Picture a beer in hand, a juicy burger and warm, crispy seasoned fries while sitting in the Nugget this evening. Alongside this delicious meal are some sweet psychedelic rock jams, performed live by Te Adoro.
Beginning this week, the Nugget Bar and Grill plans on hosting live music each Thursday evening at 5 p.m. Te Adoro will be the first of many bands to perform these weekly shows.
Te Adoro is a fusion of psychedelic, jazz, blues and rock, creating what they call “Chicanx rock,” intertwining their Latino culture with their sound and performance. The band is inspired by musicians of color, such as Dionne Warwick, Willie Bobo, The Meters and Traffic Sound.
The band consists of Cal State Long Beach art history major Liliana Burgos, Matthew Ortiz, Marty Ortiz and Chris Ordonez.
“Our music is a modern approach on our experiences in everyday life,” Ortiz said. Te Adoro performs using their music as a tool for social justice. “We can communicate important parts of our experience with our supporters, fans, and audience.”
Te Adoro says one of their most memorable shows was a community event in Boyle Heights. The show was a benefit performance at La Conxa, an autonomous community center and safe space in the city. The show was filled with shoppers, foodies and music lovers — all attendees were people of color.
“It was such a positive experience,” Burgos said. “We love playing community-based events because it is important to us to build a sense of community that goes beyond music.”
The name Te Adoro comes from the Spanish phrase meaning, “I adore you.” It was inspired by Ortiz’s friend Wendy, who has overcome many personal struggles to get where she is today. The band says they adore all women because they are incredibly strong and persevere through many inequalities in today’s society.
Although Te Adoro has only been together for a year, each musician has been playing their entire life. They are multi-instrumentalists that are naturally comfortable on stage. The group grooves to their music and performs with such ease, making the show look effortless.
The band looks forward to performing at the Nugget, and expects to see many friends supporting them on stage.
Te Adoro will be selling hand-designed zines — small booklets of self-published work. It is filled with lyrics to their songs for attendees to purchase for $1, as well as pins with the band’s logo. They will be releasing their demo with songs from the performance soon, with a link and further information on their Facebook page.
The Nugget looks for talented students who would like to showcase their band. The shows are free to perform, but require musicians to provide their own cables and instruments.
To book a show with the Nugget contact the booking agent Nick Sanchez in person, or visit the Nugget for more information.