(UNION, NJ) -- American rock band Los Lobos will perform at Kean University on Saturday, February 18, 2023 at 7:30pm at Wilkins Theatre, 1000 Morris Avenue in Union.

The journey of Los Lobos began in 1973, when David Hidalgo (vocals, guitar, and pretty much anything with strings), Louie Perez (drums, vocals, guitar), Cesar Rosas (vocals, guitar), and Conrad Lozano (bass, vocals, guitarrón) earned their stripes playing revved-up versions of Mexican folk music in restaurants and at parties in East Los Angeles, California. 

Early on, Los Lobos enjoyed critical success, winning the Grammy® 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? Co-produced by Berlin 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 U.S. and the U.K. Rather than capitalizing on that massive commercial success, Los Lobos instead chose to record La Pistola y El Corazón, a tribute to Tejano and Mariachi music that won the 1989 Grammy® 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, their 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 Aztlán (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 winner’s circle with Best Americana Album of 2022. 

In 2023, Los Lobos will celebrate its 50th anniversary as a band, a rare and impressive feat, as the band continues its great legacy. The band’s lasting impact will endure given how well its music embodies the idea of America as a cultural melting pot. In it, styles like son jarocho, norteño, Tejano, folk, country, doo-wop, soul, R&B, rock ’n’ roll and punk all come together to create a new sound that’s greater than the sum of its parts.

Tickets for Los Lobos range from $40-$70 and 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, 10:00am- 5:00pm and Wednesday-Friday, 10:00am-3:00pm.  

Kean Stage at Kean University educates, entertains and challenges audiences by presenting high-quality programs that reflect the diversity of the region and of the arts. These cultural offerings complement the intellectual life of the classroom for our students, increase opportunities for community engagement, and provide affordable access to the arts for New Jersey residents. Audiences of all ages are invited to enjoy a wide range of professional theatre, Broadway tours, dance performances, concerts, international films and family-friendly shows. In addition, Kean Stage encourages University students to attend events, and provides several opportunities to explore the performing arts through masterclasses, workshops, lectures, and employment opportunities as ushers, backstage technicians and box office staff. 

Founded in 1855, Kean University is one of the largest metropolitan institutions of higher education in the region, with a richly diverse student, faculty and staff population. Kean continues to play a key role in the training of teachers and is a hub of educational, technological and cultural enrichment serving more than 16,000 students. The University’s six colleges offer more than 50 undergraduate degrees, seven doctoral degree programs, and more than 70 options for graduate study leading to master’s degrees, professional diplomas or certifications over a full range of academic subjects. With campuses in Union, Toms River, Jefferson and Manahawkin, New Jersey, and Wenzhou, China, Kean University furthers its mission by providing an affordable and accessible world-class education.

Photo by Piero F Giunti