Rodrigo y Gabriella come full circle at WOMAD 2011

Band return to the festival that first broke them

Alison Kerry - 30 July 2011

Their unique talent of sonically fusing not just folk but flamenco, Latin, jazz and even metal has been wowing European audiences for eight years.

It was while playing on the metal scene in Mexico City that they met. Soon disillusioned with the native scene they upped sticks to Dublin where they heard travelling musicians are always welcome.

They quickly built a fanbase and as their set this evening in the Siam Tent shows they're still very much in demand.

Opening with a cover of Nirvana 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' with a very Latin twist, of course.

Gabriella said: “We haven't played [in England] for two years. We thought there'd be about five people in the tent.”

She has nothing to fear as the 10,000 capacity tent was overflowing 50 deep on all three sides. Then it was onto a Metallica flourish. Heavy metal covers have never been so danceable.

The sheer skill of showmanship displayed by these two is phenomenal with Rodrigo on lead and gabriella on rhythm guitar. The songs are reborn by such talent it doesn't matter half the crowd have never heard the original versions.

"In 2002 this was the first festival we ever played. In eight years, we've come full circle and very happy to be back here," said Rodrigo as the crowd’s roar confirmed they're happy to have them back.

Having just released a new album, 'Live In France' to coincide with European festival shows, here's hoping they're through in a few club dates as well.

Gabriella finished by saying: "Gracias, thank you. Hopefully we'll be back later this year." And after such a spellbinding festival performance, it would be criminal if they didn't.

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