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There is a clear distinction between warm and cool in the world of Ivan Cornejo. Headlining the Kia Forum on the first of two sold out nights at the Los Angeles arena, the música mexicana artist and Southern California native appeared on stage Saturday night through a bold gleam of orange light that wrapped around his silhouette. Opening with “Atención,” from his Billboard 200-charting (No. 17) “Mirada” album, Cornejo’s first interaction with his audience is overwhelmingly optimistic — “I have an idea, I don’t know if it’s good or bad,” the 21-year old sings in the guitar ballad.
Color plays an important role throughout the progression of the “Mirada” tour setlist, constructed mostly of songs from the 2024 album, and streaming favorites like “Está Dañado” and “La Curiosidad” from his sophomore LP “Dañado.” The lights switched to a marine blue for “Llamadas Perdidas,” from his 2021 debut “Alma Vacía,” a color that would come to signify heartbreak. If the song was about losing yourself by losing your first love, the glow was blue and starry. To represent hope and a revived outlook on life and relationships, the stage became the sun, and the arena of teenage hopefuls radiated yellow and orange. The only color that deviated from that spectrum was pink for the “I’m currently in love” songs. In the audience, more than a few fans carried signs with the same slogan: “You healed hearts you didn’t break.”
By the time he signed his first major label record deal with Interscope at the age of 19 (the result of a bidding war), Cornejo was already known as a defining voice for Gen Z Latinos thanks to his emotive songwriting and unique blend of regional Mexican and alternative rock music. Some of these influences were showcased in the pre-concert playlist of Billie Eilish, the Marias and Tame Impala, and nostalgic classics like Bobby Pulido’s 1995 hit “Desvelado.”
You wouldn’t necessarily identify Cornejo as a rock star, but there are certainly commonalities. Throughout the hour and thirty minute show, he leaves a lot of room for guitar solos and power chords, especially for the electric guitar, which is at the core of his three-album catalog. You can easily recognize a song is his by the twangy inflection of his voice. A defining quality of the best música mexicana artists is their ability to sing clean register breaks with a whining tone and with great force (Vicente Fernández was known for his intense vibrato) — Cornejo is no different.
The night went without long speeches but he did take the time to address his L.A. fans directly, emphasizing the importance of community and to “stay strong during these rough times.” Proceeds from the show are going to helping raise funds for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), who are supporting families impacted by the Trump administration’s raids and mass arrests of migrants by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.). The crowd erupted in ceiling-shaking shrieks and applause with his point proven: “Los Angeles, you guys are the loudest!” he shouted.
Cornejo is fulfilling the end of the North American leg of his “Mirada” tour — which started with his debut at Coachella — on Sunday night. He will perform continue performing in cities across Latin America starting July 5 in El Salvador.
LIVE REVIEWS
“I received plenty of comments saying it was far too soon to ‘go solo’,” Geese frontman Cameron Winter told NME last year while reflecting on how people initially reacted to his decision to branch out on his own. “Most likely because a lot of folks assume that ‘solo albums’ only happen once a band has passed its peak and that they usually feel like uninspired cash grabs.”
Honestly, everyone is trying to earn a living however they can these days, yet no one expected a Geese side project to generate any real financial payoff in 2024. “Just so you know,” he went on, “my solo album is different: because barely anyone knows my band, I am young and comfortable living with my parents and I have the freedom to follow any ideas that interest me.”
Brooklyn indie followers and former NME cover stars Geese were gaining real momentum when their second album ‘3D Country’ mixed cowboy psychedelia with a jazzy, art-punk energy that had already captured the attention of many UK 6 Music dads back in 2023, but who could have predicted what came next? Geese have become one of the most talked-about bands of 2025 and are expected to dominate multiple end-of-year lists with the ambitious and full-range rock of ‘Getting Killed’. Yet the moment that set the stage for this rise was Winter’s Lou Reed-inspired debut solo record ‘Heavy Metal’.
A handful of late-night US television appearances and a spot on Jools Holland acted as a welcoming doorway for the world to see what this 23-year-old can do far beyond what many twice or three times his age are capable of. Now the sold-out Roundhouse audience made up of indie teens, art school regulars, fans who traveled across Europe and seasoned listeners reacts with a collective breath as a slight opening in the stage curtain reveals the silhouette of Winter seated at a piano. First comes a spark of excitement, then a sudden hush.
There is no flashy social media moment, no chatter overriding the music and almost no sea of raised phones. There is a sincerity to how the night unfolds. The Geese singer barely turns toward the audience. “Turn around!” someone calls out from the balcony at one stage. “Is this not enough for you all?” Winter teases back. For some, maybe it was more than enough. At least four people appear to faint around the warm and crowded Roundhouse while the room stands in absolute focus as Winter moves through the dreamlike storytelling of ‘Try As I May’, the emotional swirl of ‘The Rolling Stones’, the bright lift of ‘Love Takes Miles’ and the sermon-like stomp of ‘Nausicaä (Love Will Be Revealed)’. When he reaches the intense and spiritually charged ‘$0’, even the most skeptical hipster might be convinced that “I’m not kidding, God is actually real”. In that moment, it feels as though we all understand.
The entire performance can be summed up in how ‘Drinking Age’ unfolds. It starts softly with a gentle touch on the keys before erupting into a thunderous attack on the Steinway that could echo into next year, followed by a long, open cry aimed toward the sky. Winter somehow manages to blend something minimal with something enormous, something grounded with something cosmic, a delicate approach that hits with staggering force as he reaches toward ideas of existence, heaven, hell and everything surrounding them.
Winter could recite the phone book and still leave a crowd stunned. He carries the spirit of a post-punk Rufus Wainwright you can play alongside The Strokes and Arctic Monkeys, a Gen Z Tom Waits for listeners exhausted by TikTok overload, a new Nick Cave who arrives at exactly the moment he is needed. His voice feels older than his years yet perfectly suited to express the concerns and emotions of his own generation.
We will continue praising Geese endlessly because they deserve it. They are an extraordinary burst of musical creativity that goes far beyond what their lineup would ever imply, and along with Fontaines D.C., they are poised to become one of the decade’s essential bands. Still, tonight offers something quieter and more intimate. Cameron Winter stands completely on his own power, talent and magnetism, proving himself a rising force who can hold an entire room with only his voice, a piano and an entire future waiting for him.
‘Try as I May’
‘Emperor XIII in Shades’
‘The Rolling Stones’
‘Love Takes Miles’
‘Drinking Age’
‘Serious World’
‘Nausicaä (Love Will Be Revealed)’
‘If You Turn Back Now’
‘Vines’
‘Nina + Field of Cops’
‘$0’
‘Take It With You’
‘Cancer of the Skull’
