Orion Free Concert Series: Los Yesterdays

About the Artist:

Founded by producer/drummer Gabriel Rowland and singer/songwriter Victor Benavides in Altadena, CA in 2017, Los Yesterdays remained – literally – a garage band for years, a chance for the duo to create their take on the sweet soul music that enveloped childhood experience as young Chicanos in LA.

In a Billboard article about them and their scene, it was noted – “…there is a generations-long appreciation for sweet soul music among California’s Latino communities. Eastern Los Angeles teens…. helped foster a love of sweet soul in the early ‘60s by covering soulful ballads by artists like James Brown… Those sounds…. were kept alive by record collectors and people who spent evenings cruising along East Los boulevards.”

A chance meeting between Rowland and Now-Again’s Egon at a barbecue hosted by Beastie Boys’ producer Mario C got them talking about their favorite sweet soul 45s. Rowland pulled out his phone and played the first Los Yesterdays track he and Benavides created – “Mr. Yesterday” – and Egon immediately offered them an opportunity on his label. This was followed by an offer from Daptone’s Gabe Roth for his Penrose imprint. Now, after a series of singles including an unlikely Tik-Tok hit “Nobody’s Clown” and work with Trish Toledo, Los Yesterdays will issue their debut album, Frozen in Time on Now-Again in late Spring 2024.