Cover Stories
Black Country, New Road to Make Arizona Debut in Tucson Amidst Artistic Transition
Sometimes headlines almost write themselves. While acclaimed English art-rock sextet Black Country, New Road are making their first ever Arizona appearance Tuesday, September 20 at the Hotel Congress Plaza with fellow UK post-punkers Black MIDI, the band is undergoing extraordinary personal and musical transformations while on tour in America. One could almost write “Black Country,…
Review: ‘Pearl’ adds depth — and kills — to ‘X’ villain’s backstory
When Ti West’s “X” was released in theaters back in March, critics and audiences alike were largely impressed with the 1970s throwback slasher film, which was a sleazy little affair that saw a group of amateur adult filmmakers fall into the hands of a murderous elderly couple in rural Texas. Mia Goth notably stars as…
Medical tattooing is gratifying to artist Kerry Soraci
Walking toward the back of Black Rose’s Sixth Avenue tattoo shop, a set of stairs that leads up to Kerry Soraci’s private room for medical tattooing awaits. The use of tattooing to create the appearance of the nipple-areola complex was introduced by Hilton Becker, plastic surgeon, in 1986 according to the Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive…
Tucson artist Bill Owens spreads the musical love
Tucson musician Bill Owens doesn’t stick to one sound with his music. With his recent projects Blunt Objects, DEO Toy and DID NOT!, he has been showcasing different sides of himself as an artist with various collaborators. Owens is a multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter with an interest in ’60s British invasion and ’80s alternative music. While…
Kevin Larkin offers interactive Pineross show
Kevin Larkin has always taken an experimental, unconventional approach to music, including with his solo project Pineross. His newest Pineross album, “Dragoon,” has a similar focus as his previous work, blending history and mythology with current experiences of humankind. To create it, he used a revolving group of musicians. Larkin will celebrate the Aug. 19…
The piano, man
Music works best when it hangs on a nostalgia for people, places and things, or if it allows deep cravings and unsettled thoughts to be nursed or consoled. It is the one thing that can simplify life down to the very moment in which I am breathing. I know when I lose sight of this…
Sonoran Explorin’: My date with an anteater
Some people might think it’s ridiculous to be afraid of anteaters. To those people, I would first say, “’Well, have you ever seen how weird an anteater looks?” and then “Yes, I agree it’s ridiculous.” My phobia of anteaters started in high school, when I saw a video of a pet tamandua anteater walking on…
Husband: More conversations needed about Alzheimer’s
When Debi Hall was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in March 2020, she wanted to end it all. Hearing those words, her husband, Mark, called the Alzheimer’s Association’s 24/7 Helpline, whose staff immediately contacted her neurologist. Debi was prescribed an antidepressant that lifted her mood. “It took her probably a year before she just came to…
Tucson ‘lego masters’ hoping to build on longtime hobby
Liam Norris has been playing with Legos since he was 6. Starring on FOX’s “Lego Masters” with his mom, Emily Mohajeri Norris, the UA W.A. Franke Honors College freshman may parlay those talents into a $100,000 cash prize. They’re the first mother-son team on the show. The third season of “Lego Masters” starts Wednesday, Sept.…
Rescue Me Marana celebrating its first anniversary
Rescue Me Tucson’s board and volunteers want to help all animals find their forever homes. The nonprofit operates Rescue Me Marana, a collaborative-based pet adoption center that aids multiple Tucson and Southern Arizona rescues and shelters. Rescue Me Tucson board president Nancy Young Wright said the center provides consumers with a compassionate alternative to pet…
City Week: Weekly Picks
Drop everything! Here come Gertie and the T.O. Boyz Gertie and the T.O. Boys keep alive the music and spirit of Waila, the traditional social dance of the Tohono O’odham culture. The award-winning, first-call waila band in the Southwest, Gertie and the Boys are rarely seen outside celebrations in the life of the reservation. Waila…
Survivor Shield Foundation offers funding to victims
Survivor Shield Foundation — a nonprofit that provides direct and discrete financial assistance to survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence — will celebrate its one-year anniversary on Saturday, Sept. 17. Founded by 19-year-old Jake Martin, a UA sophomore studying history and Spanish, Survivor Shield Foundation started as a lobbying organization to meet with governmental…
Ja! Ja! Ja! with ‘carcajadas’
