Los Lobos return with long-awaited new studio album

Los Lobos - the award-winning East L.A. band comprised of David Hidalgo, Louie Perez, Cesar Rosas, Conrad Lozano and Steve Berlin - are back with an all new full length studio album, “Gates of Gold.” It will be released Sept. 25 on 429 Records.

Their first collection of new songs since 2010, the album was produced by the band. Entering their fifth decade, several past accomplishments reflect a spontaneous approach to recording.

Says singer/guitarist Rosas: “When I listen to our catalog, doing things more spontaneously in the studio has led to some of our best work.” Adds drummer Perez: “Unlike many bands that write, gather and catalog material between studio releases, Los Lobos prefers to create their magic on the fly when they decide it’s time to record.”

Although the album’s name and title song were inspired by a National Geographic article about real life wolves in the wild, the band saw parallels with their struggle to gain mainstream rock success while maintaining their Mexican roots.

Perez once called their mix of rock, Tex-Mex, country, folk, R&B, blues and traditional Spanish and Mexican music “the soundtrack of the barrio.” Three decades, Grammys, a worldwide smash single (“La Bamba”) and thousands of performances across the globe later, Los Lobos is still jamming with the same intensity as they had when they began in a garage in 1973.

"Gates of Gold" is an American saga in the rich literary tradition of Steinbeck or Faulkner. Uplifting, hopeful and whimsical, the music touches their diverse musical potpourri, evidenced by the title track, “Mis-Treater Boogie Blues,” “Poquito Para Aqui.”  

Los Lobos are on tour in support of the album (see dates below). In addition, a new biography of the band, “Los Lobos—“Dream in Blue” written by Chris Morris—will be released in September by the University of Texas Press.

Track Listing:

1) Made to Break Your Heart
2) When We Were Free
3) Mis-Treater Boogie Blues
4) There I Go
5) Too Small Heart
6) Poquito Para Aqui
7) Gates of Gold
8) La Tumba Sera El Final
9) Song of the Sun
10) I Believed You So
11) Magdalena

Tour Dates:

Aug 14 Santa Fe, NM Buffalo Thunder Casino
Aug 21 Breckenridge, CO Riverwalk Center
Aug 28 Atlanta, GA Atlanta Botanical Gardens
Sep 3 Burlington, VT Rusty Nail
Sep 4 Plymouth, NH Flying Monkey
Sep 5 Charleston, RI Rhythm & Roots Festival
Sep 6 Washington, DC The Hamilton
Sep 12 Urbana , IL Ellnora Festival
Sep 13 Cincinnati, OH Taft Theatre
Sep 18 Del Mar, CA Kaaboo Festival
Sep 19 Los Angeles, CA Levitt Pavilion
Sep 25 New York, NY Beacon Theatre
Sep 26 Winona , MN Boats and Bluegrass Festival
Oct 2 Lincoln City, OR Chinook Winds Casino
Oct 4 San Francisco, CA Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival
Oct 9 Davis, CA Mondavi Center @ UC Davis
Oct 10 Santa Cruz, CA Moe’s Alley Blues Club
Nov 11 Henderson, NV Henderson Pavilion
Nov 13 Tacoma, WA Pantages Theatre
Nov 14 Edmonds, WA Edmonds Center for the Arts