The Whole Enchilada Trailer from R&R Press on Vimeo.

This weekend's Tucson Film & Music Festival will include the premiere of The Whole Enchilada, a documentary that explores Tucson’s music scene from the late 1970s through the mid-’90s.

Local filmmaker Maggie Smith captures the origins of desert rock through the words and sometimes fuzzy recollections of those who survived. The fertile scene arose from cross pollination between country, rock and punk, with the growth “largely fueled by the drug trade,” recalls George Hawke (The Dusty Chaps, Los Lasers).

The story unfolds in a series of exclusive interviews and never-before-seen footage with local luminaries: Country rockers Bob Meighan, Ned Sutton (The Rabbits), and George Hawke, alt-rock legends Dan Stuart (Green on Red), Howe Gelb (Giant Sand), Bill Sedlmayr (The Pedestrians, Giant Sandworms), Robin Johnson (The Pills, Gentlemen Afterdark), David Slutes (Sidewinders, Sand Rubies), Van Christian (Naked Prey), “wild child” Suzie Caruze and others. 

Maggie Smith became involved in the project about a year ago when her husband (and Tucson Weekly columnist) Brian Smith met with executive producer of The Whole Enchilada Rich Hopkins.

“Brian is the editor of the liner notes/book of essays that accompanies the [companion] 3 LP set Whole Enchilada and I pitched the idea to Rich of directing an accompanying film,” Maggie Smith said.    

Maggie Smith said she was already planning screenings at this weekend's premiere.

“We are planning to submit to other festivals, and to screen the film in Phoenix and again in Tucson at Hotel Congress to coincide with the box set release in March 2022," Maggie Smith said. "All people who purchase the box set will receive a code to watch the documentary via streaming."   

Join Arizona Public Media and the Pima County Public Library in celebration of the rich Mexican-American and Latinx cultural heritage of Southern Arizona during Mes de la Cultura! Enjoy a virtual celebration of Mexican-American and LatinX art, music, and dance with performances by Mariachi Estrellas de Tucson, Mariachi Los Changuitos Feos, and Ballet Folklórico Tapatío.

Register here.

You’ll get a first look at Arizona Illustrated’s story about Carlos Valenzuela, a Chicano tile artist, and his work across Tucson’s south side. Plus, you’ll get an inside view of the Pima County Public Library’s Frank De La Cruz Borderlands collection!

After the show, performers will be sharing more about the rich cultural history of these art, music and dance forms, share some of their own experiences performing, and answering YOUR questions during a live Q&A. We hope you’ll join the conversation!

This event is sponsored by Arizona Public Media, and the Library's Welcome to America and Nuestras Raíces teams.

About the Performers

Mariachi Estrellas de Tucson is a youth mariachi group from Tucson. With performers ranging in age from 10 to 17 years old, the group has participated in the Tucson International Mariachi Conference in Tucson, Arizona, and the Rosarito International Mariachi Conference in Rosarito, Baja California, México.

Mariachi Los Changuitos Feos (LCF) is widely regarded as the first youth mariachi group and the first seed of the growing youth mariachi movement in the United States. The group includes twelve high-school aged musicians under the direction of Salvador Gallegos. Founded in 1964, LCF now carries a five-decade legacy of musicianship and dedication.

Ballet Folklórico Tapatío (BFT) is a non-profit folkloric dance group established in 1997 under the direction of Jose Luis Baca and Marissa Gallegos. This group is based in South Tucson, and has over 150 members. They have performed throughout the United States, Mexico and Colombia, and are recognized as one of the finest folkloric programs in the nation.

A number of local music venues will be requiring proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test to attend shows starting next month.

The Rialto Theatre, Club Congress, 191 Toole and the Fox Theatre announced Monday that they were part of a group of Arizona venues that would take the step by Sept. 20.

All four venues are in the process of reopening and will require patrons to wear masks at upcoming indoor shows before the vaccination policy kicks into place.

“The Rialto Theatre Foundation is extremely excited for our incredible lineup of shows,” said Cathy Rivers, executive director of the Rialto Theatre Foundation. “But with that said, we feel it’s important to be a part of keeping our community safe. Those of us who can get vaccinated should, so we protect those in our community who cannot. We hope to see you at a show enjoying live music again while also taking safety measures to look out for all of our community.”

