Rodrigo y Gabriela at the Beacon Theatre

Guitarists Rodrigo Sánchez and Gabriela Quintero grew up in middle-class families in Mexico City, Mexico. They met at the age of 15, at a cultural center in Mexico City, where Sánchez's brother was the director and Quintero was a drama student. Sánchez formed a heavy metal band called Tierra Ácida (Acid Land) with his brother, and Quintero joined them in 1993. In 1997, Sánchez and Quintero left Mexico City for the resort town of Ixtapa, Mexico, and played in beachside bars and hotels for nine months. Growing frustrated with the limitations of the Mexican rock scene, the duo moved to Europe, in 1999 taking residence in the Irish cities of Dublin and Galway despite not speaking any English. Rodrigo y Gabriela performed in pubs and busked on the street, playing cover songs and eventually adding original compositions to the repertoire. Rodrigo y Gabriela began recording in 2001; the duo released its seventh and most recent studio album, Mettavolution, on April 26, 2019. Rodrigo y Gabriela currently reside in Mexico City.

Rodrigo y Gabriela at the Beacon Theatre tonight proved that an amplified pair of acoustic guitars can generate an abundance of excitement. The wide stage allowed Sánchez and Quintero to play to the opposite sides of the audience then return to center stage to play for one another. Capturing inspiration from classical, nuevo flamenco, and rock, Sánchez and Quintero strummed, picked and slapped in their own speedy style, backing, accompanying and sometimes challenging one another. For the most part, the instrumentals were performed as duets, with Sánchez leading and Quintero applying her more percussive style as a counterpoint, but then the roles would reverse. Frequently the musicians, caught up in their rhythms, would join the upright audience in jumping and dancing. Creativity, variety and movement allowed for this performance to last for some 90 lively minutes.