Rodrigo y Gabriela Enchant Chateau Ste Michelle

We headed to Chateau Ste Michelle in Woodinville to enjoy some music on this beautiful summer evening. The talented Rodrigo y Gabriela were back in town supporting their latest album, In Between Thoughts… A New World. The magical guitarists Rodrigo Sánchez and Gabriela Quintero who met each other as teenagers in Mexico City have charmed the world with their sound for decades. The duo who found their sound and success after moving to Dublin, Ireland in the late 90s continue to create music that captivates and inspires.

The concert started with the Bahamas, the stage name of Canadian Afie Jurvanen. The Juno Award winner rotated songs from his five records his latest one being, Sad Hunk. He stood onstage with his two backup singers as he played guitar and sang his tunes. It was a nice way to create the mood and get people prepared for the night. We’ve seen Bahamas with Jack Johnson at the Gorge and always remember how chill and mellow his sound is.

After a quick run for wine and food refills people returned as the main act took the stage. Wearing all white clothes with black docs Rodrigo y Gabriela graced the stage of the outdoor venue. Echoing beautiful guitar sounds and melodic playbacks filled the space for the next ninety minutes. Watching them song by song get lost in their music was so beautiful and only made the rest of us more spellbound.

They had two screens behind them that displayed visuals and a couple of risers they sat and stood on throughout the night but other than that it was just the two of them taking over the space. It was incredible to witness everyone paying attention to music that was not accompanied by lyrics. It’s not often that artists can accomplish this and seeing it live is mesmerizing.

After a few songs Gabriela came forward and welcomed everyone to the show and wished them a good time. She talked about recording the album during the pandemic and joked how tired people must be from hearing that from so many artists the last years. It was also true because they didn’t have much else to do during that time. They decided to incorporate different sounds into their music because, why not? They hoped that the world would return back to normal, but they didn’t have an idea of when that would be. Then she mentioned that they recorded more songs that are not included in their latest record, and they wanted to play one for us. They went on to play a song called, “Monster.”

After highlights, “Egoland,” “Descending to Nowhere,” “Broken Rage,” and “Finding Myself Leads Me To You,” Rodrigo grabbed the mic and came forward. He mentioned that they’ve been coming to this area for many years and how much they enjoy playing here. Their first show in Seattle was at Chop Suey on Capitol Hill. He added how grateful they are to keep doing what they love and getting to travel the world and thanked everyone for coming out and supporting them.

For their encore Gabriela came out first and started by playing her acoustic guitar sitting on a road case. Then Rodrigo came out and they finished with “Tamacun,” just getting lost in the sound and getting everyone so excited. This was a show to remember and what a beautiful venue to host their talent. They are so good live and a must see if you like guitars. Who doesn’t like guitars?

Photos: Sophia Barkalakis @s.barkalakis