She added that people should be careful about carrying their vaccine cards.

“I personally recommend people don't carry around their vaccine card,” Rivers said. “I would take a picture of it, put it in your wallet app on your phone, or make a photocopy of the card and keep that in your wallet.”

The Rialto has a wide range of performances in the coming weeks such as Amigo the Devil (Friday, Aug. 20), Neko Case (Monday, Aug. 23), and the Flaming Lips (Tuesday, Aug. 24). In addition, 191 Toole—a smaller warehouse venue that is also managed by the Rialto Theater Foundation—will have Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears (Friday, Aug. 20), Sian (Saturday, Aug. 21) and Nanpa Básico (Friday, Aug. 27).

Dave Slutes, entertainment director at Hotel Congress, said concert-goers would have to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test to attend shows inside the legendary Club Congress, but not for shows on the outdoor patio. Slutes said Hotel Congress will continue to follow CDC guidance, as well as honoring artist requests regarding COVID protocol.

Slutes said there has been a lot of interest in the return of live music.

"COVID aside, the artists have been eager to get back out there, tickets have been selling like hotcakes, people have been very eager to see live music again," he said.

But he said there have been unexpected challenges, from the Delta wave to technical issues.

"Did you know that disco lights go bad if you don’t use them for 18 months?" Slutes said.

Fox Executive Director Bonnie Schock said the Fox decided to require proof of vaccination or a negative test because so many other venues are moving in that direction.

"Partly what triggered it at this exact moment is it's a changing time in the industry," Schock said. "AEG, Live Nation, and Broadway League have all put out this basic policy over the last week. AEG and Live Nation are major players in the national concert industry and we work with many of their artists. It's important for all of us to cooperate for the industry to work."

On Thursday, Aug. 19, the Fox will present The Mavericks, with the genre-bending band with country and Mexican influences performing their new album, En Español.

“We certainly chose the Mavericks very intentionally,” Schock said. “They've got ties to the Tucson community and the bassist is from here.”

The Mavericks show kicks a packed fall season for The Fox. Schock says she’s “excited to get the venue sparkling and shining again, but at the same time we have some worry because we don't have any control over what happens next.”

Fox staff and volunteers are required to be vaccinated and Schock urged audience members to get vaccinated before shows.

The CDC recently urged vaccinated and unvaccinated people to wear masks indoors in public spaces because the Delta variant is highly contagious. COVID is making a comeback here in Pima County, which recently moved into the “high transmission” category, according to the CDC.

Schock said Tucson has a hunger for live music, adding this season’s sales are breaking records, which is welcome news for Schock after 18 months of zero revenue. The live entertainment industry was one of the hardest hit by COVID and the Fox, the Rialto and Hotel Congress had to lay off most of its operational staff.

Both the Fox and Rialto are reopening with help from the Shuttered Venue Operations Grant from the Small Business Administration.

“I mean we wouldn't have been able to consider reopening with the number of shows that we put on sale at this point with zero revenue,” Schock said. “It was absolutely essential to our ability to book artists and to prepare the venue.”

WASHINGTON – Federal officials have awarded $45.3 million in COVID-19 relief funds to 68 Arizona concert venues, a vast improvement over the single grant awarded a month ago but still far short of the need, advocates say.

The Arizona funding was part of the $3.2 billion awarded as of Tuesday by the Small Business Administration under the $16 billion Shuttered Venue Operators Grant.

The disastrous June rollout of the program – more than six months after funding was approved – led to a staff overhaul at SBA. While some venue owners and operators in Arizona said this week they were finally feeling some relief, others said they are still “anxiously waiting” months after applying for assistance.

Jenny Thomas, director of communications for the Association of Performing Arts Professionals, said she is “extremely appreciative of this essential support that has the potential to save the live performing arts industry.” But the grants need to be processed much faster, she said.

“According to the SBA’s latest report, only 28% of applications have resulted in an award, and only about 18% of awards, or just over $2 billion, have been disbursed, more than six months after the law was enacted,” Thomas said.

For organizations like Arizona Arts Live in Tucson, every day of delay hurts.

