RODRIGO Y GABRIELA – COLLEGE STREET MUSIC HALL

Two guitarists sit on stools on stage, playing acoustic guitars during a live performance with a cityscape mural backdrop behind them.

2026-11-02

RODRIGO Y GABRIELA – COLLEGE STREET MUSIC HALL

By Lisa Sanchez Gonzalez

On Sunday, October 25, Rodrigo y Gabriela mesmerized the audience at College Street Music Hall for nearly two hours, with no opening act. I’ve been lucky enough to cover them three times now, and they have never disappointed. This night was no exception: they proved once again that they are masterful at their craft. The tour has two purposes: celebrating their latest release, Our Home, and marking the 20th anniversary of their self-titled record. That record launched one of their biggest hits, “Tamacun,” and featured an incredible version of Zep’s “Stairway.”

Rodrigo opened with a grand guitar solo before Gabriela joined him onstage. From the first strains, the duo held the audience with flamenco guitar played with a rock-and-roll edge. “Buenas noches!” Gabriela called to the crowd—a greeting from the Mexican duo that led into a discussion of their new album, Our Home, and the significance of its music and songs. She also revisited their classic, self-titled second album, now 20 years old, promising plenty of new material and some special surprises.

After a few songs, Rodrigo offered a glimpse of their time offstage. They had rolled into New Haven around 3 a.m. and then enjoyed a day off, giving them a chance to visit the museum at Yale. He called it beautiful and was clearly delighted to have had time to enjoy some art.

Photos Lisa Sanchez Gonzalez

When the duo sat down, Gabriela introduced Our Home by discussing the album’s message and the importance of taking risks. She illustrated that idea with a story about going to Cuba to record with an orchestra: the experiment didn’t work because they couldn’t hear their guitars over the other musicians. It was a reminder that taking a musical risk does not guarantee the result you hoped for.

The audience clapped and stomped along throughout the set, responding to the duo’s rhythms as they moved between many songs from the new album and their self-titled record. On “Simurgh,” “Hanuman,” and “Tamacun,” their precise playing made the musical connection between them clear. That connection reached beyond the stage, drawing the crowd into the performance.

For me, the evening’s highlight was “Somos Como Tu” (We’re Like You). Singing is a treat from a purely instrumental duo, and Rodrigo invited the audience to join in. He explained that the song was in Spanish, then reassured us: “Sing with us. Relax. Just breathe. We’ll teach you the words.” And teach they did, and sing we did.

As a Cuban American, I always love hearing a Spanish-language song reach people who don’t speak the language. This moment made the idea of music as a universal language feel real, especially alongside the song’s words: “Alone looking for a path. Alone in the middle of the sea. We are paying sentences for being born in an illegal land.” To me, the shared singing brought that message of common humanity into the room. Powerful stuff.

Rodrigo y Gabriela closed their set with a raucous “Hanuman,” giving the performance an all-out finish. The room answered with a standing ovation—a fitting response to a finale that held nothing
back.