THURSDAY, MARCH 17
“Damn Right I’ve Got the Blues.” Born
in Lettsworth, Louisiana, the son of sharecroppers, this storied Chicago
bluesman picked cotton for $2.50 per
100 pounds while learning to play the
guitar on a two-string diddley bow he
made. By the 1960s he rose to become
the house guitarist at fabled Chess
Records. By bending new curves into
a blue note, his innovative style influenced Hendrix, Page, Richards, Clapton
and more. Rock & Roll Hall of Famer
Buddy Guy holds court. At Rialto
Theatre…
Mining a rocky field of sound
strewn with sparkly guitars and opalescent synths, these alt-rockers formed in
Tempe in 2007. Frontman John O’Callaghan tells Alternative Press how
the anxiety witnessed throughout the
world during quarantine influenced the
writing process on XOXO: From Love
and Anxiety in Real Time (2021). “The
idea of the world coming to a halt minimized a lot of the talk. It became more
like, ‘Let’s create instead of talk about
creating.’” The Maine. At 191 Toole…
In the expanse between the fertile soil
of East Africa’s EDM club scene and
that of the less-cultivated metal underground emerges Duma. On their self-titled debut album (2020), death growl
vocalist Martin Khanja and producer/
guitarist Sam Karugu cross-fertilize
spermatozoa—the darkly atmospheric
techno menace of Perc with the sonic
doom of Sunn O)))—to spawn lethal
tracks of feral intensity forever expanding the boundaries of African metal.
The Guardian opines, “[These] extreme
Kenyan metalheads bring doom to the
dancefloor.” Duma. At Club Congress…
This L.A. DJ/producer’s big booty
shaking bass and techno are certified
party starters. FreakOn headlines Electronic St. Patty’s Day. With Westcoast
go-go crew the AfterGlow Dancers. At
The Rock…
Fiddler Billy Shaw Jr. and
his band of merry cohorts put the “luck
of the Irish” to the test. At Whiskey
Roads…
Specializing in Celtic-inspired
music, Cleavers & Clovers perform
once a year to observe the death of the
patron saint of Ireland. At Tap + Bottle
(downtown)…
FRIDAY,MARCH 18
A first-generation Swede—his Argentinian parents fled from a right-
wing junta in their native land—indie
folk singer José González first rose
to prominence in the early aughts
fronting Junip. Recorded at his home
studio near the coast of the North
Sea in a lush forest of birch and pine,
Local Valley (2021)—the first album
where he sings in English, Spanish,
and Swedish—again finds González
alone with a nylon-stringed Spanish
guitar. Immersing himself in an array
of books by some of the world’s most
august thinkers, González tells NPR,
“Many of the songs have a crystal-clear,
secular humanist agenda: anti-dogma,
pro-reason. There’s no political agenda.
The focus is on underlying worldviews,
and on our existential questions as
smart apes on a quest to understand
ourselves and our place in the cosmos.”
José González. At Rialto Theater…
Experience a dynamic array of chamber music’s best artists. Anchored by
the esteemed Dover Quartet, Arizona
Friends of Chamber Music present
the Tucson Winter Chamber Music
Festival. Runs through March 20. At
Leo Rich Theater…
Maestro José Luis
Gomez leads the Tucson Symphony
Orchestra through The Splendor of
Brahms. In the first of two performances. At Tucson Music Hall…
From the
streets of New Jersey to the Rock & Roll
Hall of Fame, this Grammy and Tony
Award-winning musical brings the
story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons to life. Jersey Boys. Runs through
March 22. At Centennial Hall…
Reflecting on his surroundings with a sharp
pen, on Freewave 3 (2019), Westside
Chicago underground rapper Lucki
takes an unflinching look at his struggles with addiction (tagging himself a
fiend) and dysfunctional relationships.
After moving from Chicago to NYC
to be with a woman, in a dispassionate and slurred voice, on “More Than
Ever” Lucki raps, “I know she ain’t
loyal, but she makes me better.” Lucki.
2 Neptune N Back Tour. At 191 Toole…
Mashing together music and visual
art, this installment of Speakeasy pairs
indie rockers Female Gaze with artist
Ruben Urrea Moreno. At Habitation
Realty…
Gypsy jazz ensemble ZAZU
West salutes Django Reinhardt. At The
Century Room…
SATURDAY, MARCH 19
With poisonous flowers strewn through
their hair, Flor de Toloache formed a
sisterhood in 2008, emerging as NYC’s
first and only all-female mariachi. Their
sophomore release Las Caras Lindas
(2017) won a Latin Grammy award
for best ranchero/mariachi album,
breathing new life into a too often staid
and testosterone permeated genre.
