Article Contributed by jbleicher.com
Published on 2026-09-16
GRAMMY-winning guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela have shared “Somos Como Tú,” a joyous, rhythmically charged new single that marks a historic first in their two-decade-plus career: the first Rodrigo y Gabriela song to feature lyrics and vocals. Arriving alongside an accompanying video, the track appears on the duo’s forthcoming album, OurHome, due September 18 via ATO Records.
For a duo whose worldwide career has been built around the expressive possibilities of two guitars, “Somos Como Tú” opens an entirely new dimension of their music. Rodrigo Sánchez takes the lead with soulful vocals while Gabriela Quintero answers with a rapid-fire cadence, their voices surrounded by effusive hand percussion and ecstatic gang vocals from a group of local fans. The result feels unmistakably Rodrigo y Gabriela even as it ventures somewhere they have never gone on record before.
Its title translates to “We Are Like You,” and the song turns that simple phrase into a larger statement about migration, displacement, dignity and shared humanity. Written from the perspective of people searching for a path and a place to belong, “Somos Como Tú” considers the arbitrary circumstances that separate one life from another while returning again and again to the idea that beneath those divisions, our experiences and humanity are shared.
“I wrote that song when I was living in Paris in 2015 and always loved it, but for some reason we could never come up with a version that sounded like us,” says Sánchez. “We decided to try again for this album, and it turned into something that felt very powerful and honest, and even more relevant than it was 10 years ago.”
That decade-long journey gives “Somos Como Tú” a particular place within OurHome. Rodrigo y Gabriela have spent much of their adult lives moving between countries and cultures, beginning in Mexico City, finding their first major audience in Ireland and eventually building a global career that has taken them around the world. On an album centered on the idea that home can be something internal rather than geographic, the song widens that question to consider what belonging means for people whose circumstances force them to leave home behind.
The track also represents an unexpected evolution for two musicians who have spent over 20 years communicating without words. Since their international breakthrough, Rodrigo y Gabriela have developed a musical language built around Sánchez’s fluid lead lines and Quintero’s fiercely rhythmic approach to acoustic guitar, turning instrumental music into a vehicle for emotion, storytelling and connection. “Somos Como Tú” brings actual language into that conversation for the first time, without abandoning the physical energy and percussive interplay at the heart of their sound.
Recorded in Japan and self-produced by Sánchez and Quintero at NK Sound Tokyo, OurHome emerged after a period of creative frustration led the duo back to the fundamentals of what they do best. Returning to the textural fluidity of acoustic instrumentation following the electric-guitar-heavy sound of 2023’s In Between Thoughts…A New World, the album reflects Rodrigo y Gabriela’s decades-long relationship with Japan and the sense of artistic and personal renewal they have repeatedly found there.
“We’ve always felt drawn to Japan because of the art and aesthetics and attention to beauty,” says Quintero. “There’s also something about being there that invites you to look inward, to reconnect with who you really are and what gives you meaning.”
Alongside “Somos Como Tú,” OurHome features collaborations with Japanese jazz virtuoso Hiromi, former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman, cellist Hiyori Okuda, and Kyoto-based guitarist and composer Yukihiro Atsumi. Mixed by five-time GRAMMY winner Dave Sardy (The Who, Oasis, Red Hot Chili Peppers) and mastered by Stephen Marcussen (Nirvana, R.E.M., The Rolling Stones), the album draws from manga, mythology, migration, philosophy, nature, grief and personal transformation.
“Somos Como Tú” follows “Akatsuki,” Rodrigo y Gabriela’s sweeping collaboration with Hiromi, inspired by Naruto and its explorations of Buddhist cosmology, rebirth, compassion and the shifting boundaries between hero and villain. The track brought together Rod and Gab’s rhythmic, percussive acoustic playing with Hiromi’s similarly physical approach to piano.
The duo previously shared “OurHome,” the album’s tender title track, written by Sánchez following the death of their beloved studio cat Pelusa. Her passing came after months of creative stagnation and unexpectedly helped unlock the direction of the album.
