Started back in 2008 as both a side project and creative experiment for the members of Los Angeles-based punk rock outfit The Bronx, Mariachi El Bronx — Matt Caughthran (vocals), Joby J. Ford (guitar, vihuela, accordion), Jared Shavelson (drums), Keith Douglas (trumpet), Ray Suen (violin), Brad Magers (trumpet), Ken Horne (jarana), and Vincent Hidalgo (guitarrón)– has long been deeply rooted in their deep connection to the Hispanic music and culture of their hometown. Although seemingly different, the band doesn’t see punk and mariachi as mutually exclusive. Instead, they view both genres as spiritually entwined forces anchored in resilient storytelling. “Punk rock and mariachi music are very similar in soul,” The Bronx’s and Mariachi El Bronx’s Matt Caughthran says. “It’s working class music. It’s real music.”
Despite almost two decades of success, that has included sharing stages with Foo Fighters and The Killers; sets across the global festival circuit, including Coachella and Glastonbury; performances on Late Show with David Letterman to NPR’s Tiny Desk; and theme songs for shows like Weeds and Aqua Teen Hunger Force, the members of Mariachi El Bronx still consider themselves lifelong students of the art form. That reverence carries over to their charro suits, which often attract as much attention as the music itself. The band has long turned to Boyle Heights-based Casa del Mariachi, a historic Los Angeles area landmark, where Jorge “Mr. George” Tello has been handcrafting the traditional suits for over 50 years. “This band has always been about learning and exchanging culture through music and art,” says Caughthran. “That’s what it’s all about! Everything we do comes from the heart and soul.”
Mariachi El Bronx’s long-awaited fourth album, the John Avila-produced Mariachi El Bronx IV is slated for a February 13, 2026 release through ATO Records. The album, which is the first album from the project in a decade, sees the trailblazing alter-egos of The Bronx continuing to embody the same ethos that sparked their creation — honoring the rich Hispanic music and culture that has always surrounded them in their hometown, while pushing creative boundaries.
Clashing emotions of profound loss and overwhelming love shaped the album’s themes. The songwriting “started as a battle between love and death but became a way to process all the chaos of the world,” Caughthtran explains. Throughout the run of the album’s 12-tracks, the band documents the stories of gamblers, former playboys, warriors and lovers — characters that became vessels for the specific pressures of modern life.
Returning after a decade away felt “joyous and familiar from the jump,” the band’s Joby J. Ford says. But the album’s recording process proved to be much more complex than expected. Within the year that he began writing the album’s lyrics, Caughthran contended with the deaths of several loved ones. And as they tracked the album’s material at producer John Avila’s San Gabriel Valley studio, the Eaton Canyon wildfires blazed across East L.A. “We came out of the studio one night, the entire side of the hill was just on fire,” Ford recalls.
While dealing with grief in his personal life and within Los Angeles, Caughthran also got married in the same year. All of these very profoundly human experiences and feelings have informed what may arguably be Mariachi El Bronx’s most emotionally resonate work to date.
Mariachi El Bronx IV will feature the previously released album opener, “Forgive or Forget,” and “RIP Romeo,” tracks which, feature acclaimed violinist Ray Suen that tackle nostalgia, heartache and longing — in the way that only mariachi could.
Mariachi El Bronx begins 2026 with Mariachi El Bronx‘s third and latest single “Bandoleros,” a Norteño-charged tune that the band describes as the album’s “battle cry,” and features a narrator channeling courage, indignation and defiance in the face of mounting chaos and unfairness both locally and and globally.
Directed by legendary Los Angeles-based street photographer, director and longtime friend of the band, Estevan Oriol, the accompanying video is a proud and defiant love letter to the city’s Mexican and Latino culture, that features Jorge Tello’s Casa del Mariachi, and his gorgeously detailed handcrafted charro suits, the small, sweaty beer soaked clubs where you’d catch mariachis, while you drunkenly sway and cry along. But the video ends with a stark and familiar warning: Gentrification and development often endanger the bedrock culture and soul of any place it touches.
“I’ve been working with these guys for years and this version of the band is unstoppable,” Estevan Oriol says. ““I’m proud to of been given creative freedom to match their massive sound with this video that visually matches the GIANT they’ve become.’”
The band adds, “we’ve been working with Estevan since the early 2000’s. His talent and style is unmatched. Over the years we’ve become friends so linking up for the ‘Bandoleros’ video was a no brainer.”
Mariachi El Bronx will be embarking on an international tour in February and March. Check out the tour dates below.
Mariachi El Bronx tour dates
February 14 – Black Box – Tijuana, BC – LOW TICKET WARNING
March 3 – Forum – Melbourne, AUS
March 5 – King Castle – Newcastle, AUS
March 6 – Roundhouse – Sydney, AUS
March 7 – The Tivoli – Brisbane, AUS
* support from The Mainliners
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