UNION, NJ — American rock band Los Lobos will perform at Kean University’s Wilkins Theatre, 100 Morris Ave. in Union, on Saturday, Feb. 18, at 7:30 p.m.
The journey of Los Lobos began in 1973, when David Hidalgo, vocals, guitar and pretty much anything else with strings; Louie Perez, drums, vocals and guitar; Cesar Rosas, vocals and guitar; and Conrad Lozano, bass, vocals and guitarron, earned their stripes playing revved-up versions of Mexican folk music in restaurants and at parties in east Los Angeles.
Early on, Los Lobos enjoyed critical success, winning the Grammy Award for Best Mexican-American Performance for “Anselma” from its 1983 EP “ … And a Time to Dance.” A year later, the group released its full-length, major-label debut, “How Will the Wolf Survive?” Coproduced by Steve Berlin, who joined the band in 1984, and T Bone Burnett, the album was a college rock sensation that helped Los Lobos tie with Bruce Springsteen as Rolling Stone’s Artist of the Year.
A major turning point came in 1987 with the release of the Ritchie Valens biopic, “La Bamba.” The quintet’s cover of Valens’ signature song topped the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom. Rather than capitalizing on that massive commercial success, Los Lobos instead chose to record “La Pistola y El Corazon,” a tribute to Tejano and mariachi music that won the 1989 Grammy Award for Best Mexican-American Performance. That kind of sharp artistic turn has become Los Lobos’ trademark, serving to both fuel the band’s creativity and keep its fans engaged.
In 1992, the band’s willingness to defy expectations led them to record “Kiko,” an adventurous album produced by Mitchell Froom that’s considered by many to be one of the band’s very best. Since then, Los Lobos has continued to deliver daring and diverse albums, such as “Colossal Head,” 1996; “Good Morning Aztlan,” 2002; “The Town and the City,” 2006; “Tin Can Trust,” 2010; and “Gates of Gold,” 2015. “Mariachi Suite” from the 1995 film “Desperado” earned the band a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. Los Lobos’ album “Native Sons,” 2021, returned the band to the Grammy-winners’ circle with Best Americana Album of 2022.
In 2023, Los Lobos will celebrate its 50th anniversary as a band, a rare and impressive feat. The band’s music embodies the idea of America as a cultural melting pot. In it, styles such as son jarocho, norteno, Tejano, folk, country, doo-wop, soul, rhythm and blues, rock ’n’ roll, and punk all come together to create a new sound that’s greater than the sum of its parts.
Tickets can be purchased online at keanstage.com or by contacting the box office at 908-737-7469. The box office is currently open Monday and Tuesday, from 10 a.m. to 5pm; and Wednesday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Photo Courtesy of Piero F. Giunti