On the first Sunday night of Coachella, headliner Karol G asked his American fans and his global audience to keep fighting.
“This is for my Latinos who have been struggling in this country lately,” the Colombian superstar told the thousands of people watching him in person, and many others on the fest’s livestream. He recently criticized ICE in a Playboy interview, but this set was all about his fans’ resolve. “We want everyone to feel welcome in our culture, so I want everyone to feel proud of where you come from. Don’t feel afraid – feel proud!” He said.
Any actor would be proud to play a headline role of that caliber. But right now, many foreign acts also feel apprehensive — or at least cautious — about booking substantial tours in the United States. A year of brutal ICE raids, cross-border tensions and policing political speech, coupled with skyrocketing prices for expedited visas, fuel and other touring logistics, could push international acts away from the US.
“The fear that ICE would raid the show didn’t actually come true, but has a chilling effect,” said Andy Gensler, editor of touring-biz trade bible Pollstar. “It’s only been a year since Trump has been back in office, so we haven’t seen the full impact, but it sends a message that you won’t get a visa if you’re a political artist. With the economic shock of declining gas prices and tourism, the indicators are there.”
Read more: As ICE raids US cities, artists hit back with ‘More teeth… more anger’ ahead of the Grammys.
The music economy is still thriving in SoCal. Coachella sold out with record fan spending, and fears that ICE might appear for a major Latin headliner proved unfounded. (The agency did not respond to a request for comment on Coachella, and Lt. Deirdre Vickers of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said her office “does not participate in immigration enforcement operations.”)
But in smaller venues featuring emerging and mid-tier global acts, some see trouble ahead.
Pollstar’s Gensler estimates that the total number of concerts he tracks in the US for the first quarter of 2026 was down about 17% from the previous year. This could be due to a number of economic factors – but slower international touring may be contributing.
“The US is still an incredibly attractive market, the arenas and stadium-level buildings are huge and you can make more money here than in any other market in the world,” Gensler said. “But I’ve heard that less people are going from the Southwest to the South, and tourism from Canada is down significantly, and that includes music tourism from California. As barriers increase, and the economic shock of gas prices impacts tourism, it’s hard to know how this will all shake out.”
Read more: Coachella 2026: The best photos from the festival
Talent firms that specialize in bringing young artists to the US began noticing shortages ahead of this year’s festival season. Adam Lewis is the head of Planetary Group, a marketing agency that produces and promotes musician showcases in the US with a significant roster of artists from abroad. He said artists who typically take advantage of the opportunity to play U.S. festivals are taking a closer look at the payouts and risks.
“Based on what the government is doing right now, artists are thinking twice,” Lewis said. “You can look at the economics – the fees to get a visa are prohibitive. People at the grassroots level are scared. Artists and industry people are scared to come to America for any concerts. The money is going elsewhere.”
South by Southwest, the March Texas confab for music, film and tech, was one of the first festivals to feel a pinch this year. Several sources stated that they saw fewer foreign performances and productions amid the widespread cessation of music. In 2025, Canada canceled its popular annual showcase after deciding that hostile policies made the risks not worth the rewards. Many still did not organize successful events, but acknowledged that the mood had changed.
“The perception of how difficult it has become has taken root, and it means a lot of acts won’t take risks at the risk of being turned away or jeopardizing future entry,” said Angela Dorgan, director of Music from Ireland, the Irish music export office (which is funded by Culture Ireland). That outfit has helped break acts like CMAT (a hit at Coachella this year) and Fontaine DC in the US.
Read more: CMAT came to Coachella with politics on her mind and an Irish dance step for California
Dorgan said, “Despite the trouble, artists want to continue to come here and not stay away because of it. All Irish people have a unique attraction to America, so we don’t want to see you upset.” “Irish artists feel that their American fans need their music now more than ever and they want to continue to connect with and support their fans.”
Takafumi Sugahara, organizer of “Tokyo Calling
After high-profile incidents of detaining tourists and fear of reprisals for political speech, those concerns and longstanding catastrophic spending may change their priorities. “From my perspective, the impact of global conflicts or wars doesn’t seem to have much of an impact on artists’ decisions at the moment,” he said. “However, if the current situation were to worsen, it is possible that we could begin to see that change.”
