The festival panorama has been shaping up nicely these past few weeks, with events featuring a healthy share of Latinx talent popping up in many cities across the U.S., like New York’s Afro-Latino Festival and Atlanta’s OYE Fest. And now, fast-rising indie giant Viva! Pomona just joined the party with the announcement of its 2018 edition.
The Southern California festival, organized by Chicano promoter René Contreras, head of Viva! Presents and the mastermind behind the curation of the impeccable Sonora Stage at Coachella, is once again taking over Pomona’s staple venue The Glass House on August 18-19 for a two-day session of music discovery. For the seventh consecutive year, the festival aims to champion noted Latinx and Latin American acts, as well as the buzziest up-and-coming projects from the area and beyond.
Psych pop darlings The Marías and indie punk duo Surf Curse, both from Los Angeles, lead the Viva! Pomona 2018 lineup. They will be joined by Mexican acts like R&B chanteuse Girl Ultra, Chihuahua folk singer Dromedarios Mágicos, and Tijuana punk cult favorites San Pedro el Cortez. Shannon and the Clams’ Shannon Shaw and Chicano Batman’s É Arenas are also performing, as well as The Red Pears, LA rapper and Cuco collaborator J-Kwe$t, cumbia ensemble La Chamba, Chicago indie pop singer Tatiana Hazel, and many, many more.
Past performers include the likes of Prayers, Los Blenders, Sotomayor, and Cuco, so you know Viva! Pomona has a knack for predicting the artists who will break out in the near future. Check out the full lineup below.
Viva Pomona takes place August 18 and 19, 2018 at The Glass House in Pomona, CA. Tickets go on sale Friday June 22. For more information, click here.