Rodrigo y Gabriela at Strathmore

Heavy metal influenced Mexican guitar duo, Rodrigo y Gabriela, finish their country-wide summer tour at the Music Center at Strathmore on Sunday, August 4, 2013 at 7 p.m. Selling over 1.2 million albums worldwide, this duo creates their unique sound with an instrumental blend of metal, jazz and world music. Singer, songwriter and guitarist Zach Heckendorf opens for Rodrigo y Gabriela. For more information or to purchase tickets, call (301) 581-5100 or visit www.strathmore.org.

Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero have been playing together for over 15 years. Beginning as young heavy metal fans in their native Mexico City, the duo decided to move to Europe in hopes of finding musical success and eventually gained a reputation by playing on the streets of Dublin, Ireland. Years later, they found themselves at the top of the Irish charts with their self-titled album. In 2006, their cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” went viral on YouTube, bringing them international attention.

Rodrigo y Gabriela made their National American TV debut on “The Late Show with David Letterman” in 2006. Their feature on MTV’s Artist of the Week in August of 2007 sky-rocketed their popularity in America. They continued to appear as musical guests on various talk shows, including “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” and “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” In 2010, the duo performed at the White House for President Barack Obama. 2011 brought new success for the duo, as they worked with composer Hans Zimmer on the score forPirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and were featured on the soundtrack of the Shrek prequel, Puss in Boots, in the same year.

Their latest album, Area 52, was recorded in Havana, where Rodrigo y Gabriela joined a thirteen-piece Cuban orchestra to recreate songs from their previous albums.