Earlier this month, global pop superstar Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos became the first Spanish-language album to win album of the year the Grammys — and he followed that triumph with another culture-defining milestone the next weekend, with his Super Bowl Halftime show, which celebrated his Puerto Rican identity.

“I was emotional watching that,” says Latin country artist Andrea Vasquez of Bad Bunny’s Grammy win. “And watching him get emotional was just incredible.”

As the double punch of triumphant moments has only further cemented Latin music’s central role in the global music landscape, artists such as Carín León and Grupo Frontera have regularly braided elements of country music into their own music. Meanwhile, many country artists with Latin roots — such as Vasquez, Angie K, Frank Ray, Sammy Arriaga, Alfonso Terán, Kat Luna, Louie TheSinger and MŌRIAH — have been steadily building country music careers in Nashville.

Vasquez, who released her EP El Camino last year and just dropped the new song “The Wind,” and Angie K, whose new album Whiskey & Hemingway is due later this year, identified a need for a community hub to be a bridge between Nashville and the global Latin music community. The two artists had shared stages around Nashville for a couple of years, but in early 2024, they built upon a shared vision, launching the Country Latin Association to champion country artists with Latin roots, in a genre that has long been dominated by white men.

Next month, the Country Latin Association will hold a show during the esteemed Nashville songwriters festival Tin Pan South on March 27 at Anzie Blue, which will feature Vasquez, Angie K, Ana Cristina Cash and Marta Albarracin. It’s the latest in a string of concerts, panels and other events the CLA has hosted to support Latin artists in the past couple of years. Vasquez also hosts the Latina in Nashville podcast, highlighting Latino creators, business owners and entrepreneurs across Music City.

“I’ve been fortunate to benefit from programs like Equal Access, from [FEMco’s] Leslie Fram, and from CMT’s Next Women of Country,” Angie K says. “You can’t put a dollar value on being in the same room, seeing each other as human and cheering each other on. The scarcity mindset can be so easy. It’s easy to not be happy for someone who gets a label spot, because you think they’re not going to sign another Latin artist.”

That mindset is exactly what the Country Latin Association wanted to disrupt.

“I started looking at the data and realized, ‘This isn’t charity work,’” Angie K says. “This is, ‘Pay attention or you’re going to miss the trend.’ This is something everyone should be watching.’ And not just artists that are Latin in the U.S., but way outside our quarters.”

According to the 2025 Luminate Year-End report, Latin music was one of the fastest-growing genres in the U.S., with streams of Latin music released within the last 18 months rising 5.2 percent.

Meanwhile, data from the 2024 study “Understanding The Latinx Country Music Audience,” conducted by the CMA with Horowitz Research, surveyed over 4,000 respondents and found that among Latinx weekly music listeners, country music was the seventh most-listened to genre, with 36% of Latinx listeners responding that they listened to country music (up from 25% in the CMA’s previous 2021 study). The 2024 study also categorized 25% of Latinx music listener respondents as “avid” country music listeners, based on listening frequency and stated affinity for the genre.

Artists themselves have increasingly made connections to Nashville. Grupo Frontera made their Grand Ole Opry debut last year, while Latin music star León made his Grand Ole Opry debut in 2024, and has collaborated with Cody Johnson, Kacey Musgraves and Kane Brown. This year, León will launch his La Cura Fest in Mexico featuring Grupo Frontera, and country artists Jelly Roll and Midland. Ana Castela, whose country-influenced sertanejo sound has earned her over 14 million monthly Spotify listeners, is known for songs including “Olha Onde Eu Tô,” and her Zé Felipe collaboration on a version of Shania Twain’s “You’re Still The One” (the video has earned 78 million views on YouTube alone).

Angie K and Vasquez have worked to bring country music into the heart of Nashville’s Latino community, even at a time when the Latino community has faced harsh strife in the United States.

Last summer, the Country Latin Association worked with the CMA’s Sr. Director, Industry Relations & Inclusion Mia Jones to launch the Latino Trailblazers in Country panel at CMA Fest 2025, featuring León, Luna, MŌRIAH and Hermanos Mendoza. That same week, the CLA also partnered with Origins Music Group’s Corey Jones and Stephen Miller, to host the live music event Country Con Corazón in South Nashville’s Plaza Mariachi, featuring artists including Generación M, Frank Ray and Garzón.

“If we’re really going to tap into the Latin community, we shouldn’t feel entitled to think they’re going to come to us,” Vasquez says. “We need to support them first.”

As they prepared for the event, the area saw an increase in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity, and the team debated whether to proceed.

“It was a big conversation — do we hold it there or not? People were afraid,” Vasquez says. “But we felt the community needed something hopeful. And if we panic, other people will panic.”

Ultimately, they moved forward, and were told Plaza Mariachi experienced one of its busiest nights in weeks thanks to the event. “It brought people out to support local businesses,” Angie K says. “That meant everything.”

Of course, Latin music and artists’ influence in country music isn’t new, but rather foundational, from the influence of Mexican vaqueros on cowboy culture, to fashion designer Manuel Cuevas’ pivotal influence by designing stagewear worn by artists such as Johnny Cash. Johnny Rodriguez, Linda Ronstadt and Freddy Fender had breakthrough country hits in the ‘70s, while the genre-melding group The Mavericks have earned hits and accolades since the ’90s, and a new crop of Latin country artists are building upon the work of their musical forebears.

“It’s inspiring to see there is a new wave of us coming through,” Vasquez says. “We’re seeing that in pop with Bad Bunny and Karol G, and people are starting to see that is a huge thing in Latin music. When Carin and Grupo Frontera bring their audiences to the Opry, and they are just the most passionate people ever, it’s just showing that country music really is for everybody.”

Angie K and Vasquez envision expanding resources even further, including securing sponsorships for artists and increasing CLA members’ involvement with various awards voting.

