1996 was the year Jonathan Holden kicked off Tucson’s Rhythm and Roots concert series, guided by the philosophy that “music is medicine.”

“That means music is a language we can all speak,” said Susan Holden, who’s been behind the wheel of the Americana program since her husband’s unexpected passing in 2012. 

“It can lift you up into a better place. It can just transport you. Make you feel better. Make the grief take the backseat.”

A final trio of shows in October and November will play out Rhythm and Roots’ 30 years in Tucson, beginning with two La Rosa concerts: the Paul Thorn Band on Oct. 23 and Riders in the Sky on Nov. 8. Steep Canyon Rangers will crown the series with a Nov. 22 performance at Fox Tucson Theatre.    

In the ‘90s, Jonathan Holden worked in Tucson venues booking roots, folk, bluegrass and world music acts. This was when the Fox Theater was a place to catch tetanus and a trespassing charge. The Rialto had been, in chronological order: a porno theater, a Spanish-language theater, and the condemned remnants of a steam-boiler explosion. Not many musicians blew into town in those days. 

Jonathan invited notable Americana artists to Tucson, and they came. According to Susan Holden, Americana consists of the nation’s classic, homegrown music traditions. 

“I think of Bakersfield, California; Nashville, Tennessee; Muscle Shoals, Alabama; Memphis,” Holden said. “Things that were truly born in America.”  

Richie Havens, Maria Muldaur, Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women, the Savoy Family Band, Ralph Stanley, and Doc Watson sit among the Rhythm and Roots alumnus. Looking back on the last thirty years, Susan Holden recalls some standouts, including Texas Tornados with Flaco Jiménez — a Tejano supergroup of the 90s — and late outlaw-country songster Billie Joe Shaver. Recently, she has taken a shine to California quartet AJ Lee & Blue Summit. 

All along, Jonathan was assembling an army of volunteers dedicated to Rhythm and Roots’ mission. So when he passed in 2012, Susan inherited a community to help her carry the torch.

“They were wonderful,” Holden said. 

“David Slutes at Hotel Congress, Craig Sumberg at the Fox, and Bob Corritore from the Rhythm Room in Phoenix, they all were so kind to reach out to me and say ‘send me your contracts, send me what you’re in the middle of, and let me help.’” 

Corritore left the Rhythm Room in August of this year. Slutes is now co-owner of Tucson’s La Rosa, and Sumberg made his way to New York. The tectonic plates beneath Tucson’s music scene are always shifting, which is one of two reasons that Susan Holden decided to end the Rhythm and Roots series. 

“We’re so lucky because we have so many venues now,” Holden explained. “When I started thinking about ending it in 2012, a lot of agents said, well, who will do this? There’s nobody else doing these smaller shows.’” 

“You wouldn’t put someone who draws 150 people at the Fox. But Hotel Congress is open to it, 191 (Toole) is open to it, and La Rosa has been pretty good about it.”

The other reason: thirty years had a nice ring to it. 

“It just felt like a good, even number to end it on,” Holden said. 

The three-show run begins on Oct. 23 with the Paul Thorn Band. Paul Thorn is a blues, country, and southern rock artist, former champion prizefighter and professional skydiver, son of a preacher and nephew of a pimp, and writes songs like one. His discography is replete with memorable tunes like “Joni, the Jehovah’s Witness Stripper” and “I Don’t Like Half the Folks I Love.”

“I wouldn’t say it’s gospel, but man, there’s a hint of gospel in there. Because it’s soulful, but he really throws in some ‘don’t let them rob your joy, tough times don’t last,’ that kind of thing.”

“He’ll make you laugh, but if you really struggle with something in your life — and so many of us aren’t religious these days — his music just has that kind of ‘climb that mountain and get through it, and don’t let these assholes steal your joy.’”

The Nov. 8 act, Riders in the Sky, are “true Nashville” by Holden’s approximation. A family friendly Western Music and comedy group, Riders in The Sky has released over 40 albums since 1977, starred in its own television series and NPR radio-drama, and composed tunes for films like “Toy Story 2,” for which the group won a Grammy.  

“They’re like watching something you’d see on TV,” Holden said. “It’s like a vintage western-music radio hour. They’re adorable.”

The series will close out on Nov. 22 with a performance by Grammy-winning bluegrass outfit Steep Canyon Rangers. Formed in 2000 in North Carolina, Steep Canyon Rangers has released nine critically acclaimed solo albums, and is celebrated for its collaborations with comedian Steve Martin.  

“They’re that Appalachian, Piedmont bluegrass sound,” Holden said. 

“That is my last show, and that will be at the Fox. And it’s interesting because, When Jonathan died, the first show that I was involved in was at the Fox. And so I feel like it’s come full-circle.”  

RHYTHM AND ROOTS FINAL SHOWS

WHEN: Paul Thorn Band (Oct. 23), Riders in the Sky (Nov. 8) Steep Canyon Rangers (Nov. 22)

WHERE: La Rosa (Oct. 23, Nov. 8), Fox Tucson Theatre (Nov. 22)

MORE INFO: rhythmandroots.org