Concert Review: Hispanic Acts Bring the Heat to ACL’s Sunday Weekend 2 Lineup

Austin City Limits highlighted Hispanic descent on the very last day of the festival with diverse performances from indie-pop singer Chezile, synth-pop group Midnight Generation, and experimental Latin-trap duo Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso.

Written by Valeria Mota

Photo courtesy of Rylan McCoy

The Austin City Limits Music Festival has long been recognized for highlighting musicians from all over the globe. While 2025’s lineup offered a wide range of performances from nostalgic rock acts to current chart-toppers, the festival also showcased rising talents on its stages, specifically those with Hispanic roots. Either by sheer coincidence or masterful planning, ACL’s Weekend 2 Sunday lineup was packed with up-and-coming Hispanic musicians, with an extensive mix of genres executed with a fresh, South of the border style.

CHEZILE

Photo courtesy of Ismael Quintanilla

Recently bursting into the indie-pop scene with his viral TikTok hit “Beanie,” Mexican-American singer Chezile brought a soulful Sunday mood to the 1:30 p.m. crowd at the Miller Lite stage. The artist, whose real name is Alejandro Sanchez, casually walked out at 1:31 p.m. wearing a dark blue t-shirt and jeans, with the backing screen displaying his stage name in fancy cursive. Sanchez delivered a soothing set, crooning the lyrics to his 2024 single “Still In Love.” He admitted that “Texas kind of fondled [him]” with its dusty breeze, but still expressed love for the city of Austin. Though the crowd might not have known all of his lyrics, the Albuquerque native got the audience to sing along to his jaunty rendition of Steve Lacy’s “Dark Red.” The artist also asked how the audience felt after the end of every song, each time being met by cheers from the festivalgoers. The singer effortlessly executed tracks like “Blue” and “run away,” and earned a “Hell yeah, get it boy!” from a festivalgoer. Sanchez attempted to pick up his guitar for one of his biggest songs, “Wally,” but experienced some technical difficulties and seamlessly passed the responsibility to his guitarist, Cory James. While Sanchez maintained a calm demeanor, James and the rest of the band members strummed their instruments with fervor, their expressive playing only growing with the heartfelt “Favor” and sincere “Alē.” Sanchez praised the crowd for their heat endurance, noting that “It’s hot as fuck out here, you Texans are different!” and reminded the audience to stay hydrated. After giving a laidback rendition of a song he wrote in Texas, “Asymptomatic,” Sanchez prefaced the last set’s song by admitting that he “would not be here” if it weren’t for the viral tune “Beanie.” The crowd belted the vocals along with the singer as the band happily played their respective instruments, their joy sharply contrasting with Sanchez’s placidity. After taking a moment to hop off the stage and reach out to fans at the barricade, Chezile earnestly thanked the audience and exited the stage, with the grainy outro of “Beanie” accompanying his and the band’s exit. In just a 40-minute timeframe, Sanchez managed to perform a profound indie set with his cool attitude and passionate backing band, certainly earning fans from the early afternoon crowd.

MIDNIGHT GENERATION

Photo courtesy of Gary Miller

Hailing straight from Chihuahua, Mexico, synth pop group Midnight Generation stormed the Tito’s Stage at exactly 4:30 p.m., wearing matching white track suits, accompanied with the loud bass drum indicating the band’s entrance taking fans aback. The collective smoothed into the hypnotizing “Energy” as the crowd swayed and energetically nodded along to the beat. Lead singer Fernando Mares brought out a retro talk box, elevating the track’s vibrant production and fittingly amping up the audience’s “energy.” “¿Cómo estamos Austin?” (“How are we Austin?”) keyboardist Bica Valderrama asked, earning excited applause from fans. Valderrama introduced the band as a preface to the 2025 track, “Teacher,” eliciting excited “OH YEAH!”s from dancing fans. The Mexican band soon segued into their recent hit, “Don’t Wait Up,” impressing the crowd with their ‘80s-inspired sound and receiving cheers when percussionist Diego Bustillos took a swig from a Tito’s Vodka bottle. The sheltered Tito’s stage was illuminated with dynamic visuals and colorful lighting as the band continued to play the catchy “Calling You,” which the crowd easily learned and sang along to. Mares thanked the audience as Bustillos got fans to clap along to “Forever” and the band’s extended musical interludes. The set’s highlight came when the group abruptly stepped to the front of the stage for a spontaneous dance break. Though the members performed some simple side-to-side steps and spins, the crowd was enamored with the collective’s energy, a sentiment that continued throughout the rest of the set. “Are you ready to dance with the Midnight Generation?” Bustillos asked, guiding the festivalgoers through the band’s easy dance moves. The Chihuahua natives continued to joyfully play their instruments, with drummer Samuel Marquez throwing out one of his drumsticks into the Tito’s crowd while Mares picked up his own to hit the snare drum along to the beat. Perfect for fans of Parcels and Daft Punk, Midnight Generation’s simple lyrics but outstanding synth-heavy production proved to be a memorable antidote to Sunday’s Texas heat.

