Alejandro Escovedo festival and UK dates

Revered Austin rocker Alejandro Escovedo will perform during La Linea festival this month. He has also confirmed two solo shows in London and Nottingham.

Forming part of La Linea festival, 'Spanish Bombs: A Tropical Tribute to The Clash' promises to be a supercharged evening during which The Clash repertoire will be reinterpreted and reinvigorated through a Latin filter.

Escovedo appears on the bill alongside other special guests, including Rubén Albarrán of Mexico's supreme Latin rockers Café Tacuba, Amparo Sanchez of Amparanoia (winner of a BBC Radio 3 Award for World Music), Blanquito Man of New York Latin Ska pioneers King Chango and many others.

Dates are:

April
Tues 28th London Barbican*
Weds 29th Nottingham Maze
Thurs 30th London Bush Hall

May
Fri 1st Leeds Playhouse*
Sat 2nd Liverpool Playhouse*

*La Linea festival shows

Hailing from a musical family (brothers Pete and Coke formed part of the original Santana line up and Prince collaborator Sheila E is his niece), Alejandro was born and raised in Texas by Mexican parents. He was a founding member of the pioneering San Francisco-based punk band The Nuns in the mid 70's. In the early 1980's he moved to New York City, where he joined forces with fellow Bay Area punk scene veterans Chip and Tony Kinman in Rank & File, a band that forged the early 1980s country-punk sound that later became known as alternative country. After Rank & File relocated to Austin, Texas, Escovedo left the band and formed True Believers with his brother Javier. The critically acclaimed group disbanded in the late 1980s.

In 1992, Escovedo embarked on a solo career and has since released nine albums. The Boxing Mirror, released in 2006, was produced by John Cale and traces Escovedo's journey from the brink of death at the hands of Hepatitis C to renewed wellness and artistic creativity. His music has been widely lauded by the media and musicians alike. His numerous admirers include Bruce Springsteen, who invited him onstage to perform Escovedo's 'Always a Friend' last year, Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams and Ryan Adams. In 1998, influential US magazine 'No Depression' named Escovedo 'Artist of the Decade'.