Three entertainment powerhouses joined forces Sunday night for a masterclass in Latin music on stage: Colombian electro-tropical group Bomba Estéreo, Venezuelan psychedelic reggae band Rawayana and the iconic Hollywood Bowl.

In yet another installment of KCRW’s festival, the two beloved Latin alternative groups brought their supergroup collaboration, “ASTROPICAL,” to the Los Angeles stage for a show screaming with color and joy from start to finish. An album brimming with energy, the one-off record features the zodiac represented in 12 unique sonic interpretations tied together with an alt-Latin string.

The momentum of a live show is crucial to building energy among the crowd throughout the experience, and featuring two openers can tend to build impatience among concertgoers rather than anticipation. 

This tightrope was light work for KCRW and the night’s host, Raul Campos, who curated and introduced an incredibly complementary lineup for the tropical, bubbly “ASTROPICAL.” Starting the night strong with Dominican-Italian artist YEИDRY, her energy and dynamic performance style were similar to Bomba Estéreo and Rawayana, while the depth of her vocals and lyricism brought something new and exciting to the table.

Macario Martínez followed, keeping the mood buoyant with his singer-songwriter charm, guitar and an old-timey telephone as a vocal filter. Alone on stage for the entirety of his set, the Mexican musician sang his heart out with incredible choruses and impressive instrumentation.

Properly warmed up, the audience was itching to hear the main act as they watched colorful, multi-patterned pieces of coral rise on stage to set the scene for the summery sound of “ASTROPICAL.” When both groups emerged with their frontmen in colorful get-ups and smiles on their faces, it was mere seconds before a majority of the audience was on its feet.

Most audience members surprisingly put their phones down in favor of getting up to dance. The lack of phones alone characterized the show’s energy, a night of feeling the heartbeat of the Hollywood Bowl with every drum hit, every foot stomp and every set of hands put together to the beat of a shared song.

Despite the show being for the joint work of Bomba Estéreo and Rawayana, they read their audience and geography well with some slipped-in covers of beloved Latin hits from the United States, including “Como La Flor” by Latin-pop icon Selena and “Robi-Rob’s Boriqua Anthem” by C+C Music Factory. 

In between moments from “ASTROPICAL” and covers, Bomba Estéreo and Rawayana each took turns playing their respective hits like Rawayana’s “Hora Loca” and Bomba Estéreo’s “To My Love,” rounding out the setlist for fans exclusive to each group.

The only hiccup to the flow of the setlist was the order in which the “ASTROPICAL” tracks were played. Some of the most popular songs off the album were fed to the audience immediately, such as “Corazón Adentro (Escorpio)” being played second and “Siento (Virgo)” taking the fourth slot. Once these songs were done, there was less anticipation for the hits and more confusion about what could be the next song since there are only 12 on the record.

With only that nitpick, the setlist boasted fan favorites from each group and thoughtful consideration toward their audience, who appeared to love every second. Crowns made of LED lights illuminated the tops of bobbing heads while hats flew into the air as people flooded aisles to dance with their companions, drinks in hand and hands in the air.

The artists themselves fed into and encouraged the constant movement throughout the Hollywood Bowl: Li Saumet of Bomba Estéreo and Rawayana’s Beto Montenegro took turns twirling each other to the rhythm bursting from the stage as colorful psychedelic visuals danced across the backdrop behind them. 

Whether it was the visual, auditory or emotional energy radiating through the audience, the show was truly something special. In its 25th year, the KCRW Festival reached new heights with Bomba Estéreo and Rawayana’s “ASTROPICAL” performance, which brought people out of their seats and into a dance that each audience member knew the steps to.

Fabián Gutiérrez contributed to this article.