“We’re hoping the SVOG money comes through soon,” said Chad Herzog, executive director of the group that used to be known as UA Presents. While they wait for word on funding, he said, all their efforts to maintain business during the pandemic have come at “a tremendous loss.”

Of the total that had been awarded as of Tuesday, according to the most recent report from the SBA, just $2 billion has actually reached businesses. The remaining $1.2 billion that had been awarded was still pending disbursement.

It is not clear how many Arizona businesses are still waiting or have been denied: The SBA does not release those numbers by state. But nationally, the agency said it has received 14,884 applications and has awarded grants to 4,222 of the businesses, an approval rate of 28%. Just 364 have had their applications declined so far.

The return of live music has been a vague hope for more than a year, but downtown’s Fox Theatre now has a date: Thursday, Aug. 19, will see country band The Mavericks take the Fox stage and kick off its 2021/22 live performance season.

“This is a bit of a teaser of what is to come for the season ahead,” says Fox Theatre executive director Bonnie Schock. “It is certain to be a fantastic return of music and performance to downtown in the fall – with something for everyone. So, get ready for exceptional country, jazz, blues, folk and Americana, classic rock, comedy, personalities, lifelong learning, family, and film experiences once again."

Other planned shows include swing revivalists Big Bad Voodoo Daddy on Saturday, Sept. 11; singer/songwriter Amy Grant on Sunday, Oct. 24; and Irish folk band Altan on Sunday, Nov. 21.

The Fox plans to announce next month a lineup of more than 50 shows booked through April, with tickets for the season available to the public starting Friday, June 18. Guests who purchase tickets to four or more shows in advance will receive a 10% discount.

For more information, visit foxtucson.com

KXCI Community Radio executive director Cathy Rivers won't have to move far for her new role: executive director of the Rialto Theatre. Well known to the downtown music scene, Rivers will assume the new role starting June 1.

According to the Rialto, Rivers was selected due to her talent and proven skill as a local leader, in addition to being a longtime community partner.

“The Rialto Theatre is a vital Tucson institution and a crucial part of downtown, and by extension, our entire community,” Rivers said. “It is crucial that she not only survive these unprecedented times, but thrive in spite of them. I am confident that my experience, combined with community trust, will aid in solidifying the Rialto’s place within the fabric of the Tucson community and expanding its local, regional, and national prominence.”

Rivers assumes the executive director role after Curtis McCrary, who has led the Rialto for more than 15 years.

Although the Rialto is still holding off on hosting live music, it is currently hosting the Rialto Theatre Gallery Project, a retrospective photo show documenting many of its concerts. For more information, visit rialtotheatre.com/gallery-project

Mike Peters believes there is no time like the present to take on unprecedented battles as a rock ’n’ roll frontman. Yes, that sentence contains both “battles” and “rock ’n’ roll.” See, it’s like the founder-frontman of the Welsh post-punks The Alarm is still a kid at home with Dylan, P.F. Sloan and Clash sides, burning with desire to write and sing of the world around him.

That might be too easy. Remember, Peters so far has made a career of overcoming obstacles, both career-wise and the death-defying personal. For starters, he led his band to rise, fall hard and rise again. Alarm songs like “The Stand,” “Blaze of Glory,” “68 Guns” and “Spirit of 76” from the band’s initial line-up (1981-1991) are all fist-jacking sing-alongs with surprising songwriterly roots, easily traced back to the great folk-shouters. And, yes, Peters’ earnestness was all very Bono and Strummer, but his had the kid-like innocence of a schoolyard history nerd dressed up in cowboy boots, a bolo tie and rats-nest hair. The band got a pass because the anti-racist, pro-working-class songs were so damn good. (They even released one of the era’s most beautiful moments in “Rain in the Summertime.”)

That version of The Alarm nearly broke wide-open in America, and their albums all charted worldwide. But one night at UK’s Brixton Academy ’91, Peters up and left the band. This after recording the fifth album RAW, a lame-duck obligation with IRS Records. The foursome’s (Peters, bassist Eddie McDonald, guitarist Dave Sharp, drummer Nigel Twist) run to document topical and political events in pop songs, and the nurturing relationship with a re-energized Neil Young, had failed.

