Los Lobos & Los Lonely Boys: The Brotherhood Tour

Flytjendur

• 

  Los Lobos

  It’s a matter of time. 50 years to be exact. And in that time Los Lobos have created an unprecedented body of work, a legacy of greatness. The numbers are staggering: 100+ gigs a year for five decades running, crossing millions of miles to rock millions of fans. And that’s just at the live shows. In between they’ve recorded 17 studio albums, 7 live LPs, 3 compilations, 2 EPs, 2 DVDs, and contributed 40+ guest appearances on their friends’ recordings—all garnering 5 Grammys, an Austin City Limits Hall of Fame induction, the ALMA Richie Valens Pioneer Award, NEA and Hispanic Heritage Foundation Honors, Congressional recognitions, plus countless “Keys to the City” and “Los Lobos Day” celebrations. And those are just a few of the highlights. But beyond all the hoopla and applause (and the source of it all, really) is the tremendous heart. Rather, hearts. Cinco corazones. Five blood brothers who have dedicated their off-stage time to helping others, working for peace and justice, penning some of the most literate and important music of their time, transforming the hard cries from the East L.A. barrio into songs of hope, tales of common folk finding ways to endure.
  
  The young wolves were weaned on late-night radio’s soul, R&B, and doo-wop. Were cured through the African-American currents of the blues, jazz, and rock ‘n’ roll. An amalgam. As proud Chicanos, their songs have always glistened with the distillation from their Mexican and Latin American roots—nourished by Norteña and rancheras, buoyed by bolero and cumbias, soaring on the rhythms of son huasteco and son jarocho. Los Lobos have helped spread the rich diversity of cultures across every continent, throughout the global community. Kids in Antwerp now know about Aztlán. Residents of Luxor and Ghana are crooning Lalo Guerrero. People from Laos and Bulgaria are belting “La Bamba”—all thanks to The Wolves as cultural ambassadors. Talk about a living legacy. Talk about a productive half century. And in the true rebel spirit, they did it all on their own terms, against formula. For the ages. To our delight. Quite simply, they are one of the tightest, one of the best, one of the most prolific bands ever. And, amazingly, with the original founding members as the pack the entire time. Unprecedented.
  
  As their liner notes put it, quite simply: “Los Lobos still are David Hidalgo, Louie Pérez, Jr., Cesar Rosas, Conrad Lozano, Steve Berlin.”
• 

  Los Lonely Boys

  Leveraging the power of their connection, brothers communicate in their own vernacular understood by one another, yet alien to the rest of the world. Los Lonely Boys speak the typically unspoken language of brotherhood out loud in their music. The GRAMMY® Award-winning multiplatinum San Angelo, Texas trio—Henry Garza [vocals, guitar], Jojo Garza [bass, vocals], and Ringo Garza [drums]—have welcomed audiences into their family with open arms since emerging back in 1996. Scaling one mountain at a time, they have summited unprecedented heights. 2004’s seminal self-titled, Los Lonely Boys, reached double-platinum status and yielded the gold-certified generational smash “Heaven,” which cracked the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 and notched a GRAMMY® Award in the category of “Best Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.” In its wake, Sacred bowed at #2 on the Billboard 200, paving the way for fan favorites Forgiven [2008], Rockpango [2011], and Revelation [2013]. Along the way, they collaborated with legends such as Santana, Willie Nelson, and Dr. John in addition to performing everywhere from the World Series to CMT’s Crossroads.

  However, the light at the heart of their brotherhood shines as brightly as ever on their 2023 debut for BMG and much more to come.

  “These are the only guys I’ve played with my whole life,” laughs Jojo. “So, there’s nothing like it. We do have a language without words. It’s built through vibrations and sound.”

  “It happens on stage and when we’re in the studio,” agrees Ringo. “We all feel it. We can look at each other and not say anything, because we instinctively know where we’re going. It’s hard to explain. Real blood is thicker than music.”

  “When we’re on stage, we’re trying to grab these feelings from the ether and put them together as one voice,” observes Henry. “As a three-piece band, there’s a special connection, but being brothers, we have a whole different level of camaraderie. Even outside of the music industry, we can all feel the truth, beauty, and strength behind a family working together. If my brothers and I decided to be lawyers or plumbers, it’d be just as powerful as the band, because we’d be doing it together. The world could never rip it apart. We’ll always keep going.”

  They’ve proven that.

  After 23 years of relentless recording and touring, Los Lonely Boys mutually agreed to take a rest in 2019. As family, communication never ceased though. With the pandemic, “one domino fell after another,” and the break lengthened due to extenuating circumstances.

  “It’s like the Higher Power above mandated we take a little hiatus,” says Henry. “We were being told to stop, and it just so happened to be right before COVID.”

  “It was essentially a sabbatical,” says Jojo. “Once music is in your blood, it’s in your blood for eternity.”

  As such, a different kind of divinity stepped in to interrupt the band’s slumber. The Who invited Los Lonely Boys to open a string of shows around Cinco De Mayo in 2022. They agreed, because, well who can say, “No” to The Who?

  “It was confirmation like this is what we’re supposed to do, man.” Jojo states.

  “The shows were emotional,” admits Ringo. “We wanted to make sure we played well for the audiences. The nerves went away once we got on stage, but there were a lot of tears. It was like no time had passed between us. It sparked everything up again. We didn’t need to say anything. We were all writing again and went, ‘Let’s record!’”

  Fittingly, they turn the page on this next chapter with “Send More Love.” Acoustic strumming gives way to a dreamy guitar melody as the hook pleads, “This world is going crazy, can you send more love?” It culminates on a powerful chant underlined by eloquent six-string soul.

  “There’s so much suffering in the world,” sighs Henry. “You look around and see craziness everywhere on social media, in the news, at dinner tables, and during every conversation. I sat down, and the song came through me. I imagined dialing the phone and talking to God. It’s like a broke kid at school who’s running out of money and calling his parents. We’re asking the heavenly father, ‘Could you send more love down here? We’re going broke’.”

  “The last time Henry wrote a song like this we went worldwide,” chuckles Jojo. “We all thought ‘Send More Love’ was special.”

  Maintaining their creative momentum with Jojo spearheading production, the follow-up “Dance With Me” channels the bliss of true love in all of its movements.

  “It’s basically the whole concept of a man and woman experiencing the dance of life and the dance of love together as one,” he reveals. “It’s a powerful song in different way. It’s representative of Los Lonely Boys, but with a more modern twist.”

  In the end, Los Lonely Boys channel the strength of their brotherhood and share it with the world.

  “We do what we do because something greater than all of us has given us the ability to do so,” Jojo leaves off. “We don’t take credit for any of this. We’re simply thankful to do this together.”

  “I record for my brothers,” Ringo adds. “I want to impress them. If they love it, I love it, and we all love it, it seems like fans will too. It’s the same formula. Family first.”

  “We’re still familia,” Henry concludes. “And we’re going to give it our all until our last breath, man.”