Patriotic Shenanigans
Wet Hot American Party. Celebrate America, Tucson style! Hotel Congress is throwing its annual kinda-4th-of-July themed bash, and it sounds like it's gonna be more extra than ever. Expect a water slide, giveaways and DJ performances from Jalph, Sid the Kid and more. 10 p.m. July 1. Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St. $3. Free if you wear a swimsuit or stars-and-stripes.
Tucson Saguaros Baseball and Fireworks. If you want to be extra-American and take in a baseball game with your fireworks show, head out to Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium, which is hosting a night full of games, entertainment, obstacle courses and more at its second annual 4th of July Diamonds in the Sky Celebration. The evening will kick off at 6 p.m. with a game between the Tucson Saguaros and Monterey Amberjacks, followed by a 30-minute fireworks show. During the game, face painting, jumping castles and an obstacle course will be set up for the kids. Food specials include $1 hot dogs and beer to pair. General admission tickets are $4, reserved seating costs between $11 and $15 and children 5 years old and under enter for free. Kino Sports Complex is located at 2500 E. Ajo Way.
21st Annual “A” Mountain Fireworks Celebration. The 21st Annual “A” Mountain Fireworks Celebration will start this year at approximately 9:15 p.m. Tuesday, July 4. Enjoy the celebration from anywhere in downtown, including the Tucson Convention Center’s Parking Lot B or Parking Lot C (off Granada between Broadway Boulevard and Cushing Street). Parking will be free. There also will be entertainment and food vendors (burgers, hot dogs, ice cream and refreshments) available from 7 until 9 p.m. in Lot B. For more information, call the Tucson Convention Center at 791-4101.
Celebration at Naranja Park. The town of Oro Valley has a new location for its fireworks show: Naranja Park. Leading up to the 9 p.m. fireworks show will be a variety of family-friendly activities that begin at 5 to 9 p.m., including live music from the Bryan Dean Trio and Little House of Funk, fun games and food trucks. You can park at Naranja Park or an overflow lot just down the street at Ironwood Ridge High School (2475 W Naranja Drive, west of La Cholla Road). Free shuttle service will begin at 5 p.m. and will run approximately every 10-15 minutes between the two locations. Naranja Park is located at 810 West Naranja Drive.
Star Spangled Spectacular. Come out to Marana's Independence Day celebration. Enjoy live music, food trucks, inflatables for the kids, beer gardens for parents, and a magnificent fireworks show starting at 9 p.m. 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, July 4. Crossroads at Silverbell District Park, 7548 N. Silverbell Road.
Fourth of July in the West. Join Old Tucson for a Fourth of July celebration. Kids 11 and younger get in free July 1-4 in honor of Independence Day. Play games to win prizes and enjoy a daily patriotic flag ceremony, with a special parade on July 4. There will be a pie-eating contest, chuck wagon food along with Old Tucson’s regular shows and attractions. Enjoy a special July 4 show in the Grand Palace, train rides for kids and kids at heart, antique cars and a vintage carousel. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, July 4. Old Tucson, 201 S Kinney Road. $18.95.
Cinema
The Goonies Outdoor Screening. Get your nostalgia on and appreciate Tucson summer evenings when this ‘80s classic drops in at the Loft. Come watch Mikey, Chunk and the rest of the gang try and save the neighborhood from evil developers in this wacky, hijinks-filled throwback. 7:30 p.m. June 29. The Loft Cinema. 3233 E. Speedway Blvd. $8.Cat Video Fest Outdoor Screening. Check them out meow! This purr-fectly hilarious lineup of cat videos is this first in a two part series (part two: July 8) benefitting local cat shelters in Tucson. Celebrate the wonderful, kooky world of viral kitty videos, while also helping your favorite local shelters. 7:30 p.m. July 1.The Loft Cinema. 3233 E. Speedway Blvd. $6.
Food & Booze
Tap Takeover at Saguaro Corners. If you're a lover of all things four-legged and cold pints of beer, come join the Humane Society of Southern Arizona at Saguaro Corners for this paw-some event. From 5 p.m. to close, $1 from each beer purchase will be donated to the Humane Society. There will be live music and food served until 8:30 p.m. 5 p.m. June 29. Saguaro Corners Restaurant & Bar, 3750 S. Old Spanish Trail.Happy Hour Hobble. Ever dreamt of drinking and jogging? Head on down to Tap & Bottle this Friday and find out how the two pair. Participate in three-mile run through downtown via Fourth Avenue, and post-run, throw back a few craft beers with friends. 6-9 p.m. June 30. Tap & Bottle 403 N. Sixth Ave. Free.
Fun in General
Monsoon Gardening Workshop. Don't let the heat kale your garden vibe, and learn how to best utilize monsoons to your advantage. Participate in a free workshop that promises to deliver hands-on demonstrations in how to maximize rainwater, plant the proper varietals, and protect your garden from extreme heat and wind. 2:30 to 4 p.m. July 1. Native Seeds, 3584 E. River Road. Free.All Levels Screen Printing Class. The name says it all. From novice to seasoned printer, instructor Jeik Ficker of Tanline Printing walks students through the fine points of screen-printing. All supplies are included, and—hello, new wardrobe—you can bring up to 10 shirts to print. 10 a.m. July 1. 1537 S. Fourth Avenue. $125.