The album’s first single, “Monster,” grew from Rodrigo y Gabriela’s fascination with Naoki Urasawa’s landmark psychological thriller of the same name. After learning that the duo had written a song inspired by his work, Urasawa, who was already a fan of Rodrigo y Gabriela, created the song’s official video himself.
Together, the songs reveal the unusually expansive world of OurHome, moving from migration and belonging to manga and mythology, grief and renewal, while continually returning to the question at the album’s center: What does it mean to find home within yourself?
“Japan is a magical place for us, and every time we go there we love it more,” says Sánchez. “But we also realize the way we feel there isn’t only because of Japan itself—it’s a state of being we could really access anywhere.”
As they prepare to bring OurHome to audiences around the world, Rodrigo y Gabriela hope the album offers listeners a similar sense of grounding amid the chaos of modern life.
“Every day we face so many challenges, whether it’s economic crisis or ecological crisis or political crisis, so we need to protect what makes us feel safe and connected to our true essence,” says Quintero. “We made this album to celebrate what helps us to find that home within ourselves, and we hope it inspires everyone to figure out what home means to them. It’s a very powerful thing, because nobody can ever take it away from you.”
Rodrigo y Gabriela will celebrate the release of OurHome with an extensive North American headline tour beginning September 30 in Dallas. The run includes appearances at Austin City Limits, Washington, D.C.’s The Anthem, New York’s Bowery Ballroom, San Francisco’s Castro Theatre, Seattle’s Moore Theatre and dates throughout the U.S. and Canada. The duo will continue the tour across Australia and Japan in January 2027, followed by headline dates throughout Ireland, the U.K. and Europe in the spring.
OurHome arrives September 18 via ATO Records and is available now for preorder and presave. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit rodgab.com/tour-dates.
1. OurHome
2. Somos Como Tú
3. Akatsuki (feat. Hiromi)
4. Flying Underground
5. Quicksand
6. Monster
7. Astrum In Corpore
8. Is In Your Pocket (feat. Yukihiro Atsumi)
9. MADitation
10. Hinomaru Twins
11. Simurgh (feat. Marty Friedman)
Wednesday, September 30 – House of Blues – Dallas, TX
Thursday, October 1 – Aztec Theatre – San Antonio, TX
Friday, October 2 – House of Blues – Houston, TX
Saturday, October 3 – Austin City Limits – Austin, TX
Tuesday, October 6 – Poliforum Siqueiros – Ciudad de México, MEX
Wednesday, October 7 – Poliforum Siqueiros – Ciudad de México, MEX
Friday, October 9 – Emo’s Austin – Austin, TX (Official 2026 ACL Nights)
Saturday, October 10 – Austin City Limits – Austin, TX
Tuesday, October 13 – The Eastern – Atlanta, GA
Wednesday, October 14 – Bilheimer Capitol Theatre – Clearwater, FL
Friday, October 16 – Greenfield Lake Amphitheater – Wilmington, NC
Saturday, October 17 – The Underground – Charlotte, NC
Sunday, October 18 – The Caverns – Pelham, TN
Tuesday, October 20 – The Anthem – Washington, DC
Wednesday, October 21 – Count Basie Center for the Arts – Red Bank, NJ
Thursday, October 22 – Sherman Theater – Stroudsburg, PA
Saturday, October 24 – Lynn Auditorium – Lynn, MA
