Thursday, Aug. 8 Harnessing power directly from the red rock mountains and vortexes of Sedona where he resides—or so we are asked to believe—decker. (psychedelic/desert folk) channels electromagnetic Earth energy at Club Congress. Flanked by Phoenicians Banana Gun and Wyves... This Brooklyn-born rapper's parents—two college professors—christened him "The seeker of truth." Known for his activism and strong political views—on police brutality, racial stereotyping and the prison-industrial complex—he told HuffPo that the youth possess the energy to take to the streets. Cautioning that activism cannot be done by just sitting at a computer, Talib Kweli brings Hip Hop for Respect to the Rialto Theatre. Tucson institution Jivin' Scientists kicking off... Pianist and vocalist Sly Man & Sheryl Ann pick jazz, blues, pop and a few surprises from the American Songbook. In the Lookout Bar & Grille at the Westward Look Resort... And, DJs Atom Energy and Lunar Fluxx drop a motherlode of house. Deeper happens at Bar Passé...
Friday, Aug. 9
Straight from "Jackass Acres," Phoenix cowpunks The Earps have been on a big bender, "Shitkickin'" and chasing "Rockabilly Girls" since 2003. They will share the Brodie's Tavern stage with Tucson's The Gem Show and Cubes... "Trance around the world." Forever Trance is a monthly EDM happening at The Underground... The Freddy Parrish Trio with Hank Topless unite with the expressed intent of making fine country music come to life. At Sky Bar... Like a good mixtape, guitarist Mike Sydloski, bassist David Hostetler, drummer Daniel Thomas and ever-wicked vocalist Olivia Reardon crossfade to form Miss Olivia & The Interlopers. They pair with dedicated mistresses of maritime trauma The Surfbroads for a romp. At 191 Toole... Experience traditional bluegrass in the spirit which it was indeed. Cadillac Mountain play it at lightning speed and adorn it with harmony vocals capable of resounding off canyon walls. At Westbound... Choro ["little lament"] is an instrumental music genre which originated in 19th-century Rio de Janeiro. Despite its name, the music is often uptempo and happy. From São Paulo, Choro Das 3 perform at Sea of Glass-Center for The Arts... Sasami returns to fill Club Congress with ethereal synth musings that bolster shoegazey guitar textures. With the '60s tinged witchcraft of Hannah Yeun and the positive punk of Stripes520... Mama's House continues at Hotel McCoy. Resident DJ Mother Tierra spins an eclectic mix poolside... To help Ten55 Brewing Company celebrate its first anniversary downtown, musical shapeshifter Jacob Acosta performs... Latin Legends glides into the AVA Amphitheater. Featuring the smooth uptown soul of Brenton Wood ("Gimme a Little Sign"), Tierra ("Together"), Malo ("Suavecito"), Thee Midniters ("Whittier Blvd") and El Chicano ("Tell Her She's Lovely")... Cruisin' For A Bluesin', Bad News Blues Band have their dukes up. At Monterey Court... On the 24th anniversary of Jerry Garcia's passing, The Paper Airplanes Project celebrate his legacy. At Crooked Tooth Brewing Co... "When the lights go down in the city," from the luminescence of the Las Vegas Strip, Another Journey pays tribute to one of rock's enduring legends. At the Rialto Theatre...
