Cover Story
Life comes full circle for musician Billy Shaw Jr.
Tucson native Billy Shaw Jr. has been playing music “forever,” but now he’s ready to release his debut record. “It’s so weird,” said Shaw, donning his trademark black framed glasses. “I’ve recorded a couple demo songs, never a full album. We — my wife and I — had kicked it around the past several years.…
Art comes to life during portrait festival
Artist Lauri Kaye encountered a man experiencing homelessness. Like most everyday events, it inspired her, but this time it led to an entire collection. “Tucson Portrait Stories” focused on the people, places and events that make the city distinctive. She will display those pieces during a “Night at the Museum”-inspired event on Sunday, March 12,…
Changes afoot at Tucson Improv Movement
Tucson Improv Movement has just embarked on its most ambitious season since it first took to the stage 10 years ago. With a cast now close to 70, the company offers seven different shows every week, Thursday through Saturday, including a recently expanded series of standup shows. The company’s improv and standup training programs now…
Bluegrass festival is about music and community
Bluegrass music takes on various forms, whether it’s traditional or “newgrass,” and can blend rock, folk or Americana. From Friday, March 10, to Sunday, March 12, the Desert Bluegrass Festival at Gladden Farms Community Park will highlight these various forms. The festival is organized by the Desert Bluegrass Association, an all-volunteer nonprofit founded in 1995.…
Bassist shreds the pre-roll competition with 22Red
When System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian founded 22Red, his fans and friends said he should have a strain named after him. But he was quick to nix that because he wanted to establish a lifestyle brand, not just a celebrity effort. The company’s mission is to create an amplified cannabis lifestyle that celebrates…
Local author hosts grassroots ‘Noir’ in OV
Author Patrick Whitehurst saw a need for a Noir at the Bar in Tucson so he did what any other enterprising writer would do. He started one himself. Tucson Noir at the Bar is set for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 15, at Firetruck Brewing Company in Oro Valley. It’s being held in conjunction with Left…
Spectacularly going nowhere around the garden
John Carmichael has a serious avocation. Hidden behind a bit of leafy screen in his front yard is evidence of his devotion to craft. There sits a garden train. It sounds prosaic enough, but one peek and the viewer will be amazed at the technology, the engineering, the electronics, the artistry and the mechanics of…
City Week: Weekly Picks
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,…
Tucson Salvage: The forever haunting of The Pied Piper of Tucson
A story of that night haunts my imagination since childhood. The musky scent of creosote and beer, a towering saguaro aimed at the heavens. The grim shadows of a mesquite tree splayed across her bloody skin, her flowered blouse, swimsuit and rubber thongs. In a desert wash east of Tucson, 15-year-old Alleen Rowe was raped,…
Live Music Calendar March 9 to March 15
MARCH 9 Deke Dickerson & the Whippersnappers w/Frank and Deans Hotel Congress Plaza, 7:30 p.m., $15 Emily Xander Quartet The Century Room, 9 p.m., free-$10 Instrumental Golden Boots LaCo Tucson, 6 p.m., free MattstaGraham and Raccoon Tour Club Congress, 6 p.m., $12 Rob Boone Quartet The Century Room, 6 p.m., free-$10 MARCH 10 Data Data,…
