Grupo Frontera: Tiny Desk Concert

Anamaria Sayre | April 24, 2025
Grupo Frontera, which was headlining backyard bailes well before stadium shows, feels perfectly made for Tiny Desk. Beneath the glow of fluorescent office lights and backed against trinket-stuffed shelves, the match feels divinely ordained.

Normally, jazzy vocal trills and norteño cumbia rhythms are star-crossed lovers, but not at the Tiny Desk. At the center of a pop-infused reinvigoration of traditional Mexican sounds, the members of Grupo Frontera are masters of unlikely pairings. Mega-producer and songwriter Edgar Barrera discovered Grupo Frontera at a quinceanera in his hometown, enthralled by the band’s authenticity. He encouraged the band’s Texas-bred beats, killer melodies and contemporary lyrics.

There’s no better space to highlight the impressive musicality of the group and stunning vocals of Payo Solis than in a stripped down setting. “Yo nací pa’ querer a la que no me quiere (I was born to love the one who doesn’t love me),” Payo coos. But it’s hard to feel heartbroken when desamor sounds so smooth.

SET LIST
“un x100to”
“Hecha Pa’ Mi”
“Ángel”
“Por Qué Será”
“EL AMOR DE SU VIDA”

MUSICIANS
Payo Solis: vocals
Juan Cantú: accordion
Julian Peña: congas, bongos
Beto Acosta: bajo quinto
Carlos Guerrero: drums
Daniel Uribe: pedal steel, guitar
Patricia Ligia: bass
Monty Rivera: keys, background vocals
Catherine “Cathia” Ochoa: background vocals
MJ Songstress: background vocals
Ella Bric: trumpet

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Anamaria Sayre
Director: Joshua Bryant
Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell
Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Video Editor: Maia Stern
Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame, Maia Stern, Grace Raver
Audio Engineer: Josephine Nyounai
Production Assistants: Ashley Pointer, Dora Levite
Photographer: Michael Zamora
Tiny Desk Series Editor: Lars Gotrich
Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins

#nprmusic #tinydesk #grupofrontera

NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concerts is a popular video series featuring live, intimate music performances by diverse artists, from major stars to up-and-coming musicians, recorded in the small workspace of Bob Boilen’s NPR office in Washington, D.C.brought to you by SloppBoxx.Com.

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