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Christopher Lomahquahu
ICT
PHOENIX — In the midst of their tour, Mato Wayuhi, Oglala Lakota, and Xiuhtezcatl Roske-Martinez , Mexica, have put on a string of performances, while making connections with the fans along the way.
“The tour has been really fun. It’s my first time extensively on the road,” said Wayuhi. The duo played a show at the Rebel Lounge in Phoenix on Nov. 9 for the 2 The Moon & Back tour.
The tour comes on the heels of Wayuhi’s recent release of the “Reservation Dogs” season 3 soundtrack, while teaming with Xiuhtezcatl, to produce a single called “Veils.” The fans were treated to a live performance of their new single at the Phoenix Show, which brought the crowd together to sing in unison with Wayuhi and Xiuhtezcatl.
The atmosphere of the Rebel Lounge was elevated by the fact that many eager fans had their phone lights on, swaying to the sound of hip-hop induced beats that reverberated through the room’s large speakers.
“It’s been really cool connecting with folks and meeting new people while traveling,” says Wayuhi. “I released a lot of music this year, so it has been really cool to play my new songs live, before our fans.”
While on the fourth leg of an eight-city tour, Wayuhi and Xiuhtezcatl said the audience has brought a lot of excitement energy to each show, as many of their Indigenous fanbase come together for each performance.
“It’s something that we always talked about, to collaborate on a tour and play these shows—he just wrapped up ‘Reservation Dogs’ and I finished a bunch of campaigns that I was doing over the summer,” Xiuhtezcatl says, that the timing was right to go on tour.
For those who follow the hit FX show “Reservation Dogs,” which concluded its third and final season in September, it has created a niche for fans of the show’s soundtrack.
“It was a very momentous experience and it was something I have never done before in terms of the scope of collaboration and creativity,” says Wayuhi. “I threw myself into the ‘deep end,’ which I learned about myself, because I never worked on a TV production before.”
What struck Wayuhi, was seeing everything come to life behind the scenes and the large representation of Indigenous people involved in the production of the show. He said placing himself into the “deep end” of producing tracks for “Reservations Dogs” was a learning experience that elevated his craft as a musician.
“I was really honored to be a part of a movement like that, to tap into the zeitgeist of Indian Country, that is a really special thing,” says Wayuhi, who’s advice for other musical artists is to take a chance and try out new ideas to make music.
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Part of the process in breaking out in the music scene, Wayuhi says, is about self-expression, knowing what you want to accomplish, by building a collaborative network of creatives, who have similar aspirations.
He also says his main support comes from relatives, who assist on his projects, such as a cousin to help in the filming a video, or a little sister, who Wayuhi says works behind the scenes on TikTok videos.
“Building horizontally, just collaborating with folks who are at the same level as you, I think is a really great thing. Then you grow with them—I have the same team I’ve had musically for like five years now, we’ve been growing together,” says Wayuhi.
“The thing about starting out young, is sometimes because you’ve been doing it for such an extended period, you measure yourself to a really high standard of progress of where you should be in your journey,” says Xiuhtezcatl.
Xiuhtezcatl broke into the music when he was 15-years-old, now 23, talks about the path to making a name for himself, says he continues to push his craft, while on tour. “I learned a lot through being in music, touring and playing shows or festivals.”
He says being in music has transformed his life in ways that only reflects the times and lives of the people who come to his shows. “The way the art reflects off of the audience is palpable,” says Xiuhtezcatl, that it transcends more entertainment, such as a fan singing to every word of a song, good vibes among concert goers and Indigenous people coming together over a common interest.
The tour wrapped up in Brooklyn New York on Nov. 18, but Wayuhi and Xiuhtezcatl journey into music is not over, as the two can be found on social media, like Instagram and TikTok, to keep up to date on their latest projects and collaborations.
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