Thursday, September 3, 2026, at 8:00 PM
Puerto Vallarta, your Neo-Soul Daddy is stepping back onto the stage.
On Thursday, September 3, I’m popping up at La Catrina Cantina for a special 8:00 PM performance filled with soul, R&B, familiar favorites, grown-folks energy and, because I am still Will Walker, probably a few jokes that should have remained inside my head.
There is no cover charge. The music is free. The hugs are free. Whether the jokes are appropriate remains highly questionable.
This is not a formal concert where everyone sits quietly, waits for permission to clap and pretends they did not come to have a good time. This is a Puerto Vallarta Soul Night—a full evening of live music, community, cocktails, laughter and some of the city’s most entertaining performers.
If you live in Puerto Vallarta, are visiting Zona Romántica or simply want something different to do on a Thursday night, come see what happens when soul music, local talent and Vallarta nightlife all meet in the same room.
Event Details at a Glance
- Event: Will Walker Live Pop-Up Performance
- Date: Thursday, September 3, 2026
- Will Walker’s showtime: 8:00 PM
- Full evening begins: 5:00 PM
- Venue: La Catrina Cantina
- Address: Lázaro Cárdenas 315B, second floor, Zona Romántica, Puerto Vallarta
- Admission: No cover
- Reservations: Call or WhatsApp +52 322 291 8777
- Venue website: La Catrina Cantina
- Instagram: @catrinacantinapv
A Full Thursday Night of Live Music in Puerto Vallarta
I may be hitting the stage at 8:00 PM, but this is not an arrive-at-7:59-and-leave-after-one-set kind of evening.
Soul Night at La Catrina Cantina is built as a full musical experience. You can come early, order something to eat, grab a drink, meet people and enjoy several different performers before and after my pop-up set.
The evening’s scheduled entertainment includes:
- 5:00 PM – Soulful Mixer: Featuring Odin, Jason, Kim Grandi and Marlon
- 6:00 PM – Shannon Maracle: Blues, soul and groove
- 7:00 PM – Kim Archer: Blues, funk and reimagined favorites
- 8:00 PM – Will Walker: Neo-soul, R&B and classic soul
- 9:30 PM – Luis Villanueva: Open Mic
That means one evening gives you several hours of music, multiple performers and enough musical variety to keep the night moving.
Come for one performer if you must. Stay for the entire experience if you know what is good for you.
What to Expect From My Pop-Up Performance
People around Puerto Vallarta have come to know me as the “Neo-Soul Daddy,” and I take that title seriously—just not so seriously that we cannot laugh, talk back to the stage and enjoy ourselves.
My musical world lives somewhere between classic soul, neo-soul, R&B, gospel influence and the songs that immediately make you remember a person, a place or a chapter of your life.
Think about the emotional honesty of Luther Vandross, the storytelling of Jill Scott, the attitude of Erykah Badu, the warmth of Musiq Soulchild and the kind of grown-folks music that makes you close your eyes before the first chorus is finished.
That is the neighborhood.
I am not promising a predictable setlist. A pop-up performance should feel alive. It should have room for the audience, the energy in the room and whatever musical trouble I decide to get into once I have a microphone in my hand.
You can expect:
- Soul and R&B favorites
- Songs you recognize
- Big vocals without unnecessary foolishness
- Audience interaction
- Stories and spontaneous commentary
- A little humor
- Possibly an inappropriate joke
- Absolutely no pretending that we are too sophisticated to sing along
This is music designed to be felt—not merely observed.
Why La Catrina Cantina Is One of Vallarta’s Special Entertainment Rooms
La Catrina Cantina is not a giant theater where the performers feel separated from the audience. It is intimate, personal and close enough for the energy to travel in both directions.
Located on the second floor at Lázaro Cárdenas 315B in the heart of Zona Romántica, the venue combines a Mexican cantina atmosphere with a rotating calendar of singers, musicians, drag performers, dancers, cabaret artists and open-mic entertainment.
The room has the warm, slightly unpredictable character that makes live entertainment exciting. Artists can speak directly to the audience. Guests can settle in with dinner and drinks. Friends run into one another. Visitors meet locals. By the end of the night, people who arrived as strangers are often singing, laughing and carrying on like distant cousins at a family reunion.
