Drawing in a sea of festival-goers, 100,000 people according to organizers, Tecate Pa’l Norte kicked off its 2024 edition on Friday (March 29) at the emblematic Parque Fundidora in Monterrey, Nuevo León in Mexico.

Friday’s eclectic lineup included a headlining set by Peso Pluma, who made his debut at the festival. Kendrick Lamar was also set to headline day one, but his performance was canceled just hours before he would took the stage because of “unforeseen circumstances due to logistical issues,” according to an official statement by the organizers.

But Peso’s extended performance made up for Lamar’s last-minute cancelation, delivering a high-energy, corridos-packed set, performing his greatest hits like “Rubicon,” “Lady Gaga,” “AMG” and “PRC.” He also had special guests join him on stage, including Jasiel Nuñez, Yng Lvcas and Luis Vega. “I was really looking forward to being back with my Mexican people,” the 24-year-old hitmaker told a roaring crowd who chanted “Peso, Peso, Peso,” after every song.

Peso’s set at Pa’l Norte follows a string of canceled shows in Latin America earlier this year, including his concerts in Perú, Paraguay and Chile (for Viña del Mar) due to “personal reasons.” The Grammy-winning artist is set to kick off his 2024 Éxodo Tour in the U.S. in May, which will include more than 35 shows with stops in New York, Miami, Las Vegas, Dallas and more before wrapping Oct. 11 in Montville, Conn.

His upcoming Éxodo stint will follow a big touring year for Peso. who finished the 2023 landing at No. 47 in the all-genre Top 100 Tours, grossing a total of $48.8 million across 39 shows, according to Billboard‘s year-end Boxscore charts. Peso, who will be performing at Coachella in April, is set to drop a new album this summer, which will follow his breakthrough set, Génesis.

Day one of Pa’l Norte also included performances by other acts like Kevin Kaarl, Belanova, Bomba Estéreo, Aitana, Deorro and Keane. Blink-182 and Louis Tomlinson are set to headline the main stage on Saturday, March 30.

Here are the best moments from Peso Pluma’s headlining set at Tecate Pa’l Norte.

If this was your first time at the Tecate Pa’l Norte festival and you weren’t familiar with the surprise stage concept, you probably freaked out when a tornado-like siren began ringing exactly at 7 p.m. It was no tornado. Instead, the sound alerted attendees that the first surprise artist of the night was about to start performing at the Sorpresa stage.

These artists are not previously announced on the lineup, and a total of two surprise acts perform per day. They are short sets — artists typically have around 10-15 minutes to sing. The first surprise artist on Friday (March 29) was the elusive reggaeton duo Angel y Khriz.

The pair started their set shortly after Belanova had wrapped on the main stage. The reggaetoneros started off with their massive 2005 hit “Ven Bailalo.” They quickly followed it with the equally infectious “Na De Na.” And then time was up. They thanked fans and left the stage.

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The second act to take the stage, at 8:52 p.m., was latest regional Mexican breakthrough artist Xavi — setting the perfect vibe for upcoming headliner Peso Pluma. The 19-year-old Mexican-American artist, who kicked off his Poco a Poco Tour in Mexico City on March 28, performed a total of five songs, including “La Víctima” and “Corazón de Piedra.”

The Pa’l Norte festival is taking place March 29-31 at the Parque Fundidora in Monterrey, Nuevo León, in Mexico. Headliners for this year’s edition include Peso Pluma, Blink-182, Maná, Fuerza Regida, Louis Tomlinson and Thirty Seconds to Mars. Kendrick Lamar was set to headline on Friday but canceled his performance because of “unseen circumstances due to logistical issues,” according to a statement by the festival organizers.

Below, see an updating list of all the surprise artists who performed at the Sorpresa stage.

Kendrick Lamar was a no-show on Friday (March 29) at Tecate Pa’l Norte, where he was set to headline the Tecate Light stage.

Just hours before he was scheduled to take the stage on day one of the festival, which takes place at the Parque Fundidora in Monterrey, Nuevo León, in Mexico, the event’s organizers announced on an Instagram post that the California-born rapper would not be performing.

“For unforeseen circumstances due to logistical issues out of Tecate Pal Norte’s organization — we’re sorry to announce that Kendrick Lamar won’t be able to perform tonight at the festival,” an official statement said.

Lamar was supposed to follow Peso Pluma, who performed past his scheduled time slot. “We appreciate Peso Pluma for extending his showtime. Deorro will be closing Tecate Light Stage. The programmed shows of the Festival will run as planned,” the statement continued.

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Peso took advantage of the extra time to perform more back-to-back corridos, including “Rubicon,” “AMG,” “PRC” and “Lady Gaga.” He also brought out guests Jasiel Nuñez (“Lagunas” and “Rosa Pastel”) and Luis Vega (“Rubicon” and Yng Lvcas (“La Bebe – Remix”) during his set. According to organizers, the festival was at capacity with 100,000 people in attendance, which is the number of people expected per day.