“Wouldn’t it be cool to do improv in our native language?” According to Tucson Improv Movement’s Czarina Nafarrate, that thought is what launched the popular “Carcajadas” (laughter) show now staged quarterly at the TIM Comedy Theater. It was around 2018 when Nafarrate and fellow Latina Sara Alcazar Silva found themselves speaking in Spanish to each…
Beads of Courage hosts fourth annual celebration
Local nonprofit with a global impact, Beads of Courage, celebrates its fourth World Beads of Courage Day on Thursday, Sept. 15, during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. The organization, which offers an innovative “arts-in-medicine” approach to improve the quality of life of children coping with serious illnesses, was founded in 2003 by Jean Gribbon. The festivities…
Tucson native finds her home backstage with ‘lion king’
Tucson native Michelle Scalpone worked in New York and for Disney, but she’s coming full circle as the juggernaut’s Broadway show, “The Lion King,” rolled into town. Scalpone grew up in Tucson, she has worked in New York and for Disney, but is back in Arizona this upcoming July for the national tour of Disney’s…
XOXO: Mark Your Calendar
Thursday, Sept. 15 With a guitar in hand, a harmonica around his neck and stomping box under foot, Mexican gypsy troubadour Salvador Duran y amigos — Sergio Mendoza, Esther Valverde y Mexican folk harpist Adrian Perez — kick off Hispanic Heritage Month on the plaza at Hotel Congress… In partnership with the Consulate of Mexico…
Savage Love: Police States
There is more to this week’s Savage Love. To read the entire column, go to Savage.Love. I’m monogamous and have been dating my boyfriend who identifies as straight for a little over a year. He told me that he had a strict “no contact with exes” policy when we first met. Due to some sketchy behavior,…
Not-for-profit princesses serve the community
When Jeka Bosworth goes out, she takes on a new name: Isabela, just like the character from Disney’s “Encanto.” She can identify with her. “I know what it’s like being the oldest daughter, the child who needs to be the perfect child,” Bosworth said. “In the movie, Isabela breaks out. She lets go of the…
Budtenders: Eva Halvax, Hana Meds-Green Valley
Record sales for adult/recreational marijuana use is still climbing in Arizona. Originally ADOR reported April’s sales at an estimate of $75.5 million, but the revised estimate is higher at $81.2 million. That makes April the best month in the recreational cannabis sales. But June could be in line to beat April’s record sales. According to…
Las Hermanas brewing collaboration set to debut
Borderlands Brewing Co. WILL release its limited edition Las Hermanas, or “the sisters,” beer on Friday, Sept. 16, at a public release party. Las Hermanas is a collaboration between Hispanic female brewers hailing from both sides of the U.S./Mexico border. About 30 female brewers arrived at Voltron Brewing Co. on Aug. 26 to participate in…
Philanthropy made easy by CFSA
I have been a donor for over 20 years. I get so much joy from supporting my community, especially when my family decides together on a donation or strategy for our modest-but-important-to-us philanthropy. I consider myself an organized person. I even have a lot of spreadsheets to my name. And my job is to lead…
Procession allows the public to honor lost loved ones
The All Souls Procession draws thousands of people to Tucson to honor and grieve for the dead. In its 33rd year, the 2-mile procession starts at 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 6, at Grande Avenue and Speedway Boulevard, and they walk to the MSA Annex, 267 S. Avenida del Covento. It is the flagship event of…
Ireland’s Fontaines D.C. finds U.S. visits a rollercoaster
Conor Deegan is sometimes shocked by the kindness of Americans. The bassist for the Irish band Fontaines D.C. was crossing a street in Detroit when a car’s passenger shouted a compliment. “Americans are underrated for how nice they are in general,” Deegan said. “It was really nice to experience going around America, to go to…
Little King fetes 25th anniversary with Tucson show
From the start, progressive/dynamic rock trio Little King has had a connection to Tucson. The group’s singer and guitarist, Ryan Rosoff, moved to Tucson briefly in the ’90s to attend school at UA and recently returned to Tucson in August 2020. For the first time since 2006, Little King — which includes Rosoff, drummer Eddy…
Guitar icon Gabriel Ayala stretches his roots
Gabriel Ayala has been wowing crowds with his masterful guitarwork for decades. Graduating from the University of Arizona with a master’s in music performance in 1997, the Yaqui maestro has been honing his craft as a performer and composer since. Ayala is best known for coining “JazzMenco” — a fusion of flamenco and jazz that…