Florecita Rock-ERA (2022)—an album
of reinterpreted classic Latin rock anthems—finds these intrepid aventureras
swapping out their embroidered bolero
jackets for studded black leather. Flor
de Toloache. At Fox Tucson Theatre…
Representing the four elements of hip
hop considered to be its pillars—deejaying (“turntabling”), rapping (“emceeing”), graffiti painting (“tagging”)
and break dancing (“B-boying”), THHF
is a celebration of hip hop culture in
the Southwest. Smif-N-Wessun and
Che Noir top a bill featuring over 100
acts. Tucson Hip Hop Festival 2022:
2 Days, 7 Stages, 2 Locations. At 191
Toole and UA Poetry Center…
Growing up in Houston, rapper Mike Jones was close with his grandmother. In
an interview with the Houston Press,
Jones credits her with giving him
the ideas to pursue rap and to write
songs for strippers. Mike Jones. At
Club 4th Avenue…
Bluesman Carvin
Jones sets his Stratocaster ablaze. At
The Rock…
This South Carolina sextet
christened themselves Marshall Tucker
after finding a keyring with the piano
tuner’s name emblazoned on it in an
old rehearsal space. Over the course of
a career spanning five decades, they
helped popularize Southern rock in the
1970s. The Marshall Tucker Band. 50th
Anniversary Tour. At Tucson Music
Hall. With special guest Dave Mason…
Portland post-punks Soft Kill’s latest,
Dead Kids R.I.P. City (2020), depicts a
desolate city where a post-punk underground scene once thrived. Soft Kill.
At Club Congress…
After struggling
to obtain a visa for years, Mexican
reggaeton rapper José Luis Maldonado
Ramos, vowed that he would not return
to the U.S. until Donald Trump no longer occupied the presidency. C-Kan:
Mi canción USA Tour. At Encore…
Songstress Gabrielle Pietrangelo
performs two sets outdoors. At Hotel
Congress Plaza…
Commemorating
28 years of sun scorched fury, Greyhound Soul circle the wagons. At Che’s
Lounge…
Lap-slide, fingerstyle blues,
gritty twang guitarist Joe Novelli adds
his own original high-octane twist to
American roots music. At MotoSonora
Brewing Company…
The After Hours Quintet perform
straight ahead and contemporary jazz.
Flor de Toloache After Party. At The
Century Room…
Mr. Crowley: A Tribute to Ozzy cover the hits. At House of
Bards…
SUNDAY, MARCH 20
“I’ve joked in the past that if you take
Noel Gallagher (Oasis) and Trent Reznor
(NIN) then a Bob Moses song is somewhere in the middle,” Jimmy Vallance
tells Euphoria. While the world stood still,
Vancouver-bred electronic duo Bob Moses were in pre-production. “During the
pandemic we really dove into some of our
favorite records. Tears for Fears’ Songs
From the Big Chair is one of the best
blends of rock and dance ever released.
U2’s Achtung Baby is another.” Eager to
share A Silence in Between (2022), Tom
Howie enthuses, “We’ve been working
hard on putting together a setlist for this
tour. We mix songs live like a DJ would,
[except] with a full band. It creates this
awesome dynamic energy.” Bob Moses.
At Rialto Theater…
As a youth, Canadian
country singer Corb Lund felt apprehensive about the church. In an interview
with Gigcity, he explains. “At the time, I
thought, ‘Well, I don’t like doing chores,
either. It’s just something you’ve got to
do.’ As it turns out, my instincts were
correct. I’m definitely not religious.” Corb
Lund. At 191 Toole…
Brooklyn art punks,
bring their latest, Audio Drag For Ego
Slobs (2021). Gustaf. At Club Congress.
Tucson’s Weekend Lovers open the
show…
Blues singer Amanda Fish turns
a spark into flame. With Bad News Blues
Band. Congress Cookout. At Hotel Congress Patio…
New Orleans garage-psych
crew Silver Synthetic are on the road
promoting their self-titled album debut.
At Groundworks…
MONDAY, MARCH 21
In what has been described as a “bizarro”
yet “brilliant sequel” to 2007’s Colors—
grafting together an unholy union of gospel and thrash, ragtime and bossa nova—
Between the Buried and Me’s Colors II
(2021) stands as an epic work. But striving
to reach the high-water mark set by
Colors was no easy task. Kerrang named
the album one of the 21 best metalcore
albums of all time. “You feel the internal
pressure. It’s a gut feeling. [It’s] like, ‘Fuck
man, if we don’t knock it out of the park,
the rug could get pulled out from under
us.’” Between The Buried And Me.
Human Is Hell Tour. At 191 Toole…
TUESDAY, MARCH 22
After changing their name from Glut Trip
to Clutch—telling fans that it stood for
City/State Liberation Union To Cleanse
Humanity—these Maryland stoner
rockers began to gain popularity with
their debut release Transnational Speedway League: Anthems, Anecdotes and
Undeniable Truths (1993). Metal Hammer
described the album as “a stark reminder of just how good angry music could
sound.” In an interview with Psychology
Today, frontman Neil Fallon casts light
on his songwriting process. “I’ve always
been attracted to the idea of a tall tale. But
any story, take myth for example, may be
filled with half-truths.” On 2018’s Book of
Bad Decisions (the band’s 12th studio al-
bum), they “Release the Kraken.” Clutch.
At Rialto Theater…
These agents of chaos
unleash their brand of crushing doom
metal. YOB. At Club Congress…
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23
Blues is about struggle, sadness and despair tempered by the redemptive voice
of gospel. On “Kiss Of Death” (off of
2013’s Midnight Blue) Tinsley Ellis adds
in melodrama. “If I can’t have you baby,
I might as well drink gasoline.” A “bona
fi de, worldwide guitar hero,” while in his
youth—before discovering “The King of
the Blues” BB King—his ears were captivated by the roar of the British Invasion
and “tied to the whipping post” Southern
rockers. Tinsley Ellis. Devil May Care
Tour. At 191 Toole…
Until next week, XOXO
This article appears in Mar 17-23, 2022.