Saturday, Aug. 10
Be the Void (ANTI-Records, 2012) was recorded at these Philadelphian's "Meth Beach" studio, yet bears a distinct Tucson watermark: The album features Golden Boots founding member Dimitri Manos on drums and was co-produced by Nathan Sabatino. Neo-psychedelic/baroque poppers Dr. Dog will be at the Rialto Theatre... Irene's Holy Donuts is the site of Return of The Mermaids Late Night Afterparty. With performances by The Surfbroads—"hot broads playing cool surf" who add the briny tang of the sea—and IllumiNaughty, a tribal fusion dance troupe known to shake their flukes. DJ Nation hosts this semi-human aquatic event of mythic proportion... "Ray of Sunshine" pop singer Belinda Esquer, accompanied on bass by Jon D'Auria, perform "Elevator Music" on the patio of Hotel Congress... It's the songs. Imbued with universal themes—loss, desperation, self-loathing, shattered dreams, and an existential longing unfulfilled—that resonate deeply with a faithful audience decades after the band's formation. Greyhound Soul perform at Che's Lounge... His "Daddy Was a Badass." This outlaw Americana singer-songwriter's tear-stained voice and lost soul sensibilities were nudged listening to Johnny Cash, his big sister's folk records, three-chord punk rock rave-ups and '70s AOR FM radio; By doing so he has managed to create a distinct hybrid. Jesse Dayton is at Club Congress. With Houston singer-songwriter, with "No One To Drink With," Mike Stinson... This guitarist's influences span from clever pop of The Beatles to the rhythmic bossa novas of Brazillian composer Antônio Carlos Jobim. The Eugene Boronow Trio play The Dusty Monk Pub... Only God knows? The August edition of Resonance Monthly finds DJ/producer Angelz—known for his love of house, hip hop and bass—dropping Heat at Gentle Ben's... They are a little folk, a little country and a whole lot of trouble, with a Southwestern tan to boot. Eric Schaffer & the Other Troublemakers are at Monterey Court... Bound by a mutual love of Green Day, a fascination with B-movies and a heart for social justice, high schoolers/sodapop punks Mudpuppy extract incisors at Crooked Tooth Brewing Co... Some say he was born a country outlaw with a classic rock attitude. Caiden Brewer shimmies and sways in the Paradiso Lounge at Casino Del Sol... Dash Pocket, blazing up-and-comers, play Americana, folk and alt-country at BlackRock Brewers... Bleach Party USA, D.B.F.O.S., The Dead Beat Hymns, The F.I.S.T., Bring Your Own Molotov, Los Diablos Gordos and Mickey Siixx perform to raise funds and awareness for Southern Arizona Gender Alliance. At Spark Project Collective... Metallists Stands With Fists share their Cinematic Mind when they headline a 3D Glow Show. Sharing the stage with Sorrows Ruin, Elyzian, Gila Byte, Within a Dream and Decenvir. Artist Donovan White will paint live. All-Ages.
At Encore... Palm Sunday and Hemlock—songstresses from Louisiana touring the West—offer somber bedroom folk tunes at Exo Roast Co. Chanteuse Louise Le Hir adds appreciably to the evening... Tour of Tucson: Battle in The Old Pueblo is a drag show spectacular to benefit Tucson Pride. At 191 Toole... Featuring guitarist Damon Barnaby, bassist Duane Hollis and Tom Larkins on percussion, Mark Insley y Trés Burros are at Iron John's Brewing Company–Congress on Downtown Saturday Night... Cochise County All-Stars play honky-tonk and jukebox country in the courtyard at Mercado San Agustin... From the Tohono O'odham Nation, Gertie and the T.O. Boyz perform waila music—along with speakers, poets, dancers and more—as part of World Indigenous Peoples Day. At Alliance For Global Justice...
Sunday, Aug. 11
Fueled by hits "Glycerine," "Swallowed" and "Everything Zen"—selling over 20 million records worldwide—these Londoners went on to become one of the defining alt-rock bands of the '90s. In a 2014 interview, with regard to Man on the Run, frontman Gavin Rossdale spoke about "staying true to your path, to your vocation and your passion." But does this statement of intent still apply today? Find out. "Selling The Drama," The ALTimate Tour—featuring Bush, Live and Our Lady Peace—rolls into the AVA Amphitheater... A Celebration of Friends sees an impressive lineup of pals—Anchorbaby, Barely Bipedal, Freezing Hands, The Gem Show, Pork Torta and Shit Knife—gather to help raise cash to aid of guitarist Leo Schwamm with mounting medical expenses due to protracted illness. At Alliance For Global Justice... This blues singer/guitarist's repertoire includes 1930s Depression Era blues and Ginsbergian Beat Generation poetry. Michael P. Nordberg engages at Crooked Tooth Brewing Co... The Limes celebrate the release of their debut album at Club Congress. AM Waves, Somniac, Logan Greene and Carnival add to the merriment... Hungry? Like a side of funk with your scrambled eggs? Multi-instrumentalist Mik Garrison & The Funky Brunch stacks layer upon layer of musical loops in real time. At La Cocina... Brace yourselves; An epic night of hardcore awaits. South Floridians Ecostrike and Envision and North Carolina's Magnitude team up with Arizona's Get A Grip, Construct and Concrete Evidence. Mayhem is sure to ensue. All-ages. At Ward6...