“We would love to be a voting block for the Grammys, for the CMAs,” Vasquez says. “I think us coming together, our hope is to grow the amount of CMA members we have here in Nashville.”

Angie K notes that true change also unfolds at the individual level through deliberate and conscious actions.

“Changing the world doesn’t have to be this massive effort. It’s literally as easy as opening your Instagram and typing in Latin country artists, and that one search will change your algorithm,” Angie K says. “The problem is right now, our inputs are our outputs. If I were to go to ChatGPT and enter, ‘Make me a picture of a country music artist,’ I would bet everything I have, it would be a pretty standard image of a white dude. So how do we change that narrative? Well, we give it inputs. I always say, ‘If you open Instagram or TikTok, when you see an Andrea Vasquez video or a mariachi video, like it, comment on it. It will change your algorithm, and slowly but surely that will change our culture.’

“It seems like a small thing to do,” he continues. “But if many people do it today, it could be a foundation of a machine we can build on.”

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Prepare for a night of stardom as Hollywood’s biggest names, including Sinners director Ryan Coogler, One Battle After Another actor and singer Teyana Taylor, Grammy-Award winning rapper Kendrick Lamar amongst others celebrate black talent and excellence at the 57th NAACP Image Awards.

Airing on on Saturday (Feb. 28) at 8 p.m. PT/ET, the awards ceremony will broadcast on both BET and CBS from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, Calif. Don’t have cable? There are plenty of popular streaming services fans can subscribe to and watch the event live and for free. Signing up for either DirecTV, Fubo or Hulu + Live TV, new subscribers can take advantage of free trials for award night.

How to Watch 2026 NAACP Image Awards, At a Glance:

The nominations are jam-packed with top talent, including Teyana Taylor who has a whopping six nominations for the night, tying Kendrick Lamar in the music categories. Both are also nominated for entertainer of the year along with Cynthia Erivo, Doechii and Michael B. Jordan.

Since the ceremony’s creation in 1967 by activist and Hollywood stuntwoman Toni Vaz, the NAACP Image Awards have honored many iconic names in the creative industry including Jennifer Hudson, Chadwick Boseman, and Will Smith. Tonight, Double-Academy Award winning actress Viola Davis will also be honored with the Chairman’s Award for her career and contributions to the arts and advocacy throughout her career.

How to Watch the 2026 NAACP Image Awards Online

If you don’t have cable, you will be able to watch the 2026 NAACP Image Awards through many popular streaming platforms, including Paramount+, DirecTV, Sling, Philo Paramount+ and Hulu + Live TV. The show airs on CBS and BET, and streaming services with free trials make it easy to tune in from home. Keep reading on how to watch the event for free.

At $39.99 per month, the streaming service’s MyNews package features CBS, along with other local channels, like NBC, ABC and FOX. It has cable news networks, like CNN, FOX News, MS Now and others, while DirecTV features unlimited DVR storage and the ability to stream on three devices simultaneously. Once the five days is up you’ll be charged the subscription price based on what package you choose at checkout.

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Fubo is affordable option offering a seven-day free trial for new users who sign up.

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There are four packages to choose from and ever single one includes CBS and CBS Sports. You’ll receive more than 200 channels starting at $48.99 for your first month of service ($73.99 per month). Along with the ability to livestream channels, you’ll get 1,000 hours of DVR and the ability to stream on up to 10 devices simultaneously.

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If you want to go ad-free, you can subscribe to Paramount+ Premium for $13.99 per month and you’ll not only receive access Showtime’s exclusive and original programs, but your local CBS station, additional live sports and the ability to download content to watch on-the-go.

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If you don’t have a Hulu + Live TV subscription, the streamer offers a free trial that’ll get you your first three days free. Once the free trial is over, you’ll be charged the regular subscription fee starting at $89.99 per month. For even more content, you can also bundle Hulu + Live TV with Disney+ and ESPN Unlimited to watch additional exclusive and original sporting events and programs that won’t air on CBS.

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Stream the 57th Annual NAACP Image Awards without cable using Philo. The service includes a variety of networks, including BET, and offers a seven-day free trial. Alongside many on-demand titles, Philo offers free live channels too for entertainment, lifestyle, news, sports, shopping and much more.

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When We Were Young will be taking a break in 2026.

On Friday (Feb. 27), organizers of the Las Vegas emo-themed music festival announced that this year’s event is being paused, but they assured fans it will return next year.

“To our When We Were Young Family,” the statement on Instagram began. “The songs, the memories, the moments — none of it exists without you. After an unforgettable run in Las Vegas, we’ve decided to take 2026 off to give this festival the care it deserves and to make sure what comes next feels just as special as what came before.”

Organizers did not provide a specific reason for this year’s hiatus.

They added, “When We Were Young Festival will return to Las Vegas in October 2027. Thank you for showing up with your whole hearts every year. This isn’t goodbye – it’s just a pause. We’ll see you in 2027.”

Over the years, the Live Nation-produced festival has showcased headliners including Green Day, Blink-182, My Chemical Romance, and the Killers. From 2022 through 2025, the event was held every October at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds.

When We Were Young’s 2025 lineup was headlined by Blink-182 and Panic! at the Disco. Panic! reunited for a one-off performance following their split announcement in early 2023 and final European shows in early 2024. Last year’s edition also featured Weezer, Avril Lavigne, Taking Back Sunday, Social Distortion, the Offspring, Plain White T’s, Ice Nine Kills, and the Gaslight Anthem.

In 2024, the festival featured My Chemical Romance performing their landmark album The Black Parade, alongside sets from Nada Surf, 3OH!3, Neck Deep, New Found Glory, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Atreyu, Saves the Day, Silverstein, and Coheed and Cambria.