The second day of the 2024 Corona Capital Festival on Saturday (Nov. 16) turned into a multi-generational party that pleased the younger crowd with the high energy of Shawn Mendes, and the contemporary adult audience with the post-punk and Britpop of New Order and Travis. Amidst this, American singer-songwriter St. Vincent settled an old debt with her Mexican fans as one of the star acts of the day.
On its second day, the festival brought together more than 69,000 attendees — according to promoter Ocesa — who also enjoyed shows by Primal Scream, Melanie Martinez, Black Pumas, The Blaze, Jorja Smith, Tora, Busted and others, across five stages set up at the Curva 4, former headquarters of F1 in Mexico City.
Canadian-Colombian singer-songwriter Jessie Reyez, who has written songs for Dua Lipa, delivered a dynamic show, talked to the audience and charmed everyone with her voice and her mix of hip-hop, soul and jazz.
The program continued on Sunday (Nov. 17) with the debut of Paul McCartney at a Latin American music festival and performances by Jack White and Iggy Pop — who said he was bringing guitarist Nick Zinner from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs — plus Empire of the Sun, Beck, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Leon Bridges, Kim Gordon, Maximo Park and Hermanos Gutiérrez, among others.
Below are five of our favorite moments from day two of the 2024 Corona Capital festival in Mexico City.
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San Vicente Settles Debt With Mexican Fans
Annie Clark, better known as St. Vincent, kept her promise and returned to Corona Capital after she had to cancel her performance in 2021 when someone on her team tested positive for Covid-19. And what a triumphant return! The singer-songwriter, nominated for four Grammy Awards with music from her 2024 album All Born Screaming, conquered the rock festival with an explosive show that felt close to the Mexican audience — the one that inspired her to record a Spanish version of her latest set, Todos Nacen Gritando, just released on Friday (Nov. 15).
With greetings in Spanish, she went through her discography, performing songs including “Reckless,” “Fear The Future,” “Los Ageless,” “Big Time Nothing,” “Marrow” and “Pay Your Way In Pain.” And, in a nod to the language of Cervantes, she also performed the song “Pulga.”
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Shawn Mendes Makes People Sigh With “Señorita”
For the youngest attendees, the most anticipated moment came with Shawn Mendes’ performance. “Hello, Mexico, how are you? I don’t know many words, but I can try,” the Canadian star said in Spanish, unleashing screams and applause from mainly the female audience, some of whom stood at the front of the stage with signs dedicated to the singer.
Mendes’ setlist included “Treat You Better,” “Wonder,” “Monster” and one of the songs most applauded of the night, “Señorita,” which he originally recorded as a duet with his ex-girlfriend, the Cuban-Mexican singer Camila Cabello.
“I love being here, I love your country, I love the culture,” added Mendes excitedly upon his return to Mexico after five years. He closed the day at the festival’s main stage.
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Travis Pays Tribute to Oasis
Fran Healy, leader of the Scottish band Travis, told the Corona Capital audience that he had recently heard “Wonderwall,” the emblematic song by Oasis, and that it has some amazing chords — as the first notes of the song started playing. He then asked the audience to keep it a secret that he had played fragments of the song from brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher, who will be performing in Mexico next year. The gesture was received by the audience with applause as they also accompanied the band by singing the chorus at the top of their lungs.
A well-known and loved band by Mexican fans, Travis was one of the most anticipated acts of the evening. “Writing to Reach You,” “Side,” “Closer,” “My Eyes” and “Raze the Bar” were part of the group’s repertoire, and they closed with the classic “Why Does It Always Rain on Me?”
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New Order, Masters of Post-Punk
Another much looked-forward-to set on the second day of the festival came from New Order, a group born in the early ’80s after the dissolution of Joy Division. The band can boast having one of its most loyal audiences in Mexico, who packed the National Auditorium a few days ago to see them perform, and who on also came en masse to see them play on the Corona Cero stage Saturday night.
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Black Pumas Please With Their Psychedelic Soul
Among the many sound offerings at the Corona Capital this year, the psychedelic soul of Black Pumas stood out. Their performance was one of the most interesting moments on the second day of the festival, with an explosion of soul, funk and jazz.
“Fire,” “Gemini Sun,” “You Know Better” and “Ice Cream (Pay Phone)” were part of their setlist, with singer Eric Burton and guitarist Adrian Quesada connecting not only with longtime fans, but also with many hearing them live for the first time.
