XOXO

Mark your calendars

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The week ahead sees City Morgue run riot ... Escape The Fate and Robyn Hitchcock explore nihilism ... Chuck Prophet investigates mysteries ... The masked crusader Orville Peck rides into the dead of night ... and so much more! Read on...

Mark your calendars...

Thursday, March 5

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Niyaz

"The Moral Majority's new worst nightmare" has earned notoriety through excess and militancy. "We want to create a world. If you don't have a world you don't have a cult," ZillaKami told Revolver. On "Arson," hard-hitting NYC rappers City Morgue "just wanna watch the world burn over and over." At 191 Toole... During a time of polarized ideologies between the East and West, comprised of world-class musicians and a female whirling dervish, Niyaz blends mystical Sufi poetry and ancient folk instrumentation from the Persian Gulf with modern electronics. Embracing our shared humanity, these