The Fillmore Hosts Birthday Bash For The Bill Graham

San Francisco's most venerable rock club gathers such luminaries LA Latin-rock heroes Los Lobos and the local songwriter Jackie Green to pay tribute to the late Bay Area promoter Bill Graham Saturday night, celebrating what would have been Graham's 80th birthday. The party serves as chance for friends and family of this giant in local rock history to get together and remember the pioneering and sometimes prickly figure while raising funds for the Bill Graham Memorial Foundation.

Los Angeles-based band Los Lobos has been igniting stages with an incendiary mix of roots-rock, traditional Latin sounds, soulful grooves and heady experimentation for over 30 years. Drawing equally from rock, Tex-Mex, country, R&B, blues, and traditional Spanish and Mexican folk music, Los Lobos grew from its East LA bar origins to earn a reputation as 1 of the most creative groups to emerge from the '80s.

The quartet of multi-instrumentalists Dave Hidalgo and Louie Perez, guitarist Cesar Rosas and bassist Conrad Lozano first started playing together in 1973. Ten years later, the band recoreded its debut album and grew to a 5 piece with the addition of former Blasters sax man (and future producer of note) Steve Berlin. Critical favorites from the beginning, Los Lobos managed to write great songs in a myriad of musical styles without ever sounding forced.

The outfit achieved its greatest mainstream success with the soundtrack to 'La Bamba' in 1987, but the series of forward-thinking albums released since (particularly the experimental 'Kiko' and 2002's soulful 'Good Morning Aztlan') have cemented Los Lobos' reputation as one of the best bands in America.

The group plays classic cuts and tunes from it's latest album 'Tin Can Trust' when it headlines this concert. Local singer/songwriter Jackie Greene, who is probably best known outside of the Bay Area for his time with Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh's band, will also perform a solo set. Area bluegrass outfit Poor Man's Whiskey opens the show. 

A raffle for great prizes and a silent auction in the Fillmore's upstairs poster room will feature one-of-a-kind items for the annual fundraiser, including a guitar autographed by Los Lobos, signed Fillmore and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass posters and amazing photos from rock lensmen Jay Blakesberg, Ken Friedman and Joel Bernstein.

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