The Mavericks

Though they formed in Miami in 1989, The Mavericks' distinctive brand of tex-mex country fusion sounds more rooted in the deserts of Albuquerque than the swamplands of Florida. The band was created by lead singer Raul Malo, drummer Paul Deakin, bass player Robert Reynolds, and guitarist Ben Peeler. Their debut album, From Hell to Paradise was released in 1992 followed up by their second album What a Crying Shame, which generated four Top 40 hits and firmly established the band with country audiences in the US. Their fifth album Trampoline was launched in 1998 from which the single "Dance the Night Away" became a UK hit reaching number 4 on the charts. Although the band released a greatest hits compilation in 1999 (which they re-released the following year with two extra tracks), Trampoline was effectively the final Mavericks studio album before the band dissolved in 2000 beset by financial difficulties. They reformed briefly in 2003 but split again before reuniting for a tour in 2012. Founder member Robert Reynolds was dismissed soon after due to drug dependency, with session player Ed Friedland filling in for him. The band's 2015 record Mono was their eighth studio album and debuted at number 5 on Billboard's Country Chart, selling 8,000 copies in the first week. They followed this up with Brand New Day in 2017; however, that didn't garner the same level of success, only managing to chart at number 149 on the Billboard 200 and number 31 on the Top Country Albums Chart. Over the following years, The Mavericks released their first Christmas album Hey! Merry Christmas! (2018), recorded the covers LP Play the Hits (2019), and delivered their first-ever Spanish-language album En Español (2020). Four years later, Raul Malo and company returned with Moon & Stars, which featured a collaboration with Maggie Rose and a track co-written with Bernie Taupin. On December 5 and 6, 2025, was held a tribute concert to The Mavericks at the Ryman Auditorium of Nashville, but Raul Malo was not present due to hospitalization. On December 8, he died aged 60.