La Catrina Cantina also offers food service and a full bar, so you do not have to choose between having dinner and seeing a show. You can make the performance part of your entire evening in Zona Romántica.
According to the venue’s official information, La Catrina Cantina presents live entertainment from Tuesday through Sunday and welcomes locals, visitors, LGBTQ+ guests, families, couples and groups. It is an inclusive room built around entertainment, Mexican culture and community.
That welcoming atmosphere is exactly why it is a natural home for Soul Night.
More Than a Show: Soul Night Is About Community
Puerto Vallarta has plenty of places where you can buy a drink. What makes a venue memorable is what happens around that drink.
Soul Night creates space for a part of Vallarta’s musical community that deserves to be seen and heard. It brings together Black artists, soul singers, blues performers, musicians, longtime residents, new arrivals and visitors who may not have expected to find this kind of experience while walking through Zona Romántica.
That matters.
Soul music has always been about more than technically perfect vocals. It carries history, pain, humor, faith, survival, romance and joy. It makes room for everything we have lived through and everything we are still becoming.
When that music is performed live, the audience becomes part of it. Somebody knows the words. Somebody starts clapping. Somebody remembers a person they loved. Somebody gets out of their chair even though they swore they were not going to dance.
That is the magic of a real soul room.
My goal for this pop-up is simple: I want people to feel good. I want old friends to reconnect, new friends to meet and visitors to experience the creative community that exists beyond Vallarta’s beaches, restaurants and postcard views.
Puerto Vallarta is beautiful, but the people are what make it unforgettable.
Who Should Come?
This night is for you if:
- You love live soul, R&B, blues or funk
- You are looking for live music in Puerto Vallarta
- You want something to do in Zona Romántica on Thursday night
- You prefer intimate performances over massive productions
- You enjoy discovering local and visiting talent
- You want an LGBTQ+-friendly and welcoming environment
- You are traveling alone and want a social place to spend the evening
- You live here and need to get out of the house
- You enjoy good music, strong drinks and people with personalities
- You have been saying, “We need to do something different”
And yes, you can come by yourself.
Puerto Vallarta is one of those places where walking into a room alone does not mean you will remain alone. Sit down, introduce yourself and allow the evening to unfold.
Plan Your Thursday Night in Zona Romántica
La Catrina Cantina is located in one of Puerto Vallarta’s most walkable entertainment districts. You can have dinner nearby, stroll through Zona Romántica and make the show part of a full evening out.
However, arriving early is the smarter move.
The Soulful Mixer begins at 5:00 PM, followed by performances throughout the evening. Arriving before my 8:00 PM set gives you time to find a good seat, order food, get a drink and enjoy the other artists.
The venue is on the second floor, so look for the entrance at Lázaro Cárdenas 315B and head upstairs.
There is no cover charge for the evening, but seating is limited. Reservations are encouraged if you are coming with a group or want to improve your chances of getting your preferred table.
To reserve:
- Call or WhatsApp: +52 322 291 8777
- Website: lacatrinacantinapv.com
- Instagram: @catrinacantinapv
Come for the Music and Stay for the People
Thursday, September 3, is not about putting on airs. It is about putting on something comfortable, gathering a few friends and coming out for a night of music.
I will be at La Catrina Cantina at 8:00 PM, ready to sing, talk, laugh and give Puerto Vallarta a little soul.
Come early for the Soulful Mixer. Stay for Shannon Maracle and Kim Archer. Join me at 8:00 PM. Then stick around for Luis Villanueva’s Open Mic at 9:30 PM.
There is no cover. There is a full night of entertainment. And your Neo-Soul Daddy will be in the house.
I do not know exactly what is going to happen once I get that microphone—but that is precisely why you should be there.
See you Thursday night.
Written by W. N. Walker | The Media King PV
Quick Event Information
Will Walker Live Pop-Up Performance
Thursday, September 3, 2026
8:00 PM
La Catrina Cantina
Lázaro Cárdenas 315B, second floor
Zona Romántica, Puerto Vallarta
No cover
Reservations: +52 322 291 8777
Come early. Stay late. Bring somebody who knows how to act—or somebody who absolutely does not.