Puerto Rican artist Pink Pablo was one of the hottest conversation topics before, during and after SXSW. With an exciting combination of trap and indie rock, one he calls “rebel music with a glaze of pop”, Pink Pablo has slowly put himself at the forefront of an ongoing revolution in Latin music: one that combines the rhythms and themes of música urbana with the sounds of modern pop and alternative.
Pink Pablo had several performances throughout SXSW. The most notable one being an opener for Peso Pluma and Young Miko at the sold-out Rolling Stone’s Future of Music showcase. And while I was not able to see him perform at the Moody Theater, I was able to catch Pink Pablo at the Radio Day Stage in Ballroom A as part of KEXP’s El Sonido Showcase. And I’m so glad I got the opportunity.
Photos by Abraham Vidal (@vidaltgs)
After being introduced, Pink Pablo leaped on stage. “You guys prefer Spanish or English?”, he said with a bright smile, full of enthusiasm. A noticeable thing about Pablo is how easily he’s able to unwind and have fun on stage. While performing, he would wave and point at the crowd and dance along to the music with his guitarist.
There were so many memorable moments in this short thirty-minute performance that it’s hard to pick one to highlight. From when Pink Pablo and the crowd encouraged the drummer to take his shirt off or when a crowd of people congregated on the right side of the stage to sing along or when he took a semi-encore request from a fan, throughout the entire show we saw a true artist in his element.
The music was great, too. Pink Pablo went through a selection of some of his greatest hits, most of them from his EP “road 2 neverland”, which he released in late-2023. However, he did have a surprise for us in the audience, as he performed “Horses in Heaven” a song from an upcoming EP, slated to be released in 2024. Although, I am more happy about the fact that he saved my personal favorite of his: “perdimos el control”, for last.
After the show, I was able to talk with Pink Pablo. He mentioned he was excited and a little nervous for his upcoming Rolling Stone performance, but had confidence that once the show began, he would be able to give a memorable show. Although he was not expecting cold weather in Texas, he had a lot of fun in Austin. “Beautiful city, great people. I love the vibe, I love the bars”.
To Pink Pablo, music is deeply personal and a way to share and examine his deepest emotions. “All my songs are born from the necessity to blow some steam off about a situation or an issue I’m going through. I need to get it out of my system, I need to talk about it. It’s like a journal”, he explained. “The more emotional I am, the fastest it is to finish a song”.
Before leaving, Pink Pablo expressed that he would love to someday make a song similar to what he considers “great pop”, inspired by artists like Queen and Lady Gaga, something “really catchy, but that’s really deep and has a lot of meaning.”
Oh, and for those of you wondering what color Pink Pablo would be if pink wasn’t available: “Green! It’s my favorite color”.
