Christian Nodal’s Billboard SXSW Headlining Set: 5 Best Moments

Nodal’s band is mighty – each in dimension and ability. He was accompanied by a six-piece mariachi string and horn part – all of whom wearing attractive pink fits – together with a seven-piece backing band – dressed in additional refined black fits – that included two percussionists, a vocalist and, in fact, an accordion participant.

Wearing steel-toe boots, leather-based flare pants, an embroidered vest and blinged out cross necklace – plus his ever-present face tattoos – Nodal embodies a modern-day rockstar. He even takes a web page from Put up Malone’s guide and sometimes lights a cigarette onstage, smoking it in between lyrics and briefly disappearing into little clouds of smoke. And when the packed crowd chants “Chris-ti-an!” he does what any rocker would: fist pumps to the beat.

Throughout “Ayayay,” Nodal tosses his hat into the group like a frisbee as on-stage sparklers mild up. The artist replaces his hat with one other, solely this time it’s a baseball cap that reads “Nodal” – although he doesn’t maintain onto that one lengthy, both. He quickly throws that into the viewers as effectively, solely to exchange it with the identical conventional hat as earlier than – and the cycle continues. All through the set, Nodal wears and offers away 5 of his personal hats – to not point out those thrown onstage that he would signal and take a look at on earlier than handing again. However of all of the hats he gave away, maybe nobody was extra deserving than just a little lady who made her method to the entrance row on her mum or dad’s shoulders – all whereas Nodal patiently waited to put it on her head himself.

Essentially the most spectacular a part of Nodal’s set is how effectively he juxtaposes numerous types and tempos, leading to one seamless and endlessly partaking efficiency – from edgier uptempo cumbia tracks to his extra downtempo ballads (as one fan stated of Nodal: “The saddest boy in all of Texas.”) However regardless of the variability inside his personal catalog, Nodal additionally made positive to incorporate well-selected covers, from Selena’s “Como La Flor” to Hombres G’s “Devuélveme a mi chica.”

“Soy listo,” says Estevie, who returned to the stage for one among Nodal’s remaining songs of the night time. The pair duetted on Luis Miguel’s “Sabor a Mí” bringing the night full circle. And judging by the group’s enthusiastic response, the second proved {that a} recorded collaboration from the 2 could be warmly welcomed — and perhaps even impressed, or hinted at, one to come back.