Adrian Quesada is an American musician, producer, and songwriter. He is best known for his work with Black Pumas. Quesada is an eight-time Grammy nominee and won Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album as a member of Grupo Fantasma in 2011. In 2024 he co-wrote and sang “Like A Bird” from the film Sing Sing receiving an Academy Awards nomination for Best Original Song.
Early life and education Quesada grew up on the US-Mexico border in Laredo, Texas, in the 1990s. As a child, he listened to punk and hip-hop as well as the Tex-Mex music he heard on both sides of the border. In a 2021 interview he said that although he soaked in the Latin music he was surrounded by, he did not fully appreciate it until he was in college.
Quesada started to play guitar when he was 13. He attended the University of Texas in Austin, due, in part, to the city's active music scene.
Career In Austin, Quesada played in bands including Brownout, Ocote Soul Sound, Spanish Gold, Echocentrics, and Grupo Fantasma, with whom he played for 15 years. The Austin American Statesman described him as the "creative force behind four highly successful bands" who had become a "central figure in putting Austin on the contemporary Latin music map."
In late 2017, on the recommendation of a friend, Quesada contacted Eric Burton to sing on instrumentals he had recorded. They formed Black Pumas shortly after their first meeting, and released their self-titled debut in June 2019. Critically acclaimed, they were nominated for the Best New Artist Grammy four months after their first album was released. A deluxe version of their debut and a live album were subsequently released; as of 2022 the Black Pumas had received six Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year and Song of the Year. They played more than 60 live shows prior to and after the COVID-19 pandemic and, in addition to other television shows, they appeared on Austin City Limits, the Grammy Awards telecast, Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Celebrating America, the concert following the Biden inauguration.
In early 2022, inspired by the Latin American psychedelic ballads of the sixties and seventies, Quesada recorded Boleros Psicodélicos. Set for release in June, iLe, Gabriel Garzón-Montano, Girl Ultra and Marc Ribot are featured on the record, which includes classic balada music as well as Quesada's original compositions. Rolling Stones Ernesto Lechner wrote that with its "remarkable intensity and a mind-boggling attention to detail", the album "promised to be one of 2022's most gorgeous releases". The first single from the album, "Mentiras con Cariño" (featuring iLe), was released in March 2022. It was Quesada's first solo single.
Well-known as a producer, Quesada works out of his Austin studio, Electric Deluxe. In addition the Black Pumas records, he has more than 150 production credits, including Look at My Soul: The Latin Shade of Texas Soul, his collection of original songs and re-recordings of Chicano soul classics.
Selected discography YearAlbum, extended playcollaborationArtistLabel2025Boleros Psicodélicos IIAdrian QuesadaATO Records 2022Boleros PsicodélicosAdrian QuesadaATO Records Jaguar SoundAdrian Quesada2021Capitol Cuts: Live from Studio A Black PumasATO Records 2019Black Pumas Black Pumas ATO Records2018Look at My Soul: The Latin Shade of Texas Soul Quesada, various artistsNacional Records2012Adrian Younge vs. Adrian QuesadaAdrian Younge and Adrian QuesadaUbiquity2011SunshadowsThe EchocentricsUbiquityDuke! Three Portraits Of EllingtonGolden Arm Trio, Adrian Quesada, Graham Reynolds, Duke Ellington Innova2009Coconut RockMartin Perna and Adrian QuesadaESL Music / Eighteenth Street2008Sonidas GoldGrupo FantasmaAire Sole Records2004El Niño y el SolOcote Soul Sounds/Adrian QuesadaESL Music
Awards and nominations AssociationYearCategory Nominated workResultAcademy Awards2025Best Original Song"Like a Bird"from Sing SingBlack Reel Awards2025Outstanding Original SongHouston Film Critics Society Awards2024Best Original Song Grammy Awards2022Capitol Cuts: Live from Studio A (Black Pumas) Best Rock AlbumCapitol Cuts: Live from Studio A (Black Pumas) Best Rock Performance 2021 "Colors" Record of the Year Black Pumas (Deluxe Edition)Album of the Year Black Pumas (Deluxe Edition)Best American Roots Performance 2020 Black Pumas Best New Artist2011El Existential, Grupo FantasmaBest Latin Rock or Alternative Album 2009Sonidas Gold, Grupo FantasmaBest Latin Rock or Alternative Album
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