The three-day festival is taking place March 29-31 with other artists such as Blink-182, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Maná, Anitta, Fuerza Regida and Louis Tomlinson set to perform. Day one included sets by Keane, Belanova, Kevin Kaarl and Aitana.

See the official statement on Kendrick Lamar’s cancellation below:

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On Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, released Friday (March 29), the superstar salutes pioneering country artist Linda Martell, the first Black woman to ever play the Grand Ole Opry in 1969, and, in doing so, is introducing the pioneer to a whole new audience. 

Though she has long retired, the 82-year-old Martell returns on Beyoncé’s album on two segments, both of which address Beyoncé’s refusal to be bound by genre lines. In the introduction to “Spaghettii,” she says, “Genres are a funny little concept, aren’t they? Yes they are. In theory, they have a simple definition that’s easy to understand, but in practice, well, some may feel confined.”

Martell returns on the 28-second interlude titled “The Linda Martell Show,” opening with “Thank you very much,” to the sound of applause. She continues, “This particular tune stretches across a range of genres and that’s what makes it’s a unique listening experience. Yes, indeed. It’s called ‘Ya Ya,’” she says before the genre-bending “Ya Ya” opens to a sample of Nancy Sinatra’s 1966 classic, “These Boots Are Made For Walkin.’”

For many listeners, this is likely the first time they have heard of Martell, who played such a groundbreaking role in country music. Her breakthrough single, “Color Him Father,” peaked at No. 22 in September 1969. The song was the highest-charting song on the tally by a Black woman for more than 50 years until Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” reached No. 1 earlier this year.

On Friday, Martell praised Beyoncé via an Instagram post. “I am proud that @beyonce is exploring her country music roots. What she is doing is beautiful, and I’m honored to be a part of it. It’s Beyoncé, after all!”

Here are seven things you should know about Martell.

It’s been less than a day since Beyoncé finally dropped her Cowboy Carter album, and the project is already breaking records.

The album is officially Spotify’s most-streamed album in a single day in 2024, the streaming service announced on Friday (March 29). This is the first time a country-album holds the title this year. Before the album’s release, “Texas Hold ‘Em” was streamed over 200 million times.

That’s not the only record that the album broke. Cowboy Carter has the biggest debut to date earning more first-day streams on Amazon Music globally than any of her previous albums. The album also marks the most first-day streams for a country album by a female artist in the history of Amazon Music.

The 27-track album features a whopping list of star-studded collaborators, including Miley Cyrus, Post Malone, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Linda Martell, Tanner Adell, Willie Jones, Raphael Saadiq, The-Dream, Shaboozey and more. The project also features the Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper, “Texas Hold ‘Em.”

“This album has been over five years in the making,” Bey wrote of the project on Instagram earlier this month. “It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear that I wasn’t. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive. It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives educating on our musical history.”

It’s Friday, March 29th, and we’ve been blessed with a ton of new music this week. Beyoncé’s long-awaited ‘Cowboy Carter’ is finally here. J-Hope dropped his new album, ‘Hope on the Street Vol. 1.’ Machine Gun Kelly teamed up with Trippie Redd for ‘Genre: Sadboy.’ Fans are raving about the features on ‘Cowboy Carter’ with some even convinced that Taylor Swift was featured on the track “BODYGUARD.” And more.

Tetris Kelly
‘Cowboy Carter’ is here and we’re breaking down all the features. Plus new music from J-Hope, MGK, Trippie Redd and more. Sum 41 stops by to talk about their final album, we find out whose fandom is the strongest and learn more about Chicano Batman. Howdy partners, it’s Friday, March 29th and welcome to Billboard News. My name is Tetris and I heard there’s some kind of Renaissance going on. Let’s kick things off today with your Friday music guide.

Tetris Kelly
Beyoncé kicks off her new era busting out the gate with “Ameriican Requiem” and the highly anticipated “Jolene” is as good as we expected and it’s Dolly P approved.

Tetris Kelly
More music coming throughout the show but for now, here’s your top story.

Tetris Kelly
Miley Cyrus, Post Malone and Taylor Swift?

Tetris Kelly
We’re covering all the features on Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ so you don’t have to.

Tetris Kelly
A cover of The Beatles that captures meaning in a way only Beyoncé can deliver. “Blackbird,” which Paul McCartney has said was inspired by racial tension, features up-and-coming Black country singers Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy and Reyna Roberts. She also grabbed Willie Jones’ soulful voice on “Just For Fun.” And Shaboozey brings the vibes on “Spaghettii,” genre-bending musician Post Malone sounds sweet and smooth on “Levii’s Jeans,” and Miley and Beyoncé’s vocals soared and blended to perfection on “II Most Wanted.” But whose voice provides the backgrounds on standout track “Bodyguard”? Fans were convinced it’s Taylor Swift. Billboard can confirm Taylor Swift is not credited on the song. Well, Swiftyhive can still dream, and with so many other flawless tracks on ‘Cowboy Carter,’ we have plenty to feast on.

Watch the full video above!