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Steve Earle and Los Lobos Release First Studio Collaboration 'Volver A Celaya'

The song foregrounds the working-class immigrant experience, linking Earle’s earlier immigration-themed work to Los LobosEast L.A. roots.

Overview

  • The single “Volver A Celaya” was released on Thursday, August 6, 2026, via New West Records as the first time Steve Earle and Los Lobos have recorded together in the studio.
  • Earle wrote the song during songwriting workshops he led in Brooklyn and had been performing it live before taking the track into a summer session at Red Amp Studios in Richmond, Virginia.
  • Los Lobos member Steve Berlin produced the recording, praising the song as a vivid portrait of life under current conditions and signaling interest in future collaborations.
  • The narrative song is voiced by a Mexican-born construction worker who spent most of his life in the U.S. and plans to return home, centering immigrant labor and the choices those workers face.
  • A limited-edition 7-inch vinyl pairing “Volver A Celaya” with Earle’s 2007 track “City of Immigrants” is scheduled for October 16, 2026, and both acts will continue to promote the single while on tour.