Tropicália Music & Taco Festival A Sold Out Event Brings to Long Beach for a Celebration of Music, Food and Culture

Touted as the ‘most modern of LA’s music festivals’, a Sold Out crowd of music, food and culture lovers descended upon the Long Beach waterfront at the Queen Mary Events Park this past Saturday are still reliving the sights, tastes and especially the sounds of the sold out Tropicália Music and Taco Festival.

Once again The Observatory Group breathed new life into the stale festival landscape, and this time made history with their most eclectic line-up, and most successful music festival to date.

While the concert line-up resonated with fans of any given genre or generation the free all you can eat tacos (and pupusas, posole, taquito's, etc) helped provide the sold out crowd with the energy needed to fuel for a nonstop dance party.

GRAMMY® award winning Mexican Regional music icons Los Tigres del Norte headlined Tropicália, whipping the crowd of millennials into a frenzy of Norteño dance twists, twirls, caballito kicks and sing alongs to ‘La Puerta Negra.’

L.A.'s favorite psychedelic funk rockers Chicano Batman and the fashion designer turned indie pop/electronica Colombian-American songstress Kali Uchis prepared the crowd for a night of dancing with their dreamy grooves and body shaking beats. Of course icons of the Alt-Latino genre, Café Tacvba, veterans of many outdoor music festivals, performed their always trippy live set during sunset aka the magic hour.

And that was merely the main Tropicália stage. There were five stages in all that kept kids darting from one legendary performer to another, like Celso Piña, the Queen of Rockabilly Wanda Jackson and the sleeper highlight of the show, 60's Spanish pop star Jeanette who had the Latinx millennials singing along to ‘Muchacho de los Ojos Tristes” The appreciation that the young fans showed these elder artists, especially soul music legends Brenton Wood and The Delfonics as well as 90's RnB star Ginuwine, all mainstays on the turntables at any East L.A. backyard party, would make any old rocker proud of the new generation of music lovers.

Fan appreciation of the past was rewarded with performances from the present and future of Latin rock and pop starting with reggaeton royalty Ivy Queen, then the modish lo-fi singer/songwriter/rapper King Krule, R&B songstress Jhené Aiko, electro-soul beauty Alina Baraz, and psychedelic cumbia Thee Commons, swooning Cuco, Brazil's psych pop icons Os Mutantes plus the cumbia sounds of Sonora Dinamita plus many, many, many more. 

Tropicália Music & Taco Festival was hosted by East LA native Felipe Esparza best known for his raw, real-life comedy, his irreverent on-stage persona, and wild hair. In fact much of the sold out crowd was drawn to the festival via the comic's social media posts which opened with his often-imitated phrase, "What’ sup fool?" followed by invites to Tropicália Music & Taco Festival.

And of course much of the success to this festival goes to the dozens of food vendors who supplied tens of thousands with delicious nourishment needed for a long day of dancing and singing. Many thanks go to: Carnitas el Momo, Dia de los Puercos, Mariscos Jalisco, Burritos La Palma, Pez Cantina, Calo Provisions, Taqueria la Venganza (Vegan), Epic Tacos, Cuatro Calaveras, La Calaca Fish Tacos, Dos Mexicanos Grill, Street Kitchen LA, Bann Mi Tacos, Chichen Itza, Taco Mel, The Classic Taco, 3941 Tamales, Casa De Brisa, Los Tacos Guys, Barrels Baja Fresh Tacos, Vchos Truck, Triple Threat Tacos, Butchers Block LA, Padre Long Beach, Macheen Tacos, Chuys Tacos.

 

About the event organizers, The Observatory Group:

The team at The Observatory Group manages some of the southland's most recognized venues: The Observatory Orange County, the Constellation Room, and the Observatory North Park. The Observatory Group has organized L.A.s most talked about music festivals including Day N Night, When We Were Young, Summertime in the LBC, Beach Goth, Soulquarius an RnB Jam, One Love Cali Reggae and now Tropicália Music & Taco Festival.

Artist Lineup (Alphabetical Order):

Alina Baraz

Banes World

Beach Bums

Brenton Wood

Buttertones

Buyepongo

Café Tacvba

Celso Piña

Chicano Batman

Chrome Sparks (DJ Set)

Chulity Vinly Club
Cuco

Current Joys

Dub Cub

Evelyn “Champagne”  King

Funky Sole

Evelyn “Champagne”  King

Funky Sole

Ginuwine

High Curbs

Inner Wave

Ivy Queen
Jack Moves

Jeanette

Jhené Aiko

Jessie Reyez

Jorja Smith

Kali Uchis

King Rule

La Banda Skalavera

Las Cafeteras

Los Tigres Del Norte
Low End Theory

Madlibe

Os Mutantes

Phoney Ppl

Pity Party

Red Pears

Sad Girl

Sango

Scam & Jam
Slow Hollows

Smino

Sonora Dinamita

Summer Salt

Surf Curse
The Delfonics

Thee Commons

Very Be Careful

Weapons of Mass Creation

Wanda Jackson

XXYYXX

Yellow Days