Best of LAMC 2016

The Latin Alternative Music Conference has come and gone. And this year, Ariana Morgenstern and I, were able to join Raul Campos and Brent Gordon out in New York for full coverage of the conference.

The week was packed with industry panels, music showcases, and interviews with standout artists attending the conference.

Raul, with the help of Ariana, was able to interview all the top names for his show while I concentrated on getting acoustic performances recorded from the baby buzz bands.

If you’d like to read all about our experience, there is a Day by Day recap on our KCRWxLAMC tumblr site.

But if you just want the skinny and our highlights, well then read on:

Mexrrissey at Summerstage: Despite being down a couple members, due to visa issues and competing events in Chicago, this Latin music super group gave it all it had. The record is good… but hearing it live… it’s even better! And the songs they performed that aren’t on the record blew us away. Proving that even though the focus is Morrissey, they do in fact have some love for The Smiths.

Buscabulla at Celebrate Brooklyn: Had to sneak in this personal favorite highlight. I’d been dying to see them live and they delivered. Can’t wait for the new songs to be released!

Rodrigo Amarante acoustic set: The author of arguably one of the most recognized theme songs of the past 10 years came up to the KCRW suite for a candid interview with Raul Campos. To everyone’s surprise he brought a rickety guitar, named

Butter, and performed two splendid acoustic songs. One of them being, “Tuyo,” which sounded a-ma-zing!

Caetano Veloso at Summerstage:

He was simply there to watch Rodrigo’s performance. But as we experienced, Caetano Veloso commands respect no matter where he is. He was also incredibly nice and took pictures with nearly everyone backstage. For a music head, getting to meet Caetano, is a check off the ole bucket list.

iLe

She performed a couple times and even did a stripped down acoustic song for the KCRW staff at the Highline. But it was her, overall, which gets a highlight mention. When you take into account that she’s been part of one of the biggest latin bands of the past decade, she’s incredibly humble and accessible. Add to that, stunning performances and robust arrangements of her songs coupled with a stage presence that made her seem 6ft tall. Big things are in store for Ileana.

The Chamanas at the Highline Ballroom:

Merely getting to see them perform their cover of Portugal, the Man’s ‘Purple, Yellow, Red and Blue’ was definitely a highlight for me. I feel like they exceeded all expectations with their live show.

It was electric.

Carlos Vives on the Latin Grammy Panel:

He’s not exactly in the Latin Alternative wheelhouse when it comes to his music, but he is a very big name in the music industry. He was vivacious and charming and along with all the others on the panel, gave a great discourse to a packed house. Oh and he also performed at Madison Square Garden on Friday night… no biggie.

Well there it is, another year down in the annals of the Latin Alternative Music Conference. We still have a couple video gems that we will roll out on the music blog in the coming weeks.

Can’t wait to do it all again next year!