Ivan Fernandez

The sounds and rhythms of West African drums, the sharp slaps on the djembe and the cavernous thumps on the dunun, will echo and bounce out of the recently reopened John Anson Ford Theatres and off into the hills surrounding the Cahuenga Pass this Saturday, Sept. 10. Those drums will......

It's impossible not to chuckle a bit when hearing Omar Rodriguez-Lopez describe 2016 as a "pretty mellow year for me." This is the year when the ambitious and prolific artist/producer will release 12 new solo albums via Mike Patton's Ipecac Recordings at a rate of one every two weeks until......

The story of "flamenco metal" guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela reads like a quirky, feel-good script straight out of Hollywood. Two metalheads from Mexico City drop everything, swap their plug-in gear for classical guitars and head to the beaches of Ixtapa in their native country to start all over. They......

The summer of 2012 was an eventful one for Rene Contreras. The curly-haired Chicano resident of Pomona launched, with the help of a few friends, a little festival at the Glass House in his hometown that they dubbed Viva! Pomona. It was his way of defending Pomona, located on the......

In the summer of 2010, friends and music aficionados Tomas Davo and Alberto Bustamante launched a laid-back afterhours house party in Mexico City. The idea was a simple one for the then-restless club kids: Host parties on a bi-monthly basis where like-minded electronic music lovers could get together and dance......

A strange and infuriating thing happened last year at SiriusXM for fans of Spanish-language music. It began when the company pulled music station "La Mezcla" without any warning in March 2015. It replaced it with the Pitbull-curated "Globalization" program in May — but by October of that year, five out......

For Mexican artist Carla Morrison, a decade’s worth of blood, sweat, tears (especially tears) and hard work as an independent artist brought her to Coachella, where she played an early Friday afternoon set both weekends at the Outdoor Theatre. It was a literal dream come true for the Latin Grammy......

Few people are aware that there is more than one Coachella in existence. The first is the one many are already familiar with: the three-day music and art festival celebrated over two weekends in April that attracts thousands of people from across the world. The second is the one too......

The sight of bacon-wrapped hot dogs sizzling atop metal trays, their fatty aroma intermingling with desert dust and the odor of dead grass, has been a familiar part of the Coachella Valley Music Festival for many years. But not this year. Where they once could be found along any entry......

Ska music for some folks will forever remain a curious musical oddity. It remains too niche to be mainstream, yet manages to poke through to wider recognition every few years. Those confused by its lasting presence and influence will be more confused to see the Shrine Expo Hall host the......