está Dañada.” The intention was clear: Everyone was about to process some deeply felt emotion.
For Cornejo though, it was also a chance to look at how much his career has expanded. At one point, he stopped to point out the mass of followers gathered on the third floor of the venue, shouting from the rafters. “All you guys at the top, how are you doing?” he asked them, a slow grin spreading across his face. The second part of his show transitioned into some of the newer tracks from his latest album Mirada, and also gave the band a chance to test out more alternative, rock-leaning songs as they played tracks like “Herida Abierta” and “Baby Please.”
It didn’t matter what part of the setlist he was on, though. The fans had learned every song and they were there to wail along to all of his tales of broken romances and dark loneliness. “There’s always something that every fan has in common, and it’s that they all have such a big heart and are always super in touch with their emotions, and they’re not shy to let it out,” Cornejo told Rolling Stone in his cover story earlier this week. “They’re very, very passionate.” At the Moody Theater, they all proved him right.
