Rodrigo y Gabriela are ready to bowl you over…
The Mexican acoustic guitar duo, composed of Rodrigo Sánchez and Gabriela Quintero, appear in the premiere of KCET’s six-episode series In Concert at the Hollywood Bowl.
“It’s one of the most beautiful venues,” says Quintero of performing at the Hollywood Bowl. “And it’s one of my favorite spots, which is the Hollywood Hills. And nearby is the Observatory. Also it has good acoustics and the audiences there are just so loving. It’s magical every time.”
In January — after around two decades as professional musicians —Rodrigo y Gabriela won their first Grammy award for their album Mettavolution.
“Oh my goodness, this year was going to be a very busy one. We had a full year [of touring] booked,” says co-founder Quintero. Instead — as concert tours around the world were cancelled due to the coronavirus epidemic — the duo have spent the past few months in the Pacific coast Mexican town of Zihuatanejo.
Even though live shows are on hold, Rodrigo y Gabriela can be seen in action in a never-before-televised performance on In Concert at The Hollywood Bowl, which runs on PBS SoCal and which runs through September 23.
Produced in association with The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, the shows are a selection of some of the best performances at the iconic L.A. venue over the last 10 years, all drawn from the L.A. Phil’s archives. The Bowl itself closed this summer for the first time in its 98-year history.
The first episode — hosted, as all in the series are, by L.A. Phil Music and Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel — is titled “Hecho en Mexico” and also features Los Angeles Azules with Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA) and Paolo Bortolameolli, La Santa Cecilia and Natalia Lafourcade.
“Even though we met for the first time at the rehearsal, it felt like he was an old friend,” says Quintero of working with Dudamel. “It felt so familiar. And then working with him, it was incredible to feel his energy and watch him with the Philharmonic. As a human being, he’s a really nice guy and very down to earth.
Upcoming episodes of the weekly series will feature performers like Kristin Chenoweth, Herbie Hancock, Dianne Reeves, Carlos Santana and ballet star Misty Copeland.