The Lopez Brothers And Their Traditional Southwest Sound

When it comes to the Lounge Music of Las Vegas, Jerry, Gilbert and Lenny Lopez have kept and continue to keep the tradition alive and kicking. Playing traditional shows around town in classic fashion they form an old school big band called “Santa Fe and The Fat City Horns.” The history behind these talented musicians doesn’t start with Sin City though, in fact it starts in the place Jerry is nicknamed after, Santa Fe! Their grandmother, Magdalena Griego Vigil, created the traditional song played every year at the celebration of the founding of Santa Fe called “Que Viva La Fiesta”. If you were in Santa Fe anytime in the 60’s you knew well who the Lopez Bro’s were, and you were definitely familiar with their contributions. They would perform for every Festival, political rally and community event during their run in Santa Fe before they would come and grace the glittering stages of Vegas.

Since coming to Las Vegas, The Brothers have made quite a name for themselves. They would go to lead a slew of high end and big name productions with their classic musical stylings, letting the entire town know their name. Coming from a long line of musicians, the brothers grandmother was a fantastic poet and composer who learned it all in turn, from her own father! Don Pablo was a famous composer of religious verses, and was featured in the last Spanish speaking American newspaper in the southwest. Pablo was also part of Los Villeros Alegre, the leading ensemble of the southwest at the time and is even cited to have traveled with Pancho Villa while he tried to escape General Pershing! But he would end up having two children, one of which would be Jerry and Gilberts’ mother. The brothers would grow up and attend school in Santa Fe, and by the time they were 12 they had recorded 15 mariachi tracks. During the 70’s they would travel as Troubadors with a famous flamenco artists, soon the three brothers would build a band named Los Hermanos Lopez, then in 1975 the bro’s said goodbye to Santa Fe and hit the road for Vegas. Playing a few lower end clubs at first, the band slowly built up and in no time became Nightlife Icons.

Now Santa Fe and the Fat City Horns are as popular as ever. Giving tribute to their heroes and keeping the flavor the Lopez bro’s are so well known for. Now a 14 piece band, their musical influence is mixed, and they pride themselves on playing music from the soul and not the wallet! Never heading out on social media campaigns, buying tons of advertising space or shopping tracks to big labels, these guys fill rooms by word of mouth alone. Relying on new and age old fans alike to keep the name alive and keep their gigs coming, they prefer the old school approach. But with too many accomplishments to name, the Lopez Brothers will always have a Special place in the heart of Las Vegas, so check out Santa Fe and The Fat City Horns weekly gig or come see Jerry Lopez lead the band for the award winning production, “VEGAS! The Show” today!