In July 2018, after snorting rails of cocaine that were "left in my room," chugging "a friend's" THC-infused lean and chasing it all with tequila at a nearby bar, this emo-rapper—after going outside for a smoke—felt an "explosion" detonate inside his chest. He woke up in a hospital bed. A nurse informed that he suffered a heart attack. "My whole left side was numb." Lil' Tracy does "Awful Things" at 191 Toole. Local emcee Manny Sosa drops heat during the opening slot... With seven albums to their credit, Naked Prey formed in '82 by Van Christian, who also had stints with The Pedestrians and Green on Red. Catch this storied multi-instrumentalist as he mines for nuggets from the past and presents new material at Tap + Bottle-Downtown... Chameleonic neo-soul/jazzers Mesquite kickoff their summer tour. Mexican post-rockers Pirámides and Sei Still share the stage. At Club Congress... Chris Hall performs heartfelt country blues at R Bar... "If you're not ready to party, get the fuck out!" From Juarez, Mexico via Hollywood, "The World's First and Only Heavy Metal Mariachi Band," Metalachi go off the rails in the Paradiso Lounge at Casino Del Sol... Traditional bluegrass? Not quite. The band describe their sound as "their own version, mixing the acoustic stomp of a stringband with the rule-breaking spirit of rock & roll." Musical mavericks Greensky Bluegrass go against the grain. At the Rialto Theatre. Blues rocker Andy Frasco opens... Exploring the sounds of the Mediterranean, Moroccan vocalist/oudist Khalid El Boujami and Bulgarian multi-instrumentalist Anton Shekerdziev set the tone at Free First Thursday. The occasion? The unveiling of I'm Every Woman: Representations of Women on Paper and Ralph Gibson: Photographs, the latest additions to the Tucson Museum of Art's permanent collection... Vocalist Diane Van Deurzen and pianist Lisa Otey perform jazz, sultry blues and boogie woogie. At Harbottle Brewing Company...
Friday, Sept. 6
Like a carbonaceous asteroid, psychedelic funk/jam band The Bennu shoot through the night sky emitting light. They make impact at 191 Toole. The Legion of Mario channel the music of the Grateful Dead beforehand... "It's heaven and hell." Local Love presents MetalFest XVIII. Headrust, Never Say Never, Sinphonics, Sigils Of Summoning, Fire By Rank and The Pioneer flog guitars and scream like banshees. At the Rialto Theatre... "1 in a Million," Broken Romeo celebrate 30 years of rocking with abandon in the free world. At Club Congress. The Early Black join in the festivities... Santa Pachita pour salsa, cumbia and ska into a blender, add ice, and make their own unique and tasty concoction. At The Boxyard... Searching for the cosmic, the Sonoran desert-imbued country of The Wanda Junes will soon have you "drinkin' with the devil on the front porch tonight." At Exo Bar. With Tucson's favorite post-skiffle trio, Golden Boots... Jacques Taylor & The Real Deal drop a time bomb filled with old school, Motown and R&B in the Tropico Lounge at Casino del Sol... Showcasing some of the Old Pueblo's top and up-and-coming turntablists, Funk Yo House Fridays goes off at Irene's Holy Donuts... Whiskey and donuts? Yes. Hosted by DJ Nic, Beatz & Sweetz finds Atom Energy, Josh Romea and Clackston spinning a baker's dozen of fresh house music. At Batch Cafe & Bar... As a member of critics' darlings The Silos singer-songwriter Walter Salas-Humara—in a time before Uber and Lyft—penned ditties like "Let's Take Some Drugs and Drive Around." He performs solo at R Bar...
