If you caught a show Calexico's latest tour, you heard a lot of new music from their new album, The Thread That Keeps Us. That's because vocalist and guitarist Joey Burns and drummer John Convertino are not musicians who are content to rest on their laurels. Sure, they'll play some of the older songs for longtime fans, but they leaned hard into the 2018 release, keeping their act fresh. Blessed with the likes of guitarist Jairo Zavala, keyboardist Sergio Mendoza, trumpeters Martin Wenk and Jacob Valenzuela and bassist Scott Collberg, Calexico remains a vital band a good two decades after the release of their first album, Spoke. And rumor has it they'll be treating Tucsonans to one more show this year at the Loft Film Fest, so you'd better get your passes today.
Runners up:
2. Miss Olivia and the Interlopers
3. Ryanhood