Monday, Aug. 12
Entre Los Dos ["Between The Two"] the title of their soon-to-be-released EP. "I am another you" is a Mayan thought that blurs the limits of personal bonds, allowing us to find something shared in each other's stare. "These are songs and powerful prayers, created to protect the land and its people, recognize the ancestry that burns in our hearts, and treasure wisdom weaving healthy bonds that reflect self-love with dignity." Singer-songwriter Luz Elena Mendoza will lead us through the places that we are afraid to go. Y La Bamba are at Club Congress. The velvety dream pop of Andria Rose creates painterly music...
Tuesday, Aug. 13
Dysthymia runs rampant. Black metallists Suicide Forest and Shadows of Algol share comorbid conditions. At Club Congress. With grunge punks Hallow... Esteemed bluesman Tom Walbank holds court as part of the Plaza Live Tuesday Night Concert Series. In the Courtyard at St. Phillips Plaza...
Wednesday, Aug. 14
Step out of the "American Landfill" into the "Pit of Fire," with industrial metallists 3Teeth at 191 Toole. The MetaTour brings Author & Punisher and Lana del Rabies into the fray... Roman Catholics are not the only denomination razzed about tipping the chalice. If you like your folk music straight with no chaser, nationally acclaimed folk singer-songwriter Don Armstrong & the Whiskeypalians imbibe, er, perform at Monterey Court... Having formed in 1996, following numerous fights between fans and an altercation with police, these hardore punks were more or less forced out of the Sacramento area. Hoods unleash the fury of the Pit Beast at Ward6. Flanked by Tucson hardcore hooligans Thug Riot and Troubled...
Thursday, Aug. 15
This Canadian experimental music collective have amassed a significant cult following since their 1994 inception. GodSpeed You! Black Emperor will have you "Lift[ing] Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas" in reverence. At the Rialto Theatre. New York saxophonist/drummer/synthesizer player/composer Devin Brahja Waldman opens... "Can You Hear The Stars Cry?" This L.A. band asks on The Thirteenth Hour, their latest release. This multimedia performing arts group fuses electronica/world/rock and dance with surrealism and video projections. AL1CE is at Bar Passé... Accompanied by a cast of guest performers, Joshua Butcher hosts The Butcher's Block. At Iron John's Brewing Company–Congress... It's free jazz! Lookout Tucson Jazz Concert Series—presented by Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance—continues. This week sees the dynamic configuration of pianist Chris Peña, upright bassist Thøger Lund and Josh Carruthers on drums. In the Lookout Bar and Grille at The Westward Look Resort... Nashville music crusader Virginia Cannon presents a Thursday Night Singer-Songwriter Showcase. Six performers, four original songs, taking turns round robin. At Monterey Court... Putting an electrified twist on stripped-down acoustic covers—from retro hits to the indie underground—husband-and-wife/guitar-and-violin duo Dos Sueños entertain at Crooked Tooth Brewing Co...
Shout Out
Drawing deep from the fecund and sweat-soaked Earth that gave birth to elemental country blues, Southwestern Goth vocalist Just Najima is having a listening party offering-up a sneak peek of Queenie, her debut album produced by Jillian Bessett. When fully unleashed, Najima's voice is capable of summoning all of nature's fury, while adding a cadence all her own. Soul shaking. On Wednesday, Aug. 14, at Crooked Tooth Brewing Co...
Until next week, XOXO...
