From Peso Pluma to Ivan Cornejo, Milwaukee is getting more A-list Latin concerts than ever

Last year, Los Bukis was a momentous, unprecedented concert booking for Milwaukee.

It was just the beginning.

Mexico's answer to the Beatles played one of just two concerts in 2023 — and one of their first since reuniting in 2021, after a quarter-century hiatus — at a near-capacity American Family Insurance Amphitheater last August, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Mexican Fiesta.

Milwaukee had never seen a Spanish-language concert on that level before. In fact, the city had rarely hosted Latin arena and amphitheater shows at all.

Which makes what's happening this year nothing short of an explosion.

Fiserv Forum, which has hosted just two Spanish-language concerts since it opened in 2018, will have five between now and September: regional Mexican superstar Peso Pluma (May 30, a show postponed from last September); rising contemporaries Fuerza Regida (Aug. 16); breakout bachata group Aventura (May 18); reggaeton veteran Don Omar (Aug. 30); and, just announced Monday, Grupo Frontera, the Texan regional Mexican breakout that had a massive smash single with the biggest Latin superstar on the planet, Bad Bunny (Sept. 8).

The American Family Insurance Amphitheater will stage another major Spanish-language concert this year: regional Mexican band Groupo Firme on July 13. And Summerfest 2024 will have the most Spanish-language headliners ever in the festival's 56-year history, including 19-year-old phenomenon Ivan Cornejo (reserved seats for his July 6 BMO Pavilion show swiftly sold out), Latin Mafia, Kevin Kaarl, Luis Figueroa, Reyna Tropical and more.

"It's really cool to see more Latin artists coming specifically to Milwaukee," said concert fan Marycruz Sanchez, 25, who lives on the south side.

Sanchez is used to having to travel to Chicago for big shows, where she saw Beyoncé, Karol G and Bad Bunny over the past 12 months. She's surprised and excited to be able to see Don Omar and possibly Aventura, Latin artists that rarely come to the market, just a 15-minute drive from her house.

"I feel like (Milwaukee) has been overlooked," Sanchez said when asked about major Latin concerts in the city. "Mexican Fiesta is the one weekend I look forward to every year where I can see a bunch of artists, but to see them here throughout the year is really great."

"Hopefully, it opens up the door for artists to consider Milwaukee when planning their tour dates."

Mexican Fiesta, the Rave helped pave the way for more Latin concerts

Doors are already starting to open, suggests Charlie Goldstone, co-president of FPC Live, the Madison-based, Live Nation-backed promoter that brought Los Bukis to Milwaukee.

Goldstone credits Mexican Fiesta and the Rave, which books more Spanish-language concerts than any other Milwaukee venue, for developing the Latin concert market, for helping make the Los Bukis show possible. In the wake of that concert's success, FPC Live is bringing Peso Pluma, Grupo Firme, Fuerza Regida and Grupo Frontera to town.

"If we had not … taken the risks that we did, I don’t think we'd be in consideration for most of these shows," Goldstone said.

But Goldstone also stressed the Latin concert growth in Milwaukee isn't just happening in Milwaukee.

"Look at cities like Indianapolis or Kansas City. They're all experiencing the same thing," Goldstone said. "There's a global surge of Latin music."

"A lot of these artists have crossed over into more diverse audiences," said FPC Live Co-President Scott Leslie. "That's the big thing we’ve noticed, Latin artists are not only drawing a Latin crowd. That has really opened up markets traditionally not viewed as strong for Latin shows."

In 2023, for the second consecutive year, Latin music revenue in the United States exceeded $1 billion, growing 16% from 2022 to a record $1.4 billion, outpacing the overall market, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.

"This music has an audience in every city," said Leila Cobo, chief content officer Latin/Español for Billboard and author of the book "Decoding 'Despacito': An Oral History of Latin Music." "Now in part, you have promoters like Live Nation … that is capable of doing these national tours and putting these artists in venues where maybe they weren't before."

A new wave of regional Mexican music is on the way

The artists Live Nation is betting most on for bigger Latin shows: a new wave of regional Mexican music. Led by Peso Pluma, Fuerza Regida and other fast-rising artists, streaming of regional Mexican music surged by 60% in the U.S. last year, according to music data tracking firm Luminate.

"You have a young audience in this genre that was not being served," Cobo said. "Most of the acts that were well known were older … music more for their parents. We've gotten a new generation with Fuerza Regida and Grupo Firme … and Ivan Cornejo and Peso Pluma, where suddenly you have people who are 15, 16 … who have artists that look like them, act like them, are very urban-leaning but doing Mexican music."

"This growing Gen Z population is going to these concerts that are Latin, and has fed the growth."

"In general, that is providing the engine," said John Bustos, President of Bustos Media, based in Portland, Oregon. Bustos established WDDW-FM (104.7), the regional Mexican station better known as La Gran D, in Milwaukee in 2005. It's since expanded in Milwaukee, adding WDDW-HD2 (93.7 FM) in 2016, that included other styles, like reggaeton, plus two HD stations that launched in Milwaukee last year: one devoted entirely to reggaeton, the other to traditional ranchera music.

"The combination of the horns and accordions with a little bit of trap and hip-hop … this whole fusion of sounds has been refreshing and engaging," Bustos said of more recent regional Mexican music.

And while regional Mexican music is increasingly attracting a wide audience, Milwaukee's large Mexican population, and history of Mexican bands frequenting the Rave, has made the recent bigger bookings in town a pretty safe bet, Bustos suggested.

The fastest-growing group in Milwaukee, and the most-streamed music

The Hispanic population is the fastest-growing group in Milwaukee, increasing by 35,300, or 24%, according to the 2020 Census, compared with the previous Census. That number may even be an undercount, with Mayor Cavalier Johnson and other city officials formally challenging the Census tally. And more than 80% of Milwaukee’s Hispanic population is Mexican, Bustos said.

That population helped to make "Ella Baila Sola," the breakout single by Peso Pluma and Eslabon Armado, the third-most streamed song in Milwaukee on Spotify last year — beating out smashes from Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus and other superstars.

But Latin music is generally on such an upswing, Milwaukee is seeing major Spanish-language bookings from artists outside of regional Mexican music, including Aventura, whose members are of Dominican descent, and Omar, who is Puerto Rican.

That could be a riskier proposition — Colombian star J. Balvin’s 2018 Fiserv Forum show was a box-office bomb — but Bustos said promoter CMN is “way ahead” on a radio advertising and promotional plan, which Bustos said wasn’t as robust for the Balvin show.

“There is a point of diminished returns,” Bustos said. “Where exactly it is, I don’t know. … From what I see on the calendar for 2024, I think we’ll be pleasantly surprised.”

When is a lot of big Latin concerts too many for Milwaukee?

That is the big question: Can a market like Milwaukee that very rarely had big Latin concerts suddenly have too many major Latin concerts?

One FPC Live concert with Pantar Belico at the BMO Pavilion was postponed. No explanation was given, and Goldstone said he didn’t what was behind his postponed dates.

“There will always be growing pains,” Goldstone said. “But that doesn’t mean our company should be dissuaded from trying to take risks and continuing to push the envelope.”

Cobo predicts there’ll be “an ebb and flow” in terms of major Latin show bookings in cities like Milwaukee.

“But I don’t think this population is going to go anywhere,” she said. “As long as the music continues to be fresh and appealing, there’s going to be an audience for it.”

Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or plevy@journalsentinel.com. Follow him on X at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: From Peso Pluma to Ivan Cornejo, a Latin concert surge in Milwaukee