Christian Nodal’s Billboard SXSW Headlining Set: 5 Best Moments

Nodal’s band is mighty – both in size and skill. He was accompanied by a six-piece mariachi string and horn section – all of whom dressed in gorgeous red suits – along with a seven-piece backing band – dressed in more subtle black suits – that included two percussionists, a vocalist and, of course, an accordion player.

Dressed in steel-toe boots, leather flare pants, an embroidered vest and blinged out cross necklace – plus his ever-present face tattoos – Nodal embodies a modern-day rockstar. He even takes a page from Post Malone’s book and often lights a cigarette onstage, smoking it in between lyrics and briefly disappearing into little clouds of smoke. And when the packed crowd chants “Chris-ti-an!” he does what any rocker would: fist pumps to the beat.

During “Ayayay,” Nodal tosses his hat into the crowd like a frisbee as on-stage sparklers light up. The artist replaces his hat with another, only this time it’s a baseball cap that reads “Nodal” – though he doesn’t hold onto that one long, either. He soon throws that into the audience as well, only to replace it with the same traditional hat as before – and the cycle continues. Throughout the set, Nodal wears and gives away five of his own hats – not to mention the ones thrown onstage that he would sign and try on before handing back. But of all the hats he gave away, perhaps no one was more deserving than a little girl who made her way to the front row on her parent’s shoulders – all while Nodal patiently waited to place it on her head himself.

The most impressive part of Nodal’s set is how well he juxtaposes various styles and tempos, resulting in one seamless and endlessly engaging performance – from edgier uptempo cumbia tracks to his more downtempo ballads (as one fan said of Nodal: “The saddest boy in all of Texas.”) But despite the variety within his own catalog, Nodal also made sure to include well-selected covers, from Selena’s “Como La Flor” to Hombres G’s “Devuélveme a mi chica.”

“Soy listo,” says Estevie, who returned to the stage for one of Nodal’s final songs of the night. The pair duetted on Luis Miguel’s “Sabor a Mí” bringing the evening full circle. And judging by the crowd’s enthusiastic response, the moment proved that a recorded collaboration from the two would be warmly welcomed — and maybe even inspired, or hinted at, one to come.