After some soul-searching and solo work, and, later, a stop in a reformed Big Country, Peters then rebuilt the band from scratch. The Alarm now contains former Gen X, The Cult and Kim Wilde guitar-hero James Stevenson, well-known U.K. drummer Steve “Smiley” Bernard, and Peters’ wife, keyboardist Jules Jones Peters.

In his life personal life, Peters, the father of two boys, had defeated non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1996, leukemia in 2005 and a relapse a decade later. His wife Jules beat breast cancer. From that, he and Jules created the worldwide Love Hope Strength Foundation, with partner/cancer survivor James Chippendale. In short, it is a charity to raise funds and awareness to benefit people with cancer and leukemia. The charity is successful, boasting a quarter-million registrants, and 4500 stem-cell donor matches. Peters’ motto? “Saving lives one concert at a time.”

The guy is one resilient dude, always has been, possessed of a never-say-die confidence, and more comebacks than The Italian Stallion. And here he goes again.

The Alarm’s new album, WAR (the band’s 18th!) was completely birthed in isolation — written, rehearsed, recorded (mostly remotely, files exchanged with other Alarm members), and distributed in 50 days during the quarantine-like state of the world, a timely response and calling to a world shuttered from disease.

COVID-19 wasn’t enough for Peters; his breaking point was ever-ugly Trump, and his coup attempt on American democracy in January. The album began the morning after the Capitol attack. (Peters had actually already written another album with sights on release once the world opened, but that was shelved for WAR.)

Get this: WAR (on Peters’ own Twenty First Century Recording Company) first arrived in blank CD-Rs (without the music) mailed to pre-orderers in advance. This allowed fans to burn the files that were soon sent them. The project is pretty unprecedented too. The band recorded each step of the project beginning January 7, starting with Zoom meetings with band members and producer George Williams. The daily video exchanges were viewed by fans all over the world via The Alarm website, essentially making them a piece of the album’s birth as well as studio spectators.

Peters and the band laid final WAR touches in the legendary Rockfield studios, and performed the 10-song album in its entirety, in customized safe social-distance work-arounds with see-through panels separating band members—even for the final vocals on the album’s sole cover (Massive Attack’s “Safe from Harm”), a duet with Welshman Benji Webbe of raga ragers Skindred.

The album is a tight, sonic stand against the handling of the pandemic and the U.S. Capitol riots. It’s like rock ’n’ roll never went anywhere, and this is its welcome, slogan-fortified protest music. Peters sounds as youthful as ever.

Opener “Protect and Survive” amps up on foreboding keys and drums, menacing guitars, and soaring Peters’ vocals that recall Neil Young in a fervor. Up-tempo anthem “We Got This” collides Zep with something like STP, and early Alarm; “Fail” finger-pistols the political divisiveness inspired by the Capitol attacks, a crafty reggae-lit verse and a pop chorus that’d do Mick Jones proud. “Warriors” is all four-on-the-floor pounding juxtaposed against heavy open-space guitars and a giant, key-change chorus emphasizing a “drone attack.’ Coup de gras, Massive Attacks “Safe from Harm” rocks and funks with all the grace of a ballad cranked out at 11, Webbe’s ominous growls underscore Peters' melodic cries of self-determination and autonomy like some late-night sonic noir, good versus evil.

The album is out now, streaming and physical. Peters also hand-painted a limited number of collectible WAR vinyl for purchase.

Tucson Weekly spoke with Peters via Zoom recently and discussed the pandemic, how Capitol riots influenced WAR’s creation, the video journal viewing of the entire process, the “Staycation” shows in Dyserth, where Peters and family reside, and putting out a social-distancing album by his 62nd birthday.

Tucson Weekly: When did the moment to record a new album really hit you?

Mike Peters: It literally happened straight away on the night the Capitol building was being occupied. I was actually on the phone with a friend of mine [D.C. lawyer and Love Hope Strength Foundation board member Elliot Berke]. He represents some pretty high-up politicians on both sides of the divide. And when people started storming the Capitol building it was happening in front of us. I kept seeing the headlines, “Alarming news, the Capitol is being occupied.”

