International Guitar Duo Sensation Rodrigo y Gabriela to Perform at UB Oct. 11

By David Wedekindt

Release Date: September 15, 2010 This content is archived.

Print

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo Center for the Arts will present Rodrigo y Gabriela on Oct. 11 at 7:30 p.m. in the Mainstage theatre in the Center for the Arts on the UB North Campus. The concert is sponsored in part by Starbucks.

Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero have been playing guitar together for more than 15 years. From their first steps as teenage thrash metal guitarists in their native Mexico City, through a stint as street musicians in Dublin, to the universally acclaimed globe-straddling tour machine they are today, theirs is a musical union where mutual understanding goes beyond intuitive and into the realms of Zen.

Their debut album, Rodrigo y Gabriela, was first released in Ireland in February 2006, where it reached No. 1 in the national charts. The record has since gone on to sell 600,000 copies worldwide. A slow burn, genuine word-of-mouth success story, the album proved to be their international calling card. As the UK, then Australia, South Africa, America, Europe and Japan succumbed to the unique charms of the record, the duo found themselves constantly on the road for more than two-and-a-half years in support of the release.

In 2007, they decided to establish a Central American outpost in Ixtapa on the Pacific Coast. The latter part of 2008 was spent building a recording studio and it was here that the latest album, entitled 11:11, was recorded. If Rodrigo y Gabriela was a successful attempt at capturing the unbridled dynamic energy of their incendiary gigs (mostly recorded 'live' in the studio, with very few overdubs), then the latest album sees them developing their core sound into something more sophisticated, intricate and varied.

In 2010, the duo reached new heights and audiences across the United States with performances on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "Lopez Tonight," "The Today Show" and even within the White House when they shared the stage with Beyonce as the musical guests for the president's state dinner with the president of Mexico. In April, Rodrigo y Gabriela reached another milestone with a sold-out performance at historic Radio City Music Hall where they were joined on stage by musicians who include Robert Trujillo of Metallica and Alex Skolnick of Testament/The Alex Skolnick Trio.

To date, Rodrigo y Gabriela have sold over 1million albums worldwide and become a fixture on the world music circuit. Their willingness to explore musical expression and to embrace new sounds irrespective of fashion or trends, and their point-blank refusal to be pigeon-holed as any particular genre is the very foundation of Rodrigo y Gabriela.

Tickets for Rodrigo y Gabriela are $37.50, $32.50. Tickets are available at the Center for the Arts Box Office from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and at all Ticketmaster locations, including ticketmaster.com. To charge tickets, call 1-800-745-3000; in Canada, call 416-870-8000. For group sales, call 716-645-6771. For more information call 716-645-2787.