Miami native 'Cuban Cowboy' Orlando Mendez returns home for Country Bay Musical Festival

MIAMI (AP) — Miami-native Orlando Mendez had been an aspiring actor when a pandemic shut down live entertainment in 2020. But the break gave Mendez a chance to embrace his love of county music and reinvent himself as the “Cuban Cowboy.”

After COVID-19 locked the world down, Mendez said he turned to YouTube and taught himself to play guitar. Once restrictions began to lift, the 28-year-old said he put a band together and started getting gigs in South Florida and other parts of the state.

“We brought country to a lot of bars that never had country before, a lot of these bars that are staples here in Miami but never really had a country act,” Mendez said. “We started playing country music, and I think it was just the right place, right time. Got a momentum and started building quickly.”

Mendez is returning to Miami this month to perform at the Country Bay Music Festival scheduled for Nov. 9-10 at the historic Miami Marine Stadium, just southeast of downtown on Virginia Key in Biscayne Bay.

“I grew up listening to country in Miami where the country scene wasn't so prevalent, and just to see it grow in this city and in this market to the point where we can have a big-time country festival was really exciting for me,” Mendez said.

The headliners scheduled for the event are Zac Brown Band, Carrie Underwood, Dustin Lynch, Diplo presents Thomas Wesley, Chase Rice and Chris Janson. Other performers include Niko Moon, Gabby Barrett, Chayce Beckham, Parmalee, Chase Matthew, Redferrin, Owen Riegling, Willie Jones, RVSHVD and Dee Jay Silver.

After more than a year of playing shows around Florida, Mendez got his big break when he appeared on “The Voice” in 2022. He impressed judges with a cover of Luke Combs' “Beer Never Broke My Heart” and joined a team led by pop singer Camila Cabello, a native Cuban who grew up in Miami. Mendez, a University of Florida theater school graduate, credits his acting background in developing his stage presence.

Mendez didn't win, but the experience prompted him to make the move to Nashville. He released a single called “Motherland” earlier this year about his experiences as a Cuban American, and an EP with five songs dropped last month.

Mendez attended last year's County Bay, and he's looking forward to this year.

“It was an incredible festival with a lot of great sights and an incredible atmosphere, and this year, I’m expecting them to take a step up,” Mendez said.

Miami already is considered a hub for Latin, hip-hop and electronic music, but Country Bay organizer Nelson Albareda, the CEO of Loud and Live, said the success of last year's event proves there's a place for country and possibly even other genres. And a few more successful years might earn County Bay a permanent spot in Miami's music scene alongside Rolling Loud and Ultra Music Festival.

“I think the city today is a global city,” Albareda said. “And we’ve had all this influx of people and culture, you can't compare Miami on a global map to where it was at even five or 10 years ago.”

About half of last year's crowd was people visiting from out of town, but the other half was from the Miami area, which is about 70% Hispanic. Albareda said more than a third of all country music fans in the U.S. identify as people of Latin descent.

“You could definitely see Miami representing at the festival,” Albareda said. “There were a lot of Hispanic faces.”

Country Bay is returning to the Miami Marine Stadium, taking advantage of the view across Biscayne Bay toward Miami's skyline. The festival drew more than 20,000 people over two days last year, and Albareda said he's expecting a similar crowd this year. And like last year, the festival also has been selling anchorage access passes enabling fans to attend the event by boat or yacht.

Albareda said the success of last year's festival, with both artists and fans flooding social media with posts about the event, made it much easier to book performers this year.

“We were getting texts from agents while the festival was going on saying, ‘Hey, I don’t know what you guys did, but my artists are texting me, and everybody is loving the festival,'" Albareda said.

One of the new acts this year is central Florida native Chase Rice, who recently released two albums, “Go Down Singin’” and “Fireside Sessions."

“I was born in Daytona Beach, so anything South Florida or anything Florida in general is a no-brainer for me,” Rice said. “And it’s late in the year, man. It’s cold up here. I’m ready to get down in the heat.”

Besides hosting musical acts on two stages, the Country Bay Music Festival will include a country-themed bar, food and carnival attractions.

“Line-dancing was such a hit that we’ve added a whole second stage with an entire area for line-dancing,” Albareda said.