Thursday, April 14
Once upon a time, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, there emerged a mythic band from the UK: Led Zeppelin. For 27 years, ZoSo have provided a ticket to board a time machine back to an era in rock history that defined glamor and excess. The attention to detail is impressive. Yet, it’s more than verisimilitude. It’s the musicianship—from guitarist John McDaniel’s spot-on rendition of Jimmy Page’s complex solo on “The Song Remains the Same” to drummer Bevan Davies’ savage barehanded drum pounding, as the mighty John Bonham once did, during “Moby Dick.” Although Zoso are not the real deal, they come crashing down with the fury of Thor’s hammer. ZoSo: The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience. At Rialto Theater. Local AC-DC tribute The Jack open…
Fox Tucson Theatre presents Troubadour Thursdays. Birds and Arrows are next to take the stroll, cooing their mellifluous birdsong, scattering bite sized morsels at downtown eatery patios along the way. See foxtucson.com for details…
Delivering their unique blend of reggae/rock/Latin/funk and soul, Los Streetlight Curb Players teams up with roots reggae/dub/rockers ZeeCeeKeely. At Club Congress…
“Ride the tide and trust the knowing.” Keli Carpenter and the Big Dream return. At Tap & Bottle Downtown…
Phoenix-based singer-songwriter (frontman for Fayuca) Gabo Fayuca blends “acoustic reggae with a sultry bilingual twist.” With Randy Vega. At Chicago Bar… A new trio of old vets (Steve Grams, Gary Mackender and Lex Browning) are dropping the top and taking their sweet ride out for another spin around the block. The Tirebiters. At House of Bards…
Psych trance, tech trance enthusiast, enter the Trance Vortex. Local DJs spin. At The Rock…
Finding common interest in hyper noisy ’90s guitars, well-crafted lyrics, and a love for country music, Asheville, North Carolina country-gazers Wednesday effectively combine sadness and humor. Flanked by Mute Swan and Commoner. At Groundworks…
Friday, April 15
Inspired by the new wave of British heavy metal, from their inception in the SF Bay Area (1983), Testament quickly rose to become one of the most popular and influential bands of the thrash metal scene. Their latest release, Titans of Creation (2020), is a continuum of conviction. Vocalist Chuck Billy—of the Pomo Tribe of Northern California—tells The Rockpit, “When we started working on the record, I was still in ancient alien mode. The first song we wrote was “Children Of The Next Level” about the Heaven’s Gate cult. Some of the songs have a real Egyptian or Eastern sound, [like] “Code Of Hammurabi” or “Ishtar’s Gate.” Next thing you know we started writing about serial killers and mass suicides and cult stuff.” On “The Healers” Billy describes his own experience with medicine men, the elders of the earth, and how they helped him heal from past illness. Testament. The Bay Strikes Back Tour. With Exodus and Death Angel. At Rialto Theater…
Commingling the improvisational spirit of psychedelic jam bands, prog rock, and jazz with EDM dance beats, The Bennu promises to take listeners on an galactic journey. At Hotel Congress Plaza. Followed by El Tambó. DJ Humblelianess presides over Tucson’s longest running Latinx baile sin fronteras…
This acoustic duo—composed of Mark Anthony Febbo and Oscar Fuentes—perform Ameri-Mexicana for the betterment of the human soul. FebboFuentes. At Saint Charles Tavern…
From NYC, virtuoso saxophonist Will Anderson performs the music of Duke Ellington. Followed by a descent into the haze with Morani Sanders Quartet. Late Night. At The Century Room…
Saturday, April 16
Kind of like a smooth smoky whisky. Gangstagrass combine authentic bluegrass and rap to form a new genre. In theory an unholy alliance, one that will likely find purists scratching their heads in disbelief, yet despite that disparity, in actual practice this musical marriage is starting to make sense. Rolling Stone says of the band’s reinterpretation of Woodie Guthrie’s classic, “If this land is yours, it’s certainly ours. With its processed banjo, record scratches, and verses that address some of Guthrie’s historical blind spots (“Assume the land is yours, but also take the blame/For native blood spilled/Tribes that fell ill”), Gangstagrass offer a most welcome renovation of the folkie national anthem.” At 191 Toole…
With live (in some cases rare) performances by Giant Sand, Sidewinders, River Roses, Fish Karma, Chuck Wagon and the Wheels, Naked Prey, Caitlin von Schmidt, Gila Bend, Billy Sedlmayr, and Wayback Machine and screenings of director Maggie Smith’s documentary film The Whole Enchilada: The History of Desert Rock. (A film premiere and book/album release event). At Hotel Congress Plaza…
Later, DJs Bex & Halsero flood the dancefloor with hot jams, outdoors. Posi & Walters The Don man the decks inside the club. At Hotel Congress…
Be prepared to dance with abandon. Connie Brannock’s Little House of Funk play “Sonoran Soul” music. At Monterey Court…
“Goin’ a million miles an hour/Headed out to where the down boys go.” Robert Mason (lead singer of Warrant) performs with Tucson hard rocker’s Drop D. The Women Warriors* Benefit Concert (assisting female veterans adjust to civilian life). At Encore…
Family fun. Playing music from the British Invasion. Kinda Kinks entertain outdoors. At Plaza Palomino… A vital part of Tucson’s jazz scene and one of the leaders of the award-winning Tucson Jazz Institute, Scott Black & Tucson Hard Bop Quartet pay homage to the great Blue Note recording artists of the 1950s and ’60s. At The Century Room…
Sunday, April 17
