(GLASSBORO, NJ) -- Rowan University’s College of Performing Arts, home of the Marie Rader Presenting Series, is excited to present GRAMMY® Award-winning Mexican acoustic-rock duo, Rodrigo y Gabriela, at Pfleeger Concert Hall on April 16, 2022 at 8:00pm. This performance will feature a Pre-Show Reception for VIP ticket holders, followed by a performance from Rodrigo y Gabriela.
The most recent album, Mettavolution, brings Rodrigo and Gabriela’s passionate interest in Buddhism, the history of human evolution, and the liberation of the potential we have as a species; all expressed through the medium of two acoustic guitars. Conceived and composed in their studio in Ixtapa on the Mexican Pacific Coast, the music of Mettavolution was road-tested around the world on tour in 2017 and 2018 before being recorded in Los Angeles with multiple GRAMMY® Award-winning producer Dave Sardy.
Mettavolution won the GRAMMY® Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album at the 2019 62nd GRAMMY® Awards ceremony, and the duo earned a nomination for Best Arrangement, Instrumental, or A Capella, for their version of Metallica's "The Struggle Within", for the upcoming 64th GRAMMY® Awards. The award and nomination are just two recent career highlights for the preeminent acoustic guitar duo, who have earned international acclaim and a fan following with an awe-inspiring mastery of their instruments as well as a truly distinctive approach to melody, energy, and rhythm.
This engagement is part of the Marie Rader Presenting Series at Rowan University—a series that brings exceptional artists to campus, enriching the university community and the Southern New Jersey region. In addition to their in-person performance on April 16, there will be a Pre-Show Reception for VIP ticket holders at 6:30pm prior to the performance.
Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero have been playing together since the mid-nineties when they were members of Mexican thrash-metal band Terra Acida. Both were raised on a musical feast of classic rock, including The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath, but the eureka moment came when they first heard Metallica’s Master Of Puppets, which was their gateway to the fast and furious world of Megadeth, Slayer, and Pantera.
When Terra Acida split, Rodrigo and Gabriela decided to go traveling, with just a suitcase and two acoustic guitars for company. They arrived in Ireland at the turn of the Millennium, having heard the country was “a good place for musicians.” Speaking no English, they soon ran out of money and took to busking on Dublin’s Grafton Street to make ends meet. Here they met Damien Rice, himself embarking on his solo career, and he invited them to open at one of his key early headline shows.
From this beginning, their reputation as killer musicians - Rodrigo with the faster-than-lightning lead guitar and Gabriela with her unique, rhythmic, strumming-and-drumming style started to spread across the country. Following a successful live album in 2004, their debut self-titled studio album, produced by John Leckie of Radiohead and Stone Roses fame, was released by Rubyworks in February 2006 and charted at #1 on the Irish national charts, keeping the Arctic Monkeys off the top spot.
Having established themselves in their adopted home, the duo started to spread their magic across the rest of the world. They headlined the Jazz World stage at Glastonbury in 2007, which was broadcast live on BBC TV. The Rodrigo y Gabriela album went on to sell over 100,000 records in the UK.
Through relentless touring and terrific word-of-mouth support, Rodrigo y Gabriela have established themselves as an in-demand live act, particularly in America, where they sold out the Hollywood Bowl (two nights) and the Red Rocks Amphitheater as recently as summer 2018. They have also sold out multiple nights at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Le Zenith in Paris, and Radio City Music Hall in New York, not to mention venues in Australia, Japan, and Europe.
In 2010, Rodrigo and Gabriela were invited by President Obama to perform at a reception he hosted for the President and First Lady of Mexico. They have also contributed to the musical soundtracks of Puss In Boots (2011) and Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (with Hans Zimmer) in the same year.
About the Marie Rader Presenting Series: Established in 2008, the Marie Rader Presenting Series at Rowan University brings exceptional artists to campus, enriching the university community and the Southern New Jersey region through expanded performing arts programming, bolstering a robust academic program in dance, music, and theatre. The series is made possible in part through generous support from the Henry M. Rowan Family Foundation via the Marie F. Rader Memorial Fund and through funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.
In-Person Performance Details: Saturday, April 16, 2022 at 8:00pm I Pfleeger Concert Hall at Rowan University. Visit go.rowan.edu/rodrigoygabriela for further details and tickets.
COVID-19 Safety Policy: Rowan University is requiring masks, regardless of vaccination status, for all indoor public spaces on campus, until further notice. All tickets must be purchased in advance to help ensure a contactless process and responsible contact tracing. A brief health screening is required of all visitors before entering any public indoor spaces on campus.
Photo by Ebru Yildiz
