The Last Bandoleros are a Tex-Mex country trio made up of Diego Navaira, Jerry Fuentes and Derek James. We got to know the group when they stopped by the Taste of Country Nights studio, where they told us how they got their unique name and about that time they sang with ... Sting?!

Navaira and Fuentes were both raised in San Antonio while James is from New York — different worlds — but they have one thing in common: they've been making music for as long as they can remember. When they decided to come together as a trio, the hardest part was coming up with a name.

“When we originally started we were looking for a name that had a little bit of Spanish or Mexican sort of flare ... Every single word that we came up with that had a little bit of that twist to it was already taken. Finding a band name is so ridiculously difficult,” they collectively explain.

Last Bandoleros
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They settled on just the Bandoleros, but there was already a band with that name.

“We were like, ‘Well we’re not the first Bandoleros because there’s already one so we might as well be the Last Bandoleros.’ The Last Bandoleros is cooler in hindsight, anyway.”

Together, the Last Bandoleros have been touring for the last five or six months, and they've had some pretty cool moments. One in particular stands out from a New York showcase.

“We were fortunate enough to have Sting join us on stage. It was insane," they tell us. "He did our single with us and we did a cover of a Police song called ‘Next to You.’ He sang it, we played it. It was amazing … We found out the day of when he showed up at soundcheck.”

There are probably many more cool moments to come for this band. Get to know them by picking up their single, "Where Did You Go?," now on iTunes.

Sam Alex is the host of Taste of Country Nights radio, a syndicated night show which airs on more than 60 Townsquare Media Group stations nationwide.

Hear the Last Bandoleros' Interview on Taste of Country Nights

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