Sunday, October 25 – College Street Music Hall – New Haven, CT
Monday, October 26 – Academy of Music Theatre – Northampton, MA
Tuesday, October 27 – Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY
Thursday, October 29 – The Fillmore – Detroit, MI
Friday, October 30 – Rivers Casino – Des Plaines, IL
Sunday, November 1 – The Sylvee – Madison, WI
Tuesday, November 3 – The Fitzgerald Theater – St. Paul, MN
Friday, November 6 – Boulder Theater – Boulder, CO
Saturday, November 7 – The Lensic – Santa Fe, NM
Sunday, November 8 – Rialto Theatre – Tucson, AZ
Tuesday, November 10 – Humphreys Concerts by the Bay – San Diego, CA
Wednesday, November 11 – Pappy & Harriet’s – Pioneertown, CA
Thursday, November 12 – Libbey Bowl – Ojai, CA
Saturday, November 14 – San Jose Civic – San Jose, CA
Sunday, November 15 – The Castro – San Francisco, CA
Tuesday, November 17 – Crystal Ballroom – Portland, OR
Thursday, November 19 – The Moore Theatre – Seattle, WA
Friday, November 20 – Vogue Theatre – Vancouver, BC, Canada
Wednesday, January 13 – Fortitude Music Hall – Brisbane, AU
Thursday, January 14 – Enmore Theatre – Sydney, AU
Friday, January 15 – Palais Theatre – Melbourne, AU
Sunday, January 17 – Odeon Theatre – Hobart, AU
Tuesday, January 19 – The Gov – Adelaide, AU
Thursday, January 21 – The Regal Theatre – Perth, AU
Monday, January 25 – Zepp DiverCity – Tokyo, JP
Tuesday, January 26 – Club Quattro – Nagoya, JP
Wednesday, January 27 – BIGCAT – Osaka, JP
Monday, March 15 – Vicar Street – Dublin, IE
Tuesday, March 16 – Mandela Hall – Belfast, UK
Wednesday, March 17 – O2 Academy – Glasgow, UK
Friday, March 19 – Albert Hall – Manchester, UK
Saturday, March 20 – Town Hall – Birmingham, UK
Sunday, March 21 – O2 Shepherds Bush Empire – London, UK
Tuesday, March 23 – Salle Pleyel – Paris, FR
Thursday, March 25 – Aéronef – Lille, FR
Friday, March 26 – 106 – Rouen, FR
Saturday, March 27 – Stereolux – Nantes, FR
Monday, March 29 – MEM2 – Rennes, FR
Wednesday, March 31 – Le Bikini – Toulouse, FR
Thursday, April 1 – Silo – Marseille, FR
Saturday, April 3 – Paloma – Nimes, FR
Sunday, April 4 – Belle Electrique – Grenoble, FR (sold out)
Monday, April 5 – Le Radiant – Lyon, FR
Wednesday, April 7 – La Vapeur – Dijon, FR
Thursday, April 8 – L’Autre Canal – Nancy, FR
Friday, April 9 – La Cartonnerie – Reims, FR
Sunday, April 11 – La Laiterie – Strasbourg, FR
Tuesday, April 13 – Ancienne Belgique – Brussels, BE
Wednesday, April 14 – Paradiso – Amsterdam, NL
Friday, April 16 – Die Kantine – Cologne, DE
Saturday, April 17 – Mojo – Hamburg, DE
Sunday, April 18 – Columbia Theater – Berlin, DE
Tuesday, April 20 – Progresja – Warsaw, PL
Wednesday, April 21 – Zaklęte Rewiry – Wroclaw, PL
Friday, April 23 – Globe – Vienna, AT
Saturday, April 24 – Palac Akropolis – Prague, CZ
Sunday, April 25 – Technikum – Munich, DE
Tuesday, April 27 – Auditorium Parco della Musica – Rome, IT
Wednesday, April 28 – Circolo Magnolia – Milan, IT
Thursday, April 29 – Docks – Lausanne, CH
Saturday, May 1 – Cheltenham Jazz Fest – Cheltenham, UK
Monday, May 3 – Cosmopolite – Oslo, NO
Tuesday, May 4 – Pumpehuset – Copenhagen, DK
Wednesday, May 5 – Nalen – Stockholm, SE
Friday, May 7 – La (2) d’Apolo – Barcelona, ES
Saturday, May 8 – Sala Copérnico – Madrid, ES
Tuesday, May 11 – Cineteatro Capitólio – Lisbon, PT
Wednesday, May 12 – Casa da Música – Porto, PT
