Paul Pino and the Tone Daddies Live at the Lobo Theater (Friday, May 22)
May 22 @ 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm
TBA
Paul Pino and the Tone Daddies live at the Lobo Theater, Friday May 22
Paul Pino and the Tone Daddies live at the Historic Lobo Theater on Friday, May 22, 2026. Doors at 7:00 PM, music at 8:00 PM. The Tone Daddies are, in the words of KUNM Espejos de Aztlán, “a New Mexico institution,” and Paul Pino himself a “New Mexico treasure.” Saturday-night sized show, big-stage room, original songs about this state and the people in it.
This is a ticketed theater show. Cover and ticketing details are TBA. Body copy on this page will update as soon as pricing is locked.
About Paul Pino and the Tone Daddies
Paul Pino and the Tone Daddies are a Sandia Park, New Mexico based band built around Paul Pino’s original songwriting. The catalog is wide on purpose. Spanish-language rancheras and cumbias, English-language country and blues, rock and roll, folk, the occasional reggae cut, and a long list of originals about New Mexico history, landscape, and culture.
Paul was raised on a ranch near Carrizozo, New Mexico. The bio his band publishes paints the picture: a kid at the top of a windmill at sundown, transistor radio pulling KOMA Oklahoma City and stations from northern Mexico. Spanish poetry read out loud at the kitchen table. Stillness. Coyotes. Wind through barbed wire. Decades later that ranch is still the source water for the songs.
Paul is also a chronicler of the New Mexico landscape, in part related to his history as a Tularosa Downwinder. The KUNM Espejos de Aztlán feature framed it that way and we will let that framing stand. The songs do the rest of the talking.
What you will hear: rancheras, blues, country, and originals about New Mexico
Roughly thirty Paul Pino originals have been played on New Mexico radio stations. “Toca Me Una Ranchera” hit number one on ReverbNation in the Indie category and top ten on KANW 89.1 FM. Four originals appear on “Best of KANW” compilations. “Las Estrellas De Nuevo Mexico” has served as the theme song for two different New Mexico radio programs. Other tracks worth knowing before the show: “Pasame La Botella,” “Estrellitas,” “Desert Paradise,” “There Must Be Angels,” “Dusty River,” “Lawyer Blues,” and “Too Old To Die Young.”
The live set pulls across that catalog plus New Mexico standards and well-chosen covers. The band call it Southwestern Folk Music inspired by life on the ranch in Carrizozo. You can call it whatever you want once you hear it.
Meet the band
- Paul Pino: lead vocals, rhythm guitar, songwriting. Lifelong songwriter and singer. Carrizozo native.
- Smooth Mike Layden: lead guitar, keyboards, banjo, vocals. Raised in Santa Fe, two tours of duty in Vietnam, 55 years on lead guitar. Toured with Junior Brown.
- MC Mike Campos: bass and vocals.
- Smiling Johnny Arater: drums, vocals, DJ. Toured with The High Chaparral Band. Has played the Kimo Theatre, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, and the New Mexico State Fair. Drumming influences include Steve Gadd, Paul Riddle, Gene Cropper, and Buddy Rich.
Why Lobo Theater for Paul Pino and the Tone Daddies
The Historic Lobo Theater is a 1938 Art Deco room on Historic Route 66 in Nob Hill, Albuquerque’s premier live music venue. 550 capacity. Big stage. Full bar. ADA accessible. The room is the right scale for a band whose set moves between a Spanish-language ranchera and a country shuffle and an electric blues tune without losing the audience between songs. The acoustics let the harmonies and the storytelling actually land.
Nob Hill on a Friday night does the rest. Park on Central or one of the side streets, pop into the Lobo, plan to stay late.
Event details at a glance
- What: Paul Pino and the Tone Daddies, Southwestern folk and original songs about New Mexico
- When: Friday, May 22, 2026. Doors 7:00 PM, Show 8:00 PM
- Where: The Historic Lobo Theater & Event Center, 3013 Central Ave NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106
- Tickets / Cover: TBA. Check back for updates.
- Ages: All ages welcome with a paying adult
- Parking: Street parking on Central Ave and side streets in Nob Hill
- Amenities: Full bar, ADA accessible, 550 capacity
Listen and follow before the show
- ReverbNation: Paul Pino and the Tone Daddies on ReverbNation
- YouTube and Spotify: search “Paul Pino and the Tone Daddies”
- KUNM Espejos de Aztlán feature: Live on Espejos de Aztlán: New Mexico treasure Paul Pino of the Tone Daddies