Mark your calendars...
Thursday, March 28
Finding inspiration in nihilism, a unique conglomeration of like-minded artists adroit in creating sheets of sonic tension tempered by amorphous release. Shoegazers Slow Crush, Mute Swan, Holy Fawn and Trees Speak summon the Furies. At Club Congress... Who will man the decks? One never knows. It's Wooden Tooth Records DJ Night at Che's Lounge... In a world gone amiss, according to these California pop-punkers, "there was still Adam West." Get Married are at Owls Club. With Amateur Palm Trees, and Logan Greene... Singer-songwriter Natalie Pohanic offers her unique brand of dreamy folk in the bar at Agustin Kitchen... Human Behavior: A BJÖRK Tribute is happening at R Bar. DJs Mijito and Vamp Feline preside... The carefully curated mixtape that is Miss Olivia and the Interlopers plays on at Tap + Bottle Downtown... Suffering from takotsubo cardiomyopathy, or "broken heart syndrome?" Featuring the music of Golden Boots, aerial acrobatics and the stunning visuals of artist Tra Bouscaren, Octopus Heart provides the cure at Mercado San Agustin Annex. (Runs through Sunday, March 31)...
Friday, March 29
This pop star started her career penning songs for Gwen Stefani, Britney Spears, Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez. And, the girl's got "Issues." Recently, in People she admitted to bad behavior in the name of creativity. "I think as an artist it's fairly easy to become stagnant. When that happens you do a lot of really shitty things to people, that you don't really mean to." Julia Michaels reveals her Inner Monologue at the Rialto Theatre. Accompanied by a handful of rising artists: Billy Raffoul, Josie Dunne, Corey Harper and Spazz Cardigan... Her sound is smoky. The reverb-drenched twang bears a 1950s feel, reminiscent of when beehive bouffants ruled the Earth. She declares defiantly, "You Don't Own Me," only to find that "There's Still a Tear in [Her] Beer." Country songstress Whitney Rose is at Club Congress. Gus Clark and the Least of His Problems opens the show... Originally self-released in 1969, Ode To Quetzalcoatl was then championed in The Acid Archives as "one of the ultimate incarnations of tormented religious loner, downer folk." Psychedelic folk outlier Dave Bixby triggers weird acid flashbacks or conversations with the risen Christ. At Wooden Tooth Records. With the freak folk of Dave Merrell... This Tucson OG plays blues, Motown and everything in between. The George Howard Band keeps the party going in the Tropico Lounge at Casino Del Sol... On the rooftop, '80s and Gentlemen keep the decade alive. At Playground Bar & Lounge... Echo Chamber features performances by Kristen Miologos, Karima Walker, Michael Dauphinais and Bryan Jacobs. A day of new, experimental music awaits at MOCA Tucson... Borderland Brewing's Taproom Sessions presents Natalie Pohanic... Guitarist, folk storyteller Gene Moran performs at The Dusty Monk Pub... Johnny Hootrock, The Vooduo and The Shivers do unspeakable things with planks of wood and strings at the Surly Wench Pub... The feral Hank Topless Band show little in the way of restraint at Saint Charles Tavern... Parisian guitarist Naim Amor leads A Jazz Trio at Exo Roast Co... Avant-garde viola and harp duo Hatpin enchant with original compositions in the tasting room at Sand-Reckoner... Springboarding the Spring Concert Series, chameleonic neo-soul/jazzers Mesquite are on the patio at Hotel Congress...
Saturday, March 30
Vocalist/guitarist Ben Gibbard culled his band's name from the title of a song performed by the infamous Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. Death Cab for Cutie careen into the Tucson Music Hall... The backing soundtrack to this Christian music singer-songwriter's childhood was bluegrass music. "The first sound I remember as a little barefoot boy was my daddy's Martin guitar and a five-string banjo." His latest, Deeper Roots: Where the Bluegrass Grows pays homage to his rural Kentucky heritage. Steven Curtis Chapman helps us "Remember to Remember. At Leo Rich Theater... The country music institution that is Loveland congregate at Crooked Tooth Brewing... Folk/Americana practitioners Dash Pocket work their craft at BlackRock Brewers... Creating a playlist from one of the most successful vocal groups in rock history's chart topping hits, Stayin' Alive: One Night of the Bee Gees is a quintessential tribute. At the Fox Theatre... Got chops? This all-ages/genres/styles competition serves as a showcase for up-and-coming drummers, and sundry others, to gain exposure. Oh yeah, and a chance to win really cool swag. Tucson Battle of the Beats 2019 bashes at Club Congress. Last year's winner, Matthew Wineinger returns to uphold his badassery... On the patio at Hotel Congress, a unique multidisciplinary event unfolds layer by layer. Synesthesis features the sentience of artist Joe Pagac, whose paintbrush will be guided by what he hears in real time, while providing the auditory stimulation is the newly christened Chris Black Quartet... Proclaiming to be "all things that go bump in the night," horror rockers Epitaph Romance top a bill brimming with metallic darkness. At House of Bards. With Olden, Never Born and Copper Magma... Influenced by blues and jam rock, from the Ozark Mountains, Vintage Pistol "Lay It Down" at Sky Bar. With the deep, spacious, soulful sound of Zero Miles to Empty. With "Only Girl" Juju Fontaine... Since coalescing in London in 1975, groundbreaking jazz fusionists Brand X display Unorthodox Behavior, for all to witness, at 191 Toole... Surf rock champions Shrimp Chaperone make everything groovy at Saint Charles Tavern... Combining '60s pop with Latin influences, Los Puchos bring their lo-fi aesthetic to Exo Roast Co...