I just thought, “Wow, we’ve got to write now. I’ve got to write a record that captures what’s going on at this very, very moment, and release it while it’s happening. If we do it retrospectively, it might not have the same impact.” I wanted a record people could put on the turntable, listen headphones, but we’re still in lockdown, or still facing the challenges that the pandemic has brought into all our lives.

TW: The Clash recorded “White Riot” to bring attention to race riots and police brutality, and the 1979 overtaking of the Nicaraguan dictatorship-run government, inspired The Clash’s Sandinista. Why is it important to get this album out in the here-and-now with that same mindset?

Peters: When the Sex Pistols released “God Save the Queen,” it was the Queen’s (Silver) Jubilee year; it wouldn’t have been the same a year later.

When the Clash put out “White Riot” the race riots were happening in the streets, all around London. It was in Notting Hill, and it was immediate music, and Jules had bought me the John Lennon “Give Me Some Truth” compilation of remixes, when you can really hear his voice in the foreground. And I was reading about “Instant Karma,” which Lennon said he’d written for breakfast, recorded for lunch and released it for dinner. And I said, we need to make a record with that kind of spirit behind it, and that’s what led to this whole project.

TW: Can you walk us through the process of this unique, yet time-sensitive process?

Peters: To get the record out on my birthday, Thursday, February 25th, at midnight on the 26th, to get it round the world on Spotify and iTunes and all the digitals, I had to have the record done by Monday morning. I could also then on Monday morning give it to the guy who was hand-cutting all the vinyl LPs, to get a head start. And get the CDs loaded for people because we sent a lot of CDRs out to America and Australia for people who wanted to have a physical copy of the album the day it came out, so we digitally sent them all the tracks, so it’s been quite a project. A lot of outside-the-box thinking.

TW: The ’91 Alarm album RAW was more or less the fulfilling of your IRS contract. Was this the bucket-list opportunity the alluded the band in 1991?

Peters: I always felt in ’91 we missed an opportunity to re-define the band’s stance and platform to face the future. Nirvana had come along, Pearl Jam; it was a whole new musical landscape. That was one of the trigger points.

So, we ended up making a lot of compromises on RAW with who sang, and who wrote, in rather than just writing about the Gulf War and the change of the times. So, I always felt we missed an opportunity, and I saw the Capitol building being occupied, I thought, “here’s the moment I can take that opportunity and do something with it.”

TW: What was the impetus behind journaling the process for fans and public consumption, and when did that come about?

Peters: What actually happened was as soon as I woke up in the morning [after seeing the Capitol riots] I didn’t even speak to anybody in the band. I didn’t speak to Jules. If I speak to people about this notion of making an album starting today, that I’m gonna put out on my birthday, everyone will talk me out of it. So, I literally when onto The Alarm website; I wrote my letter to everyone: “It’s time to make a record,” and that was it.

Jules saw it pop up on The Alarm website and said, “What are you doing?” I said, “We’re gonna make a record. We can’t let what just happened go by without documenting it in real time and responding to it as a musicians and songwriters. And so, we’re going to make a record now.” So I picked up the phone and called the band, and Jules got her phone out and started filming it straight away. Jules said, “I’m going to keep going. If you’re going to make a record and I’m going to record, and the band is going to see how you come up with these mad schemes of yours.” When I sat down and thought about it actually, I could have very easily fallen flat on my face if the songs hadn’t come in the way I had hoped. At the same time, there was so much going on in the world, if you can’t write a song now, then there’s no hope. There’s so much sing about, let’s do it.

TW: How different has it been being home with the boys and Jules for all this time, when normally you would be touring?

Peters: The thing I found the most frustrating at first when the lockdown happened was the bombardment of 24-hour news. I knew it was there, it was always in the background. But it wasn’t really until the pandemic hit, the lockdown started to be mentally disturbing; this 24-hour news. We’re going to tune into the main headline news on the BBC at 10 o’clock at night, but that is it. We’re going to disassociate ourselves from it, live in our own little world at home, go for our walks, live in nature and that’s what we are going to immerse ourselves in. And it became beautiful in its own way. We started walking in the woods with our kids, we’d see the flowers come out.

TW: Talk about working with Benji Webbe on Massive Attack’s “Safe from Harm.”

