Gillian Margot with the Geoffrey Keezer Trio
Gillian Margot joins Grammy-winning pianist Geoffrey Keezer for four shows in the intimately stylish Century Room. A jazz prodigy, Keezer was backing Art Blakey by the time he was 18, and touring with the likes of Joshua Redman, Diana Krall and Benny Golson in his 20s. More recently, he produced and arranged three Grammy-nominated recordings with vocalist Denise Donatelli. Keezer’s latest album features original music with vocals by Margot.
7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Friday, March 10, and Saturday, March 11, The Century Room, Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress Street, hotelcongress.com, tickets start at $25.
Folk-rock/surf/dreampop
The good news/bad news about the atomization of music consumption is that somewhere in the world there may be new music that resonates just for you, and the internet can help you find it. Luckily, there are still live bands playing music we loved and hardly ever hear any more. Dawson Hollow is five siblings from the Ozarks with an “indie Americana” sound, openly nostalgic, and singularly hopeful, in five-part sibling harmony. Nite Tides opens.
7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 9, Sea of Glass, 330 E. Seventh Street, theseaofglass.org/calendar, tickets start at $8.46
Startup drinks at Westbound
Startup Tucson, an organization to encourage and support entrepreneurs, hosts a monthly mixer for making both business and social connections. Their online guide to Tucson’s startup ecosystem is comprehensive, and fun to peruse, but at some point, entrepreneurs need customers, vendors and colleagues. This monthly event helps serve that need as does their first-Thursday startup coffee and speaker series, educational programs throughout the year and the annual TENWEST conference.
5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Thursday, March 9, Westbound, MSA Annex, 267 S. Avenida del Convento, startuptucson.com, free
Heart Strong: Bringing your whole self to leadership
YWCA Southern Arizona’s 34th annual Women’s Leadership Conference presents workshops and a panel devoted to how strong leaders develop confidence, manage finances and cultivate self-care — like sensory breaks and mindfulness practices — to manage the inevitable stress.
8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday, March 10, Health Sciences Innovation Building, 1670 E. Drachman Street, ywcatucson.org, $69 to $298
Romeo and Juliet
Owing to UA Professor Brent Gibbs’ international notoriety as a stage combat director, our imagination swerved to “West Side Story” when we learned of his “uniquely American” take on “Romeo and Juliet.” The world has turned again since Shakespeare’s time and again since 1957 when “West Side Story” debuted on Broadway but love and tragedy abide. Gibbs strips things down and sets the play in Kentucky, just down the road from the notorious Hatfields and McCoys.
Multiple times and dates through Sunday, March 19, University of Arizona School of Theatre, Film & Television, Tornabene Theatre, 1025 N. Olive Road, theatre.arizona.edu, $32, $15 students
“Water Is Life” Southwest Music and Resistance Festival
Indigenous issues and environmental concerns share the spotlight at this event, modeled on the annual “Water is Life Fest” in Duluth, Minnesota. It’s billed as “an indigenous peoples’ benefit concert” headlined by Keith Secola, who’s been likened to a native counterpart to Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen, and featuring Papago Warrior, Rebel Diaz, XIXA, Giant Sand, David Huckfelt, Gary Farmer, DJentrification, One Way Sky, Cihuatl CE, Humblllianess, DJ Q and Lady Gugu. Indigenous artists and cultural experiences, and environmental activism, round out the event. Hosts are the Indigenous and women-led organization, Honor the Earth and KXCI Community Radio, sponsor.
1 p.m. Saturday, March 11, MSA Annex, 267 S. Avenida del Convento, https://bit.ly/waterislifesouthwest, $30, kids under 12 are free.
Tucson Fiddle Contest
Hosted by the Old-Time Fiddlers Association since 1940, this fiddle-off attracts dozens of the best fiddlers in the Southwest. For the first time this year, it’s a feature of the Second Saturday Farmers Market at Steam Pump Ranch. Bring lawn chairs and blankets for the music, but you can also enjoy kids’ crafts in the gardens, historic tours of the Pusch house, archaeological demonstrations, a Western and American antique fair, craft vendors and the Heirloom Farmers Markets.
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 11, Steam Pump Ranch, 10901 N. Oracle Road, Oro Valley, ovhistory.org/event, free
SARSEF Science and Engineering Fair
Pre-K through 12th grade, these kids today know their STEM. The annual SARCEF Regional Fair, enables them to add project management to their portfolio. After all, in the adult world it may not be enough to just make a thing. There’s likely research, planning, organizing, deadlines, competition and presentation to critical-thinking strangers. But there’s also pride and cash rewards.
9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily to Saturday, March 11, online and at Gene C. Reid Park, 800 S. Concert Place, sarsef.org/sarsef-fair, free
Mr. Bing’s presents Lizzy and her Contra Band
L.A. chanteuse Lizzy Shapiro has achieved diva status even on Broadway. Her repertoire is a parade of hits from the ’40s and ’50s, from Billie Holiday to Benny Goodman. She’s a perfect fit for the immersive retro experience of Mr. Bing’s. Hats? Gloves? Wear them if you’ve got them. Admission includes a live swing band, dancing and Lizzy’s floor show as well as a buffet of fine Italian cuisine.
5:30 p.m. Saturday, March 11, Mister Bing’s Supper Club, Savoy Opera House, Trail Dust Town, 6541 E. Tanque Verde Road, Suite 13, misterbingspresents.com/supperclub, tickets start at $40
Sustainable Landscapes Expo
This family-friendly event is designed to help us get smarter about efficient water use and sustainable landscaping. For kids, there’s Mr. Nature’s Music Garden with music and dancing. Tucson water conservation icon Brad Lancaster will give a presentation about rainwater and neighborhood forestry and there will be interactive activities, food trucks and giveaways, including 200 free trees donated by Civano nursery.
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 11, 4210 N. Campbell Avenue (enter from Roger Road), pimasmartscape.arizona.edu, free, but registration is requested.
This article appears in Mar 9-15, 2023.