On the first Sunday evening of Coachella, headliner Karol G informed her American followers, and her global viewers, to maintain preventing.
“This is for my Latinos that have been struggling in this country lately,” the Colombian celebrity informed the tens of 1000’s watching her in particular person, and plenty of extra on the fest’s livestream. She’d not too long ago criticized ICE in a Playboy interview, however this set was about her followers’ resolve. “We want everyone to feel welcome to our culture, so I want everyone to feel proud of where you come from. Don’t feel fear — feel pride!” she stated.
Any artist could be proud to play that caliber of headline slot. But proper now, many foreign acts additionally really feel fear — or at least wariness — about reserving substantial excursions in the United States. A 12 months of brutal ICE raids, tensions at border crossings and policed political speech, coupled with sky-high costs for expedited visas, gasoline and other touring logistics, may push worldwide acts away from the U.S.
“The fears that ICE would raid shows didn’t really materialize, but there is a chilling effect,” stated Andy Gensler, editor of the touring-biz commerce bible Pollstar. “Trump’s only been back in office a year, so we haven’t fully seen the effects, but it does send a message that if you’re a political artist you won’t get a visa. With the economic shock of gas prices and tourism way down, the signifiers are out there.”
Read extra: As ICE raids American cities, artists fight back before the Grammys with ‘More teeth … more rage’
The music financial system continues to be thriving in SoCal. Coachella bought out with document spending from followers, and fears that ICE may present up for a distinguished Latin headliner proved unfounded. (The company didn’t reply to a request for touch upon Coachella, and Lt. Deirdre Vickers of the Riverside County Sheriff’s workplace stated that their workplace “does not participate in immigration enforcement operations.”)
But in smaller venues that includes rising and mid-tier global acts, some see hassle forward.
Pollstar’s Gensler estimates that the complete variety of concert events in the U.S. they tracked for the first quarter of 2026 was down about 17% from final 12 months. That might be attributable to many financial elements — however slower worldwide touring might be contributing.
“The U.S. is still incredibly lucrative market, the arena and stadium level buildings are vast and you can make more money here than any market in the world,” Gensler stated. “But I’ve heard anecdotally that fewer people are going to South by Southwest, and tourism from Canada is way down, and that includes music tourism to California. As barriers go up, and the economic shock of gas prices impacts touring, it’s hard to know how that will all shake out.”
Read extra: Coachella 2026: The best photos from the festival
Talent corporations who concentrate on bringing younger acts to the U.S. started noticing pullback earlier than this 12 months’s competition season. Adam Lewis is the head of Planetary Group, a advertising and marketing company that produces and selling musician showcases in the U.S., with a important roster of artists from overseas. He stated that performers who ordinarily would leap at the probability to play U.S. festivals are taking laborious seems to be at the payoffs and dangers.
“Artists are thinking twice, based on what the government is doing right now,” Lewis stated. “You can look at the economics — the fees are cost prohibitive to get a visa. People are scared, at the bottom line. Artists and industry people are afraid to come to the U.S. for any music event. The money is going elsewhere.”
South by Southwest, the March Texas confab for music, movie and tech, was amongst the first festivals to really feel a pinch this 12 months. Several sources stated they noticed fewer foreign showcases and acts amid a broader culling of music. In 2025, Canada canceled its standard annual showcase, after deciding that hostile insurance policies made the dangers not price the rewards. Many nonetheless pulled off profitable occasions, however acknowledged the temper has shifted.
“The perception of how hard it’s gotten has taken root, and that has meant that not as many acts will take the chance on the threat of being turned away or risking future entry,” stated Angela Dorgan, the director of Music From Ireland, the Irish Music Export workplace (which is funded by Culture Ireland). That group has helped break acts like CMAT (a hit at Coachella this 12 months) and Fontaines DC in the U.S.
Read extra: CMAT came to Coachella with politics on her mind and an Irish dance step for California
“Artists want to continue to come here in spite of the trouble and not stay away because of it. There’s a unique pull to America for all Irish people, so we don’t want to see you hurting,” Dorgan stated. ”Irish artists really feel that their U.S. followers want music greater than ever now and need to proceed to attach with and help their followers.”
Takafumi Sugahara, the organizer of “Tokyo Calling X Inspired By Tokyo,” a Japanese showcase at South by Southwest, agreed: “Bringing artists to the United States has always been challenging when it comes to obtaining visas, but it feels like the process has become even more difficult than before — perhaps due to the current political climate under the current administration.”
Fans watch Karol G carry out at the Coachella stage final weekend. “We want everyone to feel welcome to our culture, so I want everyone to feel proud of where you come from. Don’t feel fear — feel pride!” the Colombian celebrity stated. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
After high-profile incidents of vacationer detainments and fear of reprisals for political speech, these worries and long-dreaded bills could shift their priorities. “From my point of view, the impact of global conflicts or wars does not seem to be affecting artists’ decisions very strongly for now,” they stated. “However, if the current situation were to worsen, it’s possible that we could begin to see that change.”