Peters: When I was having our vinyl 24-hour sessions when the lockdown was happening, that song came up and I thought, lyrically, this song is now. “Serious infections and dangerous ...” It’s all there. Benji Webbe popped into my mind. Opposite ends of the racial spectrum, opposite ends of the country. Benji’s from the south (Newport) and I’m from North (Prestatyn). I said, “I love this man, and he sang the whole song, which I wasn’t expecting, and he absolutely killed it, and the harmony was amazing.”

TW: You have always been on the cutting edge of new trends in music, digitally recording and editing, now video-journaling the recording process, you have also made the ultimate in connectivity to fans with Alarm Central found at the Alarm website. Can you expound on this all-encompassing social outlet?

Peters: Alarm Central is a platform that allows me to interact with the fans. We’ve come up to our 40th anniversary, so I’ve got a lot to share. I’ve got a scrapbook form 1974 about my journey to music but it’s gone all the way up to this very day, so, I’ve got a lot to share. It gives me a voice to share a lot about our history. It’s a one-stop website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Spotify, all in one and its free, or pay a premium for some exclusives.

TW: As I know you miss touring, but what is your outlook on getting back on the road, and even a return to the U.S.?

Peters: When something’s come around that changes the whole life dynamic like the pandemic has, you just have to look for different solutions. And you know I’m fearful that when touring does come back, the infrastructure’s going to be damaged, and damaged quite severely. It might be difficult for a band like The Alarm to come and play 50 dates across America, ’cause maybe only 20 (venues) survived. It’s going to be quite difficult at first to plan a tour, plan for tour buses, hotels. And venues might not have the same capital to take the risk.

Steve Roach, Tucson’s resident electronic music pioneer, is hosting a three-day gathering of “sonic innovators and ambient architects” this weekend. SoundQuest Fest runs from Friday, March 26 to Sunday, March 28, and will include a variety of local and international musicians, including Robert Rich, Serena Gabriel, Erik Wøllo, Michael Stearns, Madhavi Devi and more.

SoundQuest Fest is a free livestream concert series of ambient, New Age and electronic music that will run as a “continuous flow of streamed performances, audio-video wonder-worlds and deep immersion zones” from Roach’s YouTube channel.

Roach describes the music festival’s mission is to "create three days of global connection, togetherness, and inspiration through the power of sound and vision during this consequential and unique moment in time.”

Each night before the opening concert, "Timeroom TV" will feature music videos, sponsor features and interviews from the Soundquest musicians and more.

SoundQuest Fest debuted as a live festival in Tucson in 2010. But this online edition allows for performances from musicians around the world, all while keeping spectators safe.

Performing musicians: Robert Rich, Steve Roach, Michael Stearns, Erik Wøllo, Ian Boddy, Jeff Greinke, Chuck van Zyl, Serena Gabriel, Chris Meyer (Alias Zone), Nathan Youngblood, Will Merkle, Caldon Glover, Tony Obr, Howard Givens, Madhavi Devi and Craig Padilla. Audio-visual sets are provided by Bluetech, Matt Black and Daniel Pipitone.

The transcendence begins at 4 p.m. Friday, March 26.

For more information, visit soundquestfest.live.

Now that COVID-19 cases are trending downward across Pima County —and the governor has removed business occupancy restrictions—Hotel Congress is looking to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

"We are not idiots. A traditional green beer and Irish whiskey-drenched bacchanalia is not an appropriate option, but maybe—just maybe— we do a little more than a "tip o' the hat" to St. Patrick's Day," according to a recent Hotel Congress release.

The hotel's Cup Cafe will begin serving traditional Irish fares like corned beef and cabbage, Guinness beef stew and Irish cream cupcakes until 3 p.m. Wednesday. Then the party kicks into full swing at 5 p.m. on the hotel's plaza as the Plaza Eats food truck serves up all your Irish food favorites, Irish coffee, Irish whiskey flights, along with specials on Guinness pints and Jameson shots.

DJ PC Party will be holding down the ones-and-twos, complimentary party favors will be handed out to partygoers and the evening is set to crescendo with the Great Guinness Toast at 10 p.m.

Hotel Congress will be adhering to COVID-19 protocols during the celebration. For more information, visit the Hotel Congress website.