Duo Rodrigo y Gabriela will grace the Hollywood Bowl with their return on Wednesday, September 18th, for a concert that will also feature a performance by the legendary Afro-Cuban All Stars orchestra. Tickets start at $10, but watch for our upcoming giveaway. Subscribe to our newsletter to be on of the first to know when we announce the giveaway.

Words: Steven Ward

Experience the passion of Latin instrumentals

The Afro-Cuban All Stars, one of the most celebrated Cuban orchestras of the last 40 years, will open the night with a diverse showcase of their country’s music. Juan de Marcos would form the band in 1997 out of his Buena Vista Social Club, a group of close to 60 performers gathered to record A Toda Cuba le Gusta, an album that was destined in turn to launch them toward international recognition. After touring with the hand-picked golden-era musicians of a previous generation, de Marcos started molding The Afro-Cuban All Stars into facilitators of rising talent, further broadening the orchestra’s representation of Cuban music with younger additions who bring a contemporary touch.

Mexico City-born Rodrigo y Gabriela serve as the night’s headliners, their skill on acoustic guitar, showmanship, and passion having made them beloved by audiences all over the world. After enough false starts at home, they left in 1999 for Dublin, playing pubs and busking until a friendship with Damien Rice led them down the path that would result in their first recordings. Their music has been featured in everything from hit television shows to blockbuster live-action films and animated features. They also recently released their sixth studio album In Between Thoughts…A New World (2023), a deeply ruminative record that expanded the pair’s ever-evolving mercurial sound with jazz and orchestral features.

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Why Rodrigo y Gabriela are a must-see band

I had the luck to catch Rodrigo y Gabriela at The Belasco years ago, not a clue about what I was going to see or hear. When the two of them started playing, the crowd was immediately absorbed, mesmerized as much by the dexterous fluidity of motion of their hands as they played their guitars as they were lulled to rapture by the tangle of vibrant tones elicited from those strings. The allure of their flamenco fusion is matched only by the show and awe that courses through the crowd when they dip into their heavy metal and rock influences.

They’re also no strangers to performing at huge venues like the Hollywood Bowl—which they’ve sold out in the past. From Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Radio City Music Hall to London’s Royal Albert Hall, there’s something elusively magical about hearing the silence rip through a crowd as they find themselves spellbound by these two gifted guitar virtuosos.

What you can expect

During their eight years in Ireland, Rodrigo y Gabriela pieced together setlists comprised mostly of covers, that is, until they started slipping in original material. Since then, instrumental reimaginings of songs by bands like Led Zeppelin and Metallica—a band they both look up to—have appeared on albums like their self-titled second record. They’ve remained a staple of their shows and something they just seem to enjoy sharing with fans: Radiohead, Motörhead, Van Morrison, Muse—even Billie Eilish and The Weeknd—have all gotten the cover treatment from Rodrigo y Gabriela. So it’s safe to say you should expect a couple of surprising covers sprinkled throughout their set.

Witness How The Afro-Cuban All Stars wrangle together the sounds of Cuba

The goals that de Marcos had for The Afro-Cuban All Stars, like his Sierra Maestra and the Buena Vista Social Club, were ambitiously aimed at preserving and passing on the musical traditions of Cuba. Yet the size and eclecticism of the orchestra allowed him to accommodate all the many genres that call the island home: from bolero, salsa, timba, and rumba to the chachachá, guajira, danzón, and others. A more nuanced or comprehensive presentation of Cuba’s musical tapestry—performed by its inheritors carrying on a generational legacy—you will not see outside of the country itself. If you have a chance, their pair of live albums, Absolutely Live I (2009) and Absolutely Live II (2017), are essential listening if you want a preview of this versatile collective’s onstage power.

Who should go

If you’re a fan of dazzling instrumentals that pay homage to various genres, especially those with roots in Latin traditions, this is the concert for you. It’s a night of acoustically-driven beauty that will leave you with a renewed or even newfound appreciation for the Mexican and Cuban musicians who keep that music alive. This is music meant to be shared and reveled in. Whether you’re a longtime devotee of flamenco guitar and the many Afro-Cuban styles that exist, or you’re just looking for a night of vivacious music to dance with someone you love, you’ll find plenty to adore at this Latin celebration at the Hollywood Bowl.

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Find more concerts like Rodrigo y Gabriela taking place during the Hollywood Bowl’s 2024 season Over the next few months, you can also see Natalia Lafourcade and Gustavo Dudamel, Noche de Cumbia, Camilo, and more.