CA7RIEL & PACO AMOROSO

Photo courtesy of Bryan C. Parker/Austin Monthly

After their viral NPR Tiny Desk performance, best friends Catriel Guerreiro (Ca7riel) and Ulises Guerriero (Paco Amoroso) have slowly been taking over the world with their experimental Latin trap and pop fusion, complete with a live jazz band. The Sunday Beatbox stage was prepared with two giant banners, each of them decorated with filtered selfies from the duo’s members, well before the collective graced the stage. Instrumentals akin to the Sims video game soundtrack began to play as the supporting band walked onto the stage at 5:32 p.m., and the crowd wildly cheered when Guerreiro and Guerriero casually entered the stage and sat on stools to deliver one of their biggest hits, “DUMBAI.” Ca7riel’s tall cowboy hat and Amoroso’s western button-down shirt personalized their set as the audience yelled along to the bouncy “BABY GANGSTA” and “MI DIOSA.” The live horn section elevated the experimental Latin trap tracks to another level, with the frequent trumpet and trombone sections earning loud whoops from fans. “Austin city make some noise!” Guerriero yelled as the groovy “A MÍ NO” concluded. Fans excitedly shrieked as the jazzy piano to “IMPOSTOR” kicked in and happily shouted the chorus’ “Fuck that” along with the duo. Ca7riel took a moment to show off his circus skills by masterfully balancing his guitar’s headstock on the palm of his hand. The duo also took the opportunity to sing individual tunes, not just tracks from their shared discography. The stage’s lateral screen featured the English translation of the Argentinian pair’s songs, but after Ulises Guerriero’s “Viuda Negra” and Catriel Guerreiro’s “SHIPEA2,” the subtitles randomly changed to Japanese. Paco Amoroso rocked out with a tambourine to Ca7riel’s guitar solo on their blended tracks, “MI DESEO/BAD BITCH.” The duo finally stood up from their comfortable stools to perform the groovy “RE FORRO,” with Paco Amoroso’s laidback style heavily contrasting with Ca7riel’s sassy attitude. The screen discreetly returned to its English subtitles while the duo got the entire crowd jumping to their bass-thumping “LA QUE PUEDE, PUEDE.” The breakout pair continued to own the stage like bonafide rockstars as they barreled through tracks like “SHEESH,” Guerreiro’s “McFly,” and Guerriero’s “TODO EL DÍA,” and finally reuniting their vocals for “Ola Mina XD.” Paco Amoroso thanked the crowd for their energy as this was the duo’s “first time in Austin city,” receiving loud cheers from the festivalgoers. The pair performed one of their older tracks, “Cono Hielo,” before the horns section came back in for their most recently popular songs, “#TETAS” and “EL DÍA DEL AMIGO.” The songs creatively protested industry standards while praising the duo’s longstanding friendship, with the crowd only growing louder as they belted the tunes’ lyrics. The pair and their supporting band thanked and waved the crowd goodbye as they exited the stage, with the audience immediately asking for an encore. Fortunately, fans got what they needed when the best friends walked back out to gladly deliver the set’s closing song, “EL ÚNICO.” The dynamic, conversational track only heightened the crowd’s enthusiasm even further, ending the set on an even higher note. After “EL ÚNICO” reached its conclusion and Guerreiro hollered “#TEXAS”, Ca7riel and Paco Amoroso strutted off the stage to giddy elevator music, leaving the festivalgoers with huge smiles on their faces and an aching desire for a longer performance. Though the pair might have only hopped onto the mainstream a year ago, the lifelong friends complemented each other perfectly with compelling stage presences and excellent live instrumentation. Guerreiro’s and Guerriero’s innovative fusion of Latin trap and pop serves as a testament to ACL’s dedication to bringing the freshest global sounds to their festival, even on the very last day.