Recent posts: CARLITA

With temperatures reaching the high 90’s in So Cal, Pandora assembled a line-up for its Summer Crush Saturday show in downtown LA to match. Not a fan of spontaneously combusting in sweltering weather, it would take something pretty momentous for me to leave the comfort of A/C but Pandora succeeded in prying me away. I couldn’t pass up the chance to see Tori Kelly, Jason Derulo, Fifth Harmony, Steve Aoki, Rachel Platten and Who Is Fancy.

In a sea of groups who achieve success and flame out, hitting the milestone of 15 years together in any genre is rare. Achieving this accomplishment while releasing their fifth album ‘El Mismo’, Latin Grammy winning and Grammy nominated trio (consisting of husband and wife team Tostao and Goyo along with Slow Mike) Chocquibtown shows no signs of slowing down el “ritmo violento”. Teaming up with acclaimed producer Andrés Castro (who’s worked with Prince Royce, Carlos Vives and Thalia) for their latest effort, their multi-genre mezcla reflecting their beloved culturally blended Colombia, shines through like “oro”.

As July draws to a close, it’s time to reflect on a great music festing year thus far. Blessed to travel into the mountains, desert, city and country for the love of live music, there’s nothing like it. Putting my list of fav fests together in my head, The Art of Cool (AOC) Fest in Durham, NC automatically gets a spot. Even while experiencing opposite spectrums of weather during the weekend, I enjoyed every minute. Checking out Anthony Hamilton’s latest video with Teedra Moses released this week, I fondly remembered my group chat with Grammy Award-winning AOC headliner Anthony earlier this year who graciously chatted with us, press folk, in the pouring rain (when I say pouring rain, I mean POURING RAIN). Warm, down-to-earth and talented for days, our talk cemented my genuine fandom.