Live Review: Los Lobos - River & Blues Battery Park City, NYC 7/11/24

Los Lobos

River & Blues Battery Park City NYC 7/11/24

On Thursday night July 11th a heat wave thankfully broke in New York City and the River & Blues Festival in Battery Park City kicked off their 25th year of free music in downtown Manhattan with the fantastic American band Los Lobos.  

Under a pleasant setting sun, Battery Park slowly filled with locals and fans as the East L.A. based band took the stage at about 7:45pm. The group had some sound issues all night, but it never distracted from the playing as they opened up with "Angel Dance". Using big keys from Steve Berlin and a swelling rock beat from the rhythm section Conrad Lozano and Alfredo Ortiz the energy was high from the get go. Dave Hidalgo sang lead on the song, and his voice still sounds sweet, as does his ripping guitar leads. 

"Shakin' Shakin' Shakes" amped up the 50's rock along with punk vibes as Cesar Rojas took over vocals while Louie Pérez strummed along. While the whole set was solid, a clear early highlight was "Evangeline" which used an interlocking groove that had fans swaying in the gorgeous night air as did the Latino vibes of "Chuco's Cumbia" and "La Venganza De Los Pelados" as the band soulfully serenaded NYC. 

There were some more sound issues during the bands take on "Hey Joe" but things were fixed just in time for Hidalgo to return for a blazing solo, paying tribute to Jimi Hendrix. The quick burst of energy during "Love Special Delivery" was a blast before the band welcomed some special guests. The blues were the backbone of tonight's show as "I Walk Alone" was an early set blazer, but when Little Feat's Scott Sharrard on guitar and Michael LoBue on harmonica arrived, the blues blasted forward with "Up The Line" and "The Neighborhood" which both contained multiple solos from all involved and as the efforts were jammed out with joy. 

A cool reset after the rocking blues was "Kiko and the Lavender Moon" which saw the moon actually arrive) and "Volver, Volver" as both tunes featured Hidalgo on accordion. The show wrapped up with a blistering run through some favorites as a crowd assisted "Not Fade Away" moved smoothly into "Bertha" as Sharrard rejoined the band to help out on the Grateful Dead tune. 

The band clearly wanted to keep jamming, but were told that they needed to wrap up with the 9pm time limit so they cut things short and slammed into a show ending speed through of "La Bamba > Good Lovin' > La Bamba" leaving all in attendance happy that they got to hear the groups signature song. A dynamite night of music, the legendary band clearly wanted to keep playing as they are still on top of their game. 

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