La Macarena in Colombia has a long history of hosting boisterous energy. The stadium has served as a venue for both concerts and bullfights since 1945, but on the weekend of Sept. 9, the ring was populated by Medellín native Salomón Villada Hoyos, otherwise known as Feid.
The reggaeton singer-songwriter sold out three consecutive nights at the stadium – a feat that not even two other hometown heroes, J. Balvin and Karol G., can claim (yet). Feid also famously beat out the late “Ídolo de México” Vicente Fernández, who performed there for the last time in Colombia in 2012.
Tickets for all three nights of Feid’s “Nitro Jam” shows sold out in just two days, while tickets for opening night sold out in two hours, according to El Colombiano.
Feid has been an active and successful songwriter for years, penning songs for Balvin and fellow Colombian reggaeton star Reykon, Sebastián Yatra and more. However, Ferxxo – as some affectionately call him – has grown into somewhat of an emblematic figure, representing his home city with an alluring and emotive sound that’s idolized far beyond the forests of Antioquia.
So when “Nitro Jam” finally arrived at La Macarena, fulfilling what the Medellín artist has called one of his biggest goals, the singer was met with a striking response.
Although Feid didn’t hit the stage until around 11 p.m., the ferocious sing-along to tracks by Bad Bunny, Plan B and Don Omar set the tone for the rest of the night. A sea of fans sporting neon green and white goggles reading “Ferxxo” moved like a single organism. Jumbo screens panned to audience members who would respond by kissing the closest person to them — and one same-sex couple prompted the crowd of 10,000 to let out pulsating screams of approval.
As the arena lights dimmed, Feid’s silhouette appeared in the center of a white curtain, which fell as the first notes of the fiery “Normal” started to play. On either side of the stage, two motorcycles decorated the platforms that supported a DJ and live sound engineer; on the right was guitarist Pedro Mejía (who later played the instrument behind his head).
Pyrotechnics flared as Feid dove into two more tracks and after, as he addressed the audience at length for the first time that night, a green cake was handed to him for the introduction of “Feliz Cumpleanos Ferxxo,” a single released just last month in honor of his 30th birthday. Instead of keeping the cake to himself, he tried to find someone celebrating a birthday in the crowd, but found it impossible to make sense of any comments from the crowd. So he he bent down and handed the cake to someone in the front row (who may or may not have been celebrating a 15th birthday).
The show proceeded with several costume changes, special effects, stage props and theatrics. For his performance of “Te Mata,” a group of dancers joined him onstage; mid-set, Feid appeared standing atop a massive monster truck for a performance of “Castigo.”
The dancers returned masked in red face paint with jumpsuits to match as the DJ spun an unreleased remix of “Nieve” – one of Feid’s more electronic-heavy tracks. Later, a squad of twerking background dancers helped give life to “XXXX,” and as the night drew to a close, Ferxxo teased fans with more cuts from his upcoming project.
“Should we warm up our voices to sing ‘Ferxxo 100’ or not? Because you sing it more chimba than me,” he said, almost instantly firing up the crowd to follow orders and finish the last lines of the new track on their own.
“Ferxxo 100” is one of the singles for Feid’s next album, which will be released via Universal Music Latino in December. In previous interviews, Feid revealed his upcoming project was conceptualized and recorded during the aftermath of a Dec. 2021 motorcycle accident that left him immobilized for two months.
Although few other details have been revealed about the new album, Feid has dropped several singles this year and featured on collaborations — following a hectic album-per-year schedule since he signed with Universal in 2019.
If this string of shows is of any proof, it’s clear the Medellín hero is just getting started.
