Migo Fest, positioned as a trailblazing event celebrating the new wave of música Mexicana, has been canceled, organizers announced Friday (Oct. 10). The decision comes just one day before the festival was scheduled to take place on Saturday.
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In a statement shared with Billboard Español, organizers said they were forced to cancel after “receiving a call [on Wednesday night] that made it impossible for the festival to move forward without all of our performers.” According to the festival’s representatives, the cancellation was due to the current “political climate, artist visas that were denied and because one major artist had to drop out.”
The cancelation coincides with ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids across the nation, which have heightened fears within Latin communities, as well as visa issues for international artists and concerns about potential threats to audiences from ICE enforcement.
Billed as the first music festival of its kind in the New York Tri-State area, Migo Fest aimed to spotlight the rise of Mexican music while celebrating the cultural contributions of New York’s Mexican and Puebla York — the population of Puebla origin, which has a strong presence in the city — communities. However, a series of challenges in recent weeks culminated in the abrupt cancellation.
Yet the festival had already faced setbacks, including changing the venue from Jones Beach Theater to the Coney Island Amphitheater on Oct. 2, with organizers citing accessibility concerns. Additionally, headliners Netón Vega and Alemán were removed from the lineup, which was subsequently reduced from 17 acts to 10.
Though New York’s Mexican community has often been overlooked in the larger Latin music scene dominated by Caribbean-rooted styles, Migo Fest aimed to give Mexicans visibility and celebrate their contributions to the city. It did so by including emerging NYC-rooted, Mexican-American talent, like The Bronx’s Selines, Brooklyn’s SpliffHappy, and Queens’ Santy y Su Estilo Único.
The statement also added that “this is not the end of Migo Fest, it is just a pause.”
Furthermore, organizers promise to return “stronger” in the future “for our people, our artists, and our community,” as per the statement. Refunds will begin processing next week, they confirmed.
Read the festival’s full note about the cancellation below:
With every inch of our hearts broken, we have to announce the cancellation of Migo Fest.
On Wednesday night, we received a call that made it impossible for the festival to move forward without all of our performers. From that moment, we did everything we could—down to the very last inch of our being. But as Mexicans do, we never gave up trying.
Migo Fest wasn’t just one person’s dream—it was the dream of many. We had artists ready to share the stage with their idols, photographers hoping for their first big break, local clothing vendors preparing their booths, and creators from New York’s Latino community pouring their hearts into this. Migo Fest was built to give our people a platform, and canceling it feels like letting them down.
We put every part of ourselves into this—our hearts, our time, our money, our investors, our business partners—everything. We believed in this with all our souls. That’s why this hurts so deeply.
To the thousands who bought tickets and believed in us—thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Refunds will begin processing next week.
Thank you to Live Nation for working so hard to bring this show to life, even though it couldn’t move forward in the end.
This isn’t the end of Migo Fest—it’s just a pause. We’ll be back stronger, for our people, our artists, and our community. Migos never stop. -MIGO Fest
