Long lines formed outside the first ever Rock n’ Roar event, hosted by The El Paso Zoo Society, Saturday, July 2, at the El Paso Zoo, 4001 E. Paisano Drive. Despite the chance of rain, attendees lined up outside the gates with their tickets as the vendors and musicians awaited their entry. 

The gates were opened at 6:30 p.m. and attendees were met with a plethora of things such as live music, obstacle courses, a silent disco, food trucks, vendors, and encounters with animals such as birds, snakes, and more. 

In the Asia section of the zoo, guests were treated to classical music from the Orchestra Ensemble while taking in the beauty of the animals, such as the Asian Elephant, Koi Fish, and Przewalski’s Horses.  

“Just seeing people vibe and enjoy the music overall really made me want to do it again,” said Josh Galindo; a 24-year-old local pop artist who performed for the first time on the Asia stage Saturday night. “Everything went semi-according to plan, but I can’t wait to do it again.”   

The plan Galindo mentioned happened to be interrupted by the weather, which unfortunately had different plans for the sunny event. Galindo shared a stage with Outside Don, known as Nathan Suarez off the stage, as they are best friends navigating their music journey together.  

Halfway through local hip-hop artist Outside Don’s set, it began to sprinkle, which later turned to pouring rain. Though it did not stop him from keeping the crowd hyped up with his music for as long as he could before the sound was inevitably cut off by the downpour. 

“It felt amazing to perform. I felt like Prince at the Super Bowl,” said Suarez. “It was great to be back on that stage, I had fun even with the weather ‘emergency.’” 

Luckily for both performers and guests, the rain settled down and allowed everyone to return to the fun provided by the El Paso Zoo Society and their sponsors. A main feature of the event was the live performances happening throughout the zoo across three stages that consisted of different genres. Other performers seen at the event across the three stages were Elia Esparza, Sophomore Year, Rime Messiah, Etienne, Jane Like Fire, Kikimora, and Amara’s Eyes. 

The family event allowed people of all ages to find something they could partake in. Some of the activities available were face painting, silent disco, animal encounters, and life-sized versions of classic games like Operation, chess, and checkers. There was also the Copper Canyon rope course, the Hunt Family Endangered Species Carousel, and the Hunt Family Desert Springs open for anyone to cool down.  

There were several different vendors seen at Rock n’ Roar with different setups such as Scentsy, All That Music, Kendra Scott, Deserto Pizza, Kona Ica, Paw Bakery, and many more. Vendors either had merchandise for sale, games to play, food or drinks to order, and more. 

Overall, the event brought El Pasoans from around the city out to enjoy music and help support endangered species at the zoo.  

For information on any future events with El Paso Zoo Society, follow @elpasozoosociety on Instagram and Facebook. Both musicians invite the city to stream their music on all music platforms under their stage names, Josh Galindo and Outside Don. 

Itzel Giron is the multimedia editor and can be reached at [email protected]; @by.itzel.giron on Instagram; @itzel_anahi_16 on Twitter. 

Emily Autumn Velasquez is the editor in chief and may be reached at [email protected]; @emilyautumn20 on Twitter, @byemilyautumn on Instagram.