The Grammy award winning Mexican-American rock band Los Lobos, featuring (L to R) Cesar Rosas, Conrad Lozno, David Hidalgo, Loue Pérez, Jr., and Steve Berlin is coming to New Um. Los Lobos will play a concert at State Street Theater Oct. 25 as a benefit for The Grand Center for Arts and Culture. Submitted Photo

NEW ULM – Grammy winning rock band Los Lobos is coming to New Ulm through a partnership with The Grand Center for Arts and Culture and State Street Theater Company (SSTC).

Los Lobos’ will perform at State Street Theater 7 p.m. Saturday, October 25. The performance will serve as a fundraiser for The Grand.

Los Lobos career spans over 50 years. The group formed in Los Angeles in 1973. The band has recorded 17 studio albums, seven live LPs, 3 compilations and 2 EPs.

Los Lobos rose to popularity in 1987 with a cover of the song “La Bamba.” Throughout their career they have earned 12 Grammy nominations with four wins. The band received two Grammy awards for best Mexican-American performance for their songs “Anselma” and La Pistola y El Corazon.” Los Lobos would later win a Grammy for best pop instrumental performance with the song “Mariachi Suite” and best Americana album with the album “Native Sons.”

This is the second year in a row that The Grand and State Street Theater have collaborated to bring a nationally known act to New Ulm. Last year Emmylou Harris performed to a sold-out crowd at State Street.

Grand executive director John Kellen said in addition to selling out the theater, Harris’ performance created a buzz in the surrounding community. It demonstrated New Ulm was capable of hosting big name acts. The Grand and SSTC decided to try it again this year with another act.

Kellen said they are working with an agent to book acts. He said the fundraiser concert requires about a years worth of work to arrange.

“It is a real learning curve, but its been really fun,” he said. “When we found out we could get Los Lobos, it was super exciting.”

As with Emmylou Harris, The Grand was able to bring Los Lobos to New Ulm through the generosity of a long-time anonymous donor. This means the profits from the show will go to benefit The Grand.

Kellen said some of the profits will go to compensate SSTC’s staff for hosting the event.

“We are very fortunate to partner with State Street Theater where the show will take place,” The Grand founder Anne Makepeace said. “Our Grand Kabaret is a much smaller venue featuring talented local and regional performers, so we needed a larger stage to accommodate national acts and sell enough tickets to meet our fundraising goals.”

Last year in preparation for the Emmylou Harris concert, The Grand helped invest SSTC’s electrical system. The improvements are still in place the Los Lobos concert.

The Grand is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) with a mission “to enrich community life through arts and cultural education and experiences.”

The Grand does rely on grant funding to cover operations, but Kellen said recent cuts to grant programs, many nonprofits are struggling.

“You have to be creative on how to keep the lights on,” Kellen said. “There are a lot of moving parts at this place.”

Kellen said it is unusual for a community the size of New Ulm to have a full art center. The Cellar Press in the basement features the largest collection of antique letterpress and book binding equipment outside of the Twin Cities. This makes the Grand a statewide draw that host many events for free. They do charge for some ticket shows and art classes, but this is not enough to cover the cost to operate the art center.

Kellen said funds from this concert will help fill in some of the gaps for The Grand, but he remains impressed with the community’s support.

“I am impressed with how different organizations in New Ulm are able to collaborate,” he said.

Los Lobos will be joined by Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound as a warmup act. Based in Milwaukee, Paul Cebar has a large following and they have toured with Los Lobos in the past.

Tickets are now on sale for Los Lobos at State Street Theater’s box office or online at www.statestreetnewulm.org.