Saturday, Sept. 7
Emerging from the barrios of L.A., over the course of a celebrated career, this genre-hopping band have repeatedly disproven that they are not just another band from East L.A. "We're incredibly lucky," says Steve Berlin. Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Famers Los Lobos diffuse their signature cross-cultural mélange at The Rialto Theater. With the mighty Greyhound Soul opening... KLPX has been doing the classic rock thing at 96.1 FM for 40 years—before all those songs were classic! … Humility as a virtue. "I'm begging you to come to these shows," pleads oddball synth-popper Jerry Paper. "But still, who the heck is this guy?" Discover what "11th dimension" pop is all about at 191 Toole. Flanked by alt-rockers James World and Carnival... Folk harp and viola delicately commingle to arrive at a mysterious landing. Mariah McCammond and Deanna Cross are The Hatpin Duo. In the tasting room at Sand-Reckoner... The Gabriel Naim Amor Trio capture a touch of the glamour and charm of the Champs-Élysées. In the courtyard at Mercado San Agustin... Bleep. Bloop. Screech. Looking for an interactive experience? Inner Freq is Tucson's first synth meet. BYO synth, sampler, beat machine. At Solar Culture... Party Like It's 1969 finds Seanloui, Taco Sauce and Juju Fontaine gather to fête local band mom Kelley Cordova's 50th Birthday. At Saint Charles Tavern... It's an all-ages punk rock show. Featuring DBFOS, Pigmy Death Ray, BYOM and Sauced Up. The sonic fury detonates at Blacklidge Community Collective... Into Ruin II: A doom inspired art show. Masters of oblivion Kryge, Ugly and Serial Hawk fall headlong into the abyss. At Wooden Tooth Records... Hard rockers Drop D rattle the foundation at Encore... Two-time Grammy nominee Amo "Chip" Dabney leads The AmoSphere. At St. Phillips Plaza... Like an ephemeral dust devil, they whisk together Spaghetti Western soundtracks, gritty blues and folk. Hey, Bucko! tip a bent cowboy hat to the desert. At Exo Bar... Inspired by Star Wars, Rick and Morty, Stranger Things and more. The Suicide Girls: Blackheart Burlesque bring the sexiest burlesque show on Earth to the Fox Theatre...
Sunday, Sept. 8
"People are always trying to figure out which compartment we fit into. That shit is tiresome," Jon Nuñez says. "But in a world of Sabbaths, we get to be Van Halen," Torche rock hard and loudly at 191 Toole. With Pinkish Black and SRSQ...
Monday, Sept. 9
Featuring local guitar legend Doug "Hurricane" Floyd on guitar, Funky Bonz is on a mission to "Shake Your Groove Thing." At Elliott's on Congress...
Tuesday, Sept. 10
Singer-songwriter Nancy McCallion performs original Americana acoustically as part of Plaza Live! Tuesday Night Concert Series. In the courtyard at St. Philip's Plaza...
Wednesday, Sept. 11
This jazz singer is not content to ride on his father's laurels, adding his own mark to what has become known as the "Prima-style." Louis Prima Jr. and the Witnesses swing energetically on the plaza at Hotel Congress... Americana/soul singer Hannah Rooth & Wild Hum will perform material from their debut album Wild Hum, such as their striking first single "Divorce in the Water." At Sky Bar... A cross between Mississippi Fred McDowell and the Staple Singers, master of Mississippi hill country blues Reed Turchi searches for "Just A Little More Faith." At Monterey Court...
Thursday, Sept. 12
Celebrate four decades of 96 Rock with 38 Special at the Desert Diamond Casinos and Entertainment down in Sahuarita... Baptized in the setting of a John Mellencamp song, this brotherhood of Heartland rockers distill their Southern and Midwestern roots through the filter of '80s FM radio. The Artisanals "Pound the Rock" at Club Congress. With musical camaleón and curandero Carlos Arzate... The September edition of Resonance Monthly features, from L.A., rising electronic duo Hi I'm Ghost. They are taking the EDM scene by storm with their unique (somewhat quirky) take on bass music. Feel the quake at Gentle Ben's... Like Aves filling their four-chambered hearts with joy, soaring where the clouds of emotion no longer obscure the clear sight of the soul, Birds and Arrows shoot bolts of deliverance (and a righteous dose of unabashed rock 'n' roll). At Tap + Bottle-Downtown...Until next week, XOXO...