“These are the words that are old as the hills/Cooked on a diet of mushrooms and pills/One man’s crime is another man’s thrill and we’re gone.” Crafting melodies with near-childlike wonderment, on Everything Was Beautiful (2022) founding member Jason Pierce (aka J Spaceman) embarked on an epic journey. Recorded in 11 different studios, Pierce played 16 instruments and employed over 30 musicians including string and brass sections, choirs, finger bells and chimes from the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. Probing into his artistic process—the endless layers, the year-long mixing sessions and painstaking details taken by someone so famously unconfident—in an interview with journalist Andy Capper, Pierce offers insight. “Yeah, but I like what I do. There’s a line from Jonathan Meades [English writer/filmmaker] that’s about having all the attributes to being an artist. ‘Paranoia, vanity, selfishness, egotism, sycophancy, resentment, moral nullity and more idiot than idiot savant.’” There you have it. English space rockers Spiritualized. At Hotel Congress Plaza…
Trumpeter John Black hosts Jazz Jam session. At The Century Room…
Monday, April 18
Must be seen to be believed. With the release of their debut EP Sex is a Machine that Likes to Dance (2007) these “Hogtown” transplants, with tongue-in-cheek humor, were Poised To Dominate. Costumed with a sci-fi twist (their faces and real names remain unknown), while possessing Over The Top musical chops, these intergalactic discofied-electronic funksters interpret “the sound of the future as imagined in the 1980s.” New & Improved, TWRP (formerly known as Tupper Ware Remix Party) produce a furious heat in their funky-as-all-hell “Fusion Reactor.” At 191 Toole…
Last Night’s Makeup Party presents Club Whutever, a Monday night dance party featuring residents: DJs alice.km, Hot Leather Disco, and PC Party. At Tap Room Patio…
Tuesday, April 19
Utilizing traditional Mongolian throat singing, war cries and instrumentation—the morin khuur (horsehead fiddle), tovshuur (Mongolian guitar), and tumur khuur (jaw harp)—The HU is a Mongolian folk rock/heavy metal band. The band’s name is the root word for human being. Their (2020) reinterpretation of Metallica’s “Sad But True” has pricked up ears with its captivating sound. In an interview with NME, Galbadrakh “Gala” Tsendbaatar commented, “Like millions of people around the world, Metallica has been a huge influence and inspiration for us. It is a great honor to show them our respect by recording a version [of the song] in our language and style.” The Hu. Black Thunder Tour. At Rialto Theater…
Before reaching consensus, these English psychedelic blues rockers once considered calling themselves “Sweet ’n’ Sour Rock ’n’ Roll.” Imagine? Formed in London (1966)—consisting of Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Jack Bruce—Cream was an immediate chemical reaction, becoming the blueprint for super groups to follow. Five decades later, Kofi Baker (Ginger Baker’s son) and Will Johns (Eric Clapton’s nephew), with a shared DNA, not only pay tribute to the music of Cream but are keeping it alive. The Music of Cream perform the band’s landmark album Disraeli Gears (1967) in its entirety, in company with Clapton Classics. At Fox Tucson Theatre…
Milk Crater (music blog) aptly describes this SoCal reggae superband. “Pump the car stereo, hang your feet out of the passenger window and hop on the feel-good express.” Featuring members of Fishbone, The Ole’s, Seedless, and Phat Reggae Dub, Rebel ShakeDown. At Chicago Bar… All in the family. When not touring the world as longtime members of Steve Earle’s band the Dukes and Duchesses, this L.A. by way of Texas, husband-and-wife alt-country duo make inspired albums of their own. No Time for Love Songs (2020), their fourth release—recorded at legendary Sunset Sound Recorders with Shooter Jennings—explores the emotional challenges of a morally compromised era, and reflects the experiences that the pair has accumulated in their travels. The Mastersons. With The Whitmore Sisters. At Hotel Congress Plaza…
Wednesday, April 20
While sequestered during the pandemic, this band of Kentucky punk rockers wanted to write something different. The result: A Tear in the Fabric of Life (2021), a six-song concept EP that tells the story of a road trip gone wrong; a car accident, a tragic death, survivors’ guilt, and a reunion in death. Brutal. Knocked Loose. At Encore…
Steeped in their city’s rich musical history, these San Francisco rock & rollers bear the weighty torch of their predecessors and the lofty idea that rock ‘n roll can move a new generation. Tall order. The Stone Foxes bring Gold (2020), their new EP. With Brand New Trash. At 191 Toole…
In a joint venture, The Prime Leaf and Tucson Hop Shop present Beers & Buds IV. The Bennu add a pinch of “Indica Sativa” to the festivities. At Tucson Hop Shop…
Waging a War in My Pen. With his trademark woozy, mumbly flows and personal rhymes over abstract, lo-fi production, experimental hip hop artist Michael Jordan Bonema (aka MIKE) has set off seismic waves throughout the hip hop underground. He has been described as hip hop’s newest “wunderkind” and was tapped as one of the most important figures in contemporary hip-hop by the likes of Pitchfork, The Fader and The New Yorker. Not too shabby for a 23 year old. Earth’s Healing present a two-stage extravaganza to celebrate 4/20 featuring MIKE, Na-Kel Smith, Mercury, PSYPIRITUAL, Top Dead Center and a DJ set by Fat Tony. At Hotel Congress…
On the horizon: Earth, Wind & Fire. April 22. At AVA Amphitheater… J Balvin. April 22. At Tucson Convention Center… All That Remains. April 22. At Encore… Kristin Chonowith. April 22. At Fox Tucson Theatre… The Regrettes. April 23. At Rialto Theater… Built To Spill. April 23. At 191 Toole… Keith Secola. April 23. At Monterey Court… The Brian Jonestown Massacre with Mercury Rev. April 25. At Rialto Theater… And, the Pima County Fair brings The Village People, Scotty McCreery, A.B.Quintanilla, TI, Mammoth WVH, and more…
Until next week, XOXO…
This article appears in Apr 14-20, 2022.
