LA band Los Lobos goes Disney at Buskirk

When it comes to the road to success, some say it ends with a trip to Disney World. But rock band Los Lobos has been to the Magic Kingdom, and now they’ll perform for their fans at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.

The triple Grammy-winning band that just released their 17th album, “Los Lobos Goes Disney,” on Oct. 27 will be performing at 8 p.m. Friday at the Buskirk. Tickets are available for $45 on the main floor and lower balcony and $40 on the upper balcony.

“In the next few days, we’re making technical preparations and are going to make sure that everything is set up so that the band will have a very smooth experience and their needs are taken care of,” Buskirk marketing director Maarten Bout said in an e-mail.

Los Lobos originated in East Los Angeles in 1973 when four of the five members were in high school and, after graduation, began performing in restaurants and at parties.
By the early ’80s, however, the band was playing in larger venues with other bands, which is how Los Lobos gained saxophonist Steve Berlin, who left The Blasters to join Los Lobos.

For 35 years, the band has performed without a change in roster, and their release “How Will the Wolf Survive?” was named one of the 500-greatest albums ever by Rolling Stone.

“Los Lobos is a band that has been around for nearly 35 years and has a very lively group of followers and fans,” Bout said in an e-mail. “As ticket sales show, many of them live in Bloomington, and many people from the region, including Indianapolis, are driving down to Bloomington to be part of this concert.”

The band is also back in the studio to record a new album with scheduled tour dates stretching until April in addition to their Disney album release.

“They’re certainly a well-rounded rock band,” publicist Megan McFann said. “Their most recent release shows they’re a versatile band.”

The band’s newest album  takes 13 songs from Disney films and revises the song with Los Lobos’ use of instruments that are usually played in Mexican culture.

Songs include The Jungle Book’s “I Wanna Be Like You,” Snow White’s “Heigh Ho” and an instrumental medley of Pinocchio’s “When You Wish Upon A Star” and “It’s A Small World.”

“We are honored that Los Lobos have chosen to celebrate Disney’s musical legacy in such a joyous and beautiful way,” said Walt Disney Records President David Agnew in a press release.  “Disney songs are classics precisely because they can be reinterpreted by iconic artists like this, generation after generation.”