Sunday, March 31
Drawing from a rich culture through a fresh, contemporary lens. And, its intoxicating rhythms: Son, cha cha cha and rumba. Asere! A Fiesta Cubana features musicians and dancers from the Havana Club All-stars. At the Fox Theatre... Songstress Joyce Luna, performing her confessional style of folk/Americana, makes her debut at Public Brewhouse. Luna will be accompanied by mandolinist Mike Markowitz... A rousing night of post-modern Americana is promised when P.D. Ronstadt & the Company and the Kate Becker All-Star Band join forces at Monterey Court... And, Twain & Little Mazarn are at Exo Roast Co. With an opening set by Chelsey Lee Trejo...
Monday, April 1
This pop singer-songwriter is a classically trained pianist. She played keyboard with BØRNS before striking out on her own. Acclaimed for her dreamy, immersive soundscapes, her debut single "White Noise" rapidly climbed both Spotify and HypeMachine's viral charts to occupy the No. 1 position. Ella Vos at 191 Toole. From icy Sweden, former Ace of Base singer Clara Mae warms up the night... With "Yesterday's On [His] Mind," L.A. singer-songwriter Chris Cohen arrives with baggage and his psych-infused melancholia in tow. At Club Congress. Indie-folksters Forest Fallows lend support...
Tuesday, April 2
One of indie rocks' most beloved acts, Luna create A Place of Greater Safety at 191 Toole... From humble beginnings, this former "garage band" from Topeka went on to sell 30 million albums worldwide. Classic rockers Kansas celebrate the release of their sextuple-platinum album Point of Know Return by performing it in its entirety. At the Fox Theatre...
Wednesday, April 3
Embodying the duality—the passion and poignancy that exists when age-old ideologies manifest into real world struggles—of a city and its people divided, Arizona Friends of Chamber Music presents the Jerusalem Quartet. With a program that features works by Haydn, Debussy and Shostakovich. Composed in the immediate aftermath of WWII, Shostakovich's String Quartet in G Major, Op. 76, No. 1 is considered a chronicle of war that begins with a calm unawareness of imminent cataclysm and culminates by asking the eternal question: Why? At Leo Rich Theatre... Avid surfers, Grammy Award-winning alt rockers Switchfoot bring The Native Tongue Tour to the Rialto Theatre. Colony House and Tyson Motsenbocker provide underpinning... Whether it be politically charged satire veiled in rock 'n' blues or an introspective acoustic number, acclaimed singer-songwriter Kevin Pakulis and his band bend ears at Public Brewhouse... The sophisticated neo-soul serenade that is Street Blues Family enraptures on the patio at Hotel Congress... "Forever On Your Side," Christian rockers Needtobreathe roll their Acoustic Live Tour into the Fox Theatre. Folk and country singer Sean McConnell breathes in "Secondhand Smoke" before the show...
Thursday, Ap ril 4
This Texas guitar legend has gone onto be hailed by Guitar Player as a "virtual guitar deity." That's right. Jimmie Vaughan brings his sharp retro style to the Rialto Theatre. Local shredder Michael Hebert and Michael P. jump start the evening... Fronted by the engaging voice and songwriting of Australian Acey Monaro, Austin indie poppers with a psychedelic bent Go Fever hawk daydreams at Club Congress. Flanked by local indie rockers La Cerca and upmarket tropical cowboys Golden Boots... Presented with the improvisational spirit of jazz and the heedlessness of rock 'n' roll—from sold-out clubs to yoga ashrams—Nick & Luke truck their Americana-rooted originals, jazz standards and old-timey bluegrass liturgy to Monterey Court. Followed by the reunion of Summerdog... Red Not Chili Peppers engage in "Californication" at 191 Toole...
Blues & Brews Festival at Reid Park
For a genre of music based on feeling low, listening to the blues sure can be a great time. For all those interested in the blues, and enjoying some local food and brews at the same time, the Southern Arizona Blues Heritage Foundation presents the Blues & Brews Festival this Saturday, March 30.
The event will feature music from blues legends Canned Heat, who performed at the original Woodstock festival. Also performing are Dennis Jones, R. D. Olson, Tom Walbank & Austin Counts, Anna Warr & Giant Blue, and the Tucson Jazz Institute.
Food vendors include Drew's Dogs, Ken's Hardwood BBQ, Kettlelicious, Wicked Burger and Fat Noodle. Local brews include Barrio Brewing Rojo, Deschutes Brewery Da Shootz Pilsner, Copa di Vino Pinot Grigio and much more.
The Blues & Brews Festival takes place at the DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center at Reid Park on Saturday, March 30. Gates open at 10:00 a.m.; performances run 11:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance $25 at the gate on the day of the festival, free for children 12 and under accompanied by adult. For more information, visit azblues.org