Family Fundays at the Farmers Market. Enjoy local food and carnival rides at Trail Dust Town. Heirloom Farmers Markets will have 20 local food vendors selling fresh local produce, coffee, pastries, grass-fed meats and gluten-free goods. There will be $6 wristbands that give unlimited access to Ferris wheel, carousel, and train. Expect gift shops, face painting, live music, and more. 8 a.m. to noon. Friday, June 30. Trail Dust Town, 6541 E. Tanque Verde Road. $6.
JitterCat Jive. Jitter, jump and jive this Saturday, as you take a swing into the past. Participate in a Lindy Hop lesson and DJ'd social downtown. Dancers of all levels are welcome to join in this introductory dance class. 8 to 10:30 p.m. July 1. Movement Culture 435 E. Ninth St. $5
Music
Architecture. Melissa Harris and Rebecca Scott haven't made languid, lonely-girl pop together in a good long while. Lucky for us, their reunion one-off show is here—and it's free. Hailing from Chicago since 2011, Architecture is a mesmerizing distillation of life lived alone. On “When We Were Young,” innocent voices breathily repeat said phrase while single notes pluck a call and response against a Broken Social Scene backdrop of noise. There’s no anger; rather, the melancholy acceptance that the past no longer exists. This is bedroom pop at its purest without being a sulk-fest—sweet-voiced like Cat Power, with the gentility of Death by Chocolate. Harris and Scott play all their own instruments and on their sophomore effort, Diamond Mind, they’ve gotten noticeably more sophisticated, pairing their radiant voices with more grounded mids and lows. In their stalker song, "BB Beware,” they remain more Kristen Hersh sad than PJ Harvey ominous; “I'm going to find you and bring you back home, until you find that you can't love me.” Celebrating Independence Day with Architecture promises to be more self-reflective than gratuitous, more tender than the usual bombastic beer fest. The new America. Fourth of July at Club Congress, 311 E. Congress, with American Indie and La Cerca. Tuesday, July 4, 7:30 p.m. 21+. Free.The Districts. Rob Grote's voice is one part speakeasy blues (think Squirrel Nut Zippers at their best) and one part blue-eyed-soul busker; if you loved the music in Once, dig the Districts. But much like My Morning Jacket, it is the dynamic back-and-forth with his band that makes Grote great. The harmonies echo and emphasize his ability to trap and hold you with a singsong and a descending minor hook that twists more than comforts. And as with any combo who constructs six-minute grooves in lieu of tidy pop, the rhythm section is crucial in ushering us through. Fans of The Long Winters or any good new psych band will dig the meandering, tangential movements. Ultimately, it is Grote's total commitment to song and transmitting feel, paired with the grit of his working-class roots, that The Districts (sometimes narrowly) avoid pretension. With Spirit of the Beehive on Friday, June 30. Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St. 7:30 p.m. $12-$15. All ages.
Agent Orange. “I've lost my sense, I've lost control, I've lost my mind." Thirty-seven (?!) years after this punk anthem first busted out on So Cal radio, Agent Orange could hardly be more relevant. Alienation, frustration and hopelessness under that mook’s administration now reflect not only teen (and grown-up) angst, but our nation. As we struggle to stay informed beneath soul-crushing headlines, Mike Palm's outraged shouts and empathetic wordplay help shove against (and exorcise) our demons. It’s punk-rock magic like that. This hugely—yet quietly—storied band, who’ve suffered myriad line-up changes, returns to the Old Pueblo to help us "celebrate" this particularly grim week of our nation's birth. As travel sanctions prevent the world from healing cold-war wounds, as Yankee healthcare goes down in flames, a night spent shouting out our guts to "Cry for Help in a World Gone Mad," could very well spell relief, yo. With The Mission Creeps and Blue Collar Criminals on Friday, June 30. 191 E. Toole Ave. 7 p.m. $12-$15. 21+.
Deorro. Specialize in guilty-pleasure dance music. The embarrassing kind that’s more spring training or dance night where moms ironically soft-shoe with a prominent drink in their hand. But then the LA-based DJ/producer takes those feelings—and that music—up notches. If that DJ at your cousin's quincenera had done more than just add lo-lo bass to the oldies, if the breaks were cool enough that everyone at a wedding—ravers and drunks alike—would hit the floor and bounce whenever the beat dropped? That would be Deorro, such as with his hot single “Bailar,” featuring Elvis Crespo. On “Que Le Pasa a Lupita,” Deorro reimagines a classic Mexican dance, with all the modern EDM trappings for a relentless seven-and-a-half minutes. More "Gangnam Style" than in-style, Deorro still beats the hell out of the “Macarena,” but will probably never be as iconic as “YMCA.” On Saturday, July 1, at Rialto Theater, 318 E. Congress St. 8 p.m. $30-55. All ages.
