Ruido Fest : The Lollapalooza & Riot Fest of Latin Alternative Music Festivals

Jul 11, 2015 James Currie Features, Reviews 0

By Vernon Hester

On Friday, July 10, the first day of the first Ruido Festival took place featuring an eclectic mix of live music designed to appeal to every taste. The festival, with a focus on alternative Latin music, took place in Adams-Medill Park and is co-sponsored by Riot Fest. And no, you didn’t have to know Spanish or actually know who these artists were to have a great time.

The laid back weekday afternoon crowd enjoyed an uncharacteristically warm sunny day (for this summer anyway) which found happy small children running around and lovers nuzzling on the grass. If the vibe of the event, which featured a Lucha Libre motif, felt relaxed in the audience, it was clearly not a reflection of the performances on the three stages circling the park.

Early in the day, Ceci Bastida, who has not played Chicago in years, kicked the afternoon off with a sassy “bang (she had some words for Donald Trump).” Though AJ Devila had suffered a back injury in the last week it did not stop him or his band (billed as AJ Devila y Terror Amor) from stomping through a furious set. Banda De Turistas engaged the by now swelling crowd with a performance of melodious rock-pop, then the duo known as Cardiel demolished all that sunny, jolly cheer with a set of brutal Spanish hardcore metal.

Compass moved the early evening into high gear with their energetic and sometimes goofy funk-rap while the trio known as Denver tried to inject some light disco into the mix. By the time the sun started setting, it was clear that the lazy afternoon was over when co-headliner Enjambre tore into an action packed set that had the now huge crowd singing at the top of their lungs. The close of the evening came when the screaming, chanting crowd (“ZO-EEE, ZO-EEE!!!!”) got exactly what they came for when vocalist Leon Larregui emerged from a cloud of smoke to deliver an atmospheric performance with his Grammy winning band Zoe.

For more info on Ruido Fest:

https://ruidofest.com

https://twitter.com/RuidoFest

https://www.facebook.com/ruidofest

For photo highlights from Day 1, click here.