Anuel AA and El Alfa Added to the Rolling Loud Miami Lineup

When Rolling Loud debuted in 2015, the lineup skewed heavily toward alternative and underground rap — the sound that came to define the SoundCloud rap era. But as styles and trends have changed, so has the festival's lineup.

Announced in April, Rolling Loud Miami's 2023 lineup already showed signs that the festival was adapting to new trends. The bill includes hardcore band Turnstile, R&B singer Bryson Tiller, and British alt-pop singer-songwriter PinkPantheress — acts that a few years ago could have only dreamed about setting foot at the festival. Rolling Loud is set to return July 21-23 at Hard Rock Stadium.

Now, the festival has announced that Anuel AA and El Alfa have joined the lineup. According to Rolling Loud, they are the first reggaeton and dembow artists — as well as the first Spanish-language artists — to perform at any of its festivals. (Puerto Rican rapper Yovngchimi is also on the lineup and scheduled to perform on Saturday, July 22.)

Puerto Rican rapper Anuel AA first burst onto the scene in 2017 with the track "Sola." The following year, he released his debut album, Real Hasta la Muerte, which topped Billboard's U.S. Top Latin Albums chart. His latest album, 2022's LLNM2, is a 33-track behemoth that features collaborations with Lil Durk, Kodak Black, Nicky Jam, Jowell & Randy, and David Guetta. Meanwhile, El Alfa has been bestowed the title of "the King of Dembow," the Dominican musical style bubbling up from the island nation's underground scene. In November, he released his fifth album, Sagitario. He secretly worked on the record for three months and dropped it as a surprise album on the first day of the Sagittarius season.

Anuel AA and El Alfa are being billed as "special guests," so it's unclear if they will play an entire set or perform alongside another previously billed act.
Either way, Rolling Loud's entry into the Spanish-language market makes sense — especially for its Miami festival. The Latin trap, urbano, reggaeton, and dembow genres are all heavily influenced by hip-hop. And Spanish-language acts are now topping the U.S. charts and selling out arenas. Making room for Latin American artists only helps to show rap music's global reach.

Tickets for Rolling Loud are currently on sale, starting at $329 for three-day, general-admission tickets and going up to $1,049 for the VIP pack that includes merch and meals.

Rolling Loud. Friday, July 21, through Sunday, July 23, at Hard Rock Stadium, 347 Don Shula Dr., Miami Gardens; rollingloud.com. Tickets cost $329 to $1,049 via frontgatetickets.com.