Coachella usually hits a few visa snafus every year (this year, English electronic artist Tourist had to cancel. Last year, it was FKA Twigs). Yet after the Trump administration imposed severe new travel restrictions on 19 countries, including Mali, Grammy-winning Malian Algerian group Tinariwen had to cancel a major tour this year. Folklorist Cat Stevens halts a book tour after visa problems. Outspoken acts such as the UK’s Bob Wylon have been denied US visas for criticizing Israel, and Irish rap group Kneecap faced hurdles after being dropped by their visa sponsor, Independent Artists Group, for similar reasons last year.
Read more: Rap group Kneecap claims pro-Palestinian messages were cut from its Coachella set
The Times spoke to a European band (who asked to remain anonymous for fear of U.S. government reprisals) who booked a major tour of U.S. theaters last year, only to have their visas denied just days before the tour began. They were forced to cancel those dates and reschedule for spring 2026, losing thousands of dollars in upfront costs and non-refundable fees. (A demonstration visa now routinely costs $6,000 with the expedited processing required.)
“Our manager said, ‘This has never happened before, but even though you paid a lot of money and the check cleared, you won’t have a visa,'” Band said. He wondered whether his pro-Palestinian advocacy might have played a role, but now believes it was due to changes in his application forms.
He said, “That small discrepancy meant we lost thousands of dollars (dollars), which was pretty devastating for a mid-tier band with a loyal following.” “To get to zero we had to hold fundraising events, then reapply for visas, and make four extra payments to speed them up. We took out loans to pay it off. We felt constantly drained,” he said. “We love America, but there’s a reality now in which we have to cut our losses and stop coming. A lot of bands are definitely leaving America.”
“It’s a different feeling now where the American government can do anything to us and we just have to endure it,” he said. “They’re moving the goalposts the whole time. It’s scary.”
Read more: Foreign musicians are facing problems due to Trump’s visa policies. How will they affect Coachella and the tour?
This fate can also befall big acts, especially acts from Latin America.
Last year, superstar Mexican singer Julian Alvarez canceled his concert for 50,000 fans planned in Arlington, Texas, when his touring visa was revoked. Grupo Firme suffered a similar fate at the La Onda festival in Napa Valley. Los Alegres del Barranco revoked his visa after he portrayed drug kingpin “El Mencho” during a concert.
“That was a moment where people realized how serious or scary it can be for promoters in this administration when it comes to the visa situation, how quickly things can change and you can lose millions,” said Pollstar Latin music expert Oscar Areliz.
An act of Karol G’s caliber might not carry the same risks, although she told Playboy that “If you speak out, maybe the next day you’ll get a call: ‘Hey, we’re taking your visa away.’ You become fodder because some people want to show their power.”
If it can happen to a stadium-filler like Alvarez, it can happen to anyone. This may cause some Latin acts to prioritize other regions.
Bad Bunny refused to tour the continental US for fear of ICE raids at his shows, instead opting for a lengthy residence in his home territory of Puerto Rico.
Read more: Essay: Bad Bunny to star in Super Bowl LX halftime show. But will his fans be safe?
Local Latin music hubs like Santa Fe Springs and Pico Rivera have suffered greatly under recent ICE raids and have seen fans retreat out of fear. Las Vegas is a major tourist destination for events during Mexican independence celebrations in September, but now “it feels different,” Areliz said. He expected that the city – which was usually packed with Latin acts at the time – would lose a large portion of the music tourism from the North and South.
He said, “Vegas’ top tourist countries are Canada and Mexico, so we will see other countries benefit from this. If artists have difficulty touring here because of visa situations, they are going to tour Mexico and Latin America instead.”
Tours typically book a year in advance, so the full impact of visa issues and ICE apprehensions may not be felt until after 2026 or 2027. The results of the midterm elections could change global perception about America’s security. The country is still an incredibly valuable tourism market thanks to the work it can do.
But the world music community now looks at America like an old friend who’s going through a bad time: They’ll be happy to see us once we pull it together.
“Certainly over the last several years in America, we’ve been wondering where we can find these new audiences for Irish music,” Dorgan said. “The unofficial theme of our home showcase Ireland Music Week was, ‘America. We’re not breaking up with you, but we’re looking at other people.'”
Get notified when the biggest stories in Hollywood, culture and entertainment go live. Sign up for LA Times entertainment alerts.
This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
<a href=