Coachella often hits a few visa snafus yearly (this 12 months, the English digital artist Tourist needed to cancel. Last 12 months, it was FKA Twigs). Yet the Grammy-winning Malian Algerian group Tinariwen needed to cancel a main tour this 12 months, after the Trump administration positioned extreme new journey restrictions on 19 nations, together with Mali. Folk legend Cat Stevens scotched a ebook tour after visa issues. Outspoken acts like the U.Okay.’s Bob Vylan have been denied U.S. visas for criticizing Israel, and the Irish rap group Kneecap confronted hurdles after their visa sponsor, Independent Artist Group, dropped them for comparable causes final 12 months.
Read extra: Rap group Kneecap claims pro-Palestine messages were cut from its Coachella set
The Times spoke to at least one European band (who requested to not be named, for fear of reprisals from the U.S. authorities) who had a substantial tour of U.S. theaters booked final 12 months, earlier than their visas had been denied simply days earlier than the tour was attributable to start. They had been pressured to cancel these dates and reschedule for spring 2026, shedding tens of 1000’s of {dollars} in up-front prices and non-refundable charges. (A efficiency visa routinely prices $6,000 with now-necessary expedited processing.)
“Our manager said, ‘This has never happened before, but even though you paid lot of money and the check cleared, you won’t have visas,’” the band stated. They puzzled if their pro-Palestinian advocacy may need performed a function, however now consider it was attributable to modifications of their software types.
That small discrepancy “meant we lost tens of thousands of [dollars], which for a mid-tier band with a loyal cult following, was quite ruinous,” they said. “We had to put on fundraising shows to get to zero, then re-apply for visas, and paid four grand extra to expedite them. We took out a loan to pay it. We felt relentlessly fleeced,” they said. “We love the U.S., however now there’s a actuality through which we’ve got to chop our losses and cease coming. A number of bands are giving up on the U.S., for certain.”
“It’s a different feeling now where the U.S. government can do anything to us, and we just have to take it,” they added. “They’re moving the goalposts the whole time. It’s scary.”
Read extra: Trump’s visa policies have foreign musicians on edge. How will they affect Coachella and touring?
That fate can befall even major acts, particularly those from Latin America.
Last year, superstar Mexican singer Julión Álvarez canceled his concert for a planned 50,000 fans in Arlington, Texas, when his touring visa was revoked. Grupo Firme faced a similar fate at the La Onda festival in Napa Valley. Los Alegres del Barranco saw their visas canceled after they projected an image of drug kingpin “El Mencho” during a concert.
“That was a moment where people realize how serious or scary it can get for promoters with this administration when comes to the visa situation, how quickly things can change and you can lose millions,” said Oscar Aréliz, a Latin music expert at Pollstar.
An act the caliber of Karol G might not face quite the same risks, though she told Playboy that “If you say the factor, possibly the subsequent day you’ll get a name: ‘Hey, we are taking your visa away.’ You develop into bait, as a result of some individuals need to present their energy.”
If it could occur to a stadium-filler like Álvarez, it could occur to anybody. That may make some Latin acts prioritize other areas.
Bad Bunny demurred on touring the continental U.S. for fear of ICE raids at his reveals, choosing a prolonged residence in his house territory of Puerto Rico as an alternative.
Read extra: Essay: Bad Bunny will star in the Super Bowl LX halftime show. But will his fans be safe?
Local Latin music hubs like Santa Fe Springs and Pico Rivera have suffered drastically beneath latest ICE raids and have seen followers retreat in fear. Las Vegas is a main touring vacation spot for acts throughout Mexican independence celebrations in September, however now “it feels different,” Aréliz stated. He expects the metropolis — usually boisterous with Latin acts then — to lose a huge chunk of music tourism from the north and south.
“Vegas’ top tourist countries are Canada and Mexico, so we’re going to see other countries benefit from this. If acts struggle to tour here because of the visa situation, they’re going to tour Mexico and Latin America instead,” he added.
Tours usually ebook a 12 months prematurely, so the full results of the visa points and ICE fears will not be felt till later in 2026 or 2027. The outcomes of the midterm elections could change global notion of America’s security. The nation continues to be an extremely priceless touring marketplace for acts that may make it work.
But the world’s music group now seems to be at the U.S. like an outdated good friend going via a tough patch: They’ll be glad to see us as soon as we pull it collectively.
“Certainly over the last number of years in the U.S., we have been thinking of where we could find these new audiences for Irish music,” Dorgan stated. “The unofficial theme of our at house showcase Ireland Music Week was, ‘America. We aren’t breaking apart with you, however we’re seeing other individuals.'”
This story initially appeared in Los Angeles Times.
