Los Lobos, one of the most popular and innovative musical groups from Los Angeles, will perform Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Palmdale Amphitheater.
Los Lobos formed in 1973 in East Los Angeles, and along the way has captivated audiences with outstanding musicianship that covers everything from rock ‘n’ roll, blues, rhythm and blues, Tex-Mex and country. For more than four decades, band members David Hildalgo, Louie Perez, Cesar Rosas, Conrad Lozano and Steve Berlin have performed a wide range of contemporary music, the majority of which is original material as well as some unique covers while maintaining their Spanish and Mexican roots.
When they released their 1984 smash “How Will The Wolf Survive?,” the band had become extremely popular throughout Los Angeles, including performing a regular session of engagements on the Sunset Strip. They received a Grammy Award for Best Mexican-American/Tejano Music Performance and achieved worldwide fame for their cover of “La Bamba,” a traditional Mexican folk song revived with a rock ‘n’ roll beat in 1958 by another Southern California native, Ritchie Valens.
Los Lobos celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2013 and released a critically acclaimed live album, “Disconnected in New York City.” Bandmember Conrad Lozano (bass, guitarron, vocals) commented shortly after the album’s release on the group’s beginnings and where they’re headed:
“A lot of people forget that, although we were rock musicians when we came out of [Garfield High], the band started off as an acoustic outfit,” Lozano explained. “We wanted to play Mexican folk music because those were our roots and there was this whole Chicano-awareness thing happening back then. We started to pay attention to our traditions and culture; we learned how to play all the authentic instruments. We got some gigs then—restaurants, little clubs—and people started yelling ‘Do you know any Beatles or Grateful Dead songs?’ We got fired from a restaurant gig, and that’s when we started writing our own material … rock music with a little accordion on them. We’d still play some old favorites by Hendrix, Cream, the Yardbirds … all the stuff we loved as kids. The icing on the cake is that audience loved it, too.”
General admission tickets are $10. VIP and general admission tickets are available at www.cityofpalmdale.org/amp, or at the gate (cash only) Saturday beginning at 4 p.m. Gates will open at 6 p.m. with guests encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets. Carry-in food, beverages, coolers, alcohol and pets are prohibited. Food, beer and wine are available for purchase; food discounts will be offered from 6 to 7 p.m.
The Palmdale Amphitheater is at 2723 Rancho Vista Blvd. For more details about the summer concert series, visit www.cityofpal mdale.org/ amp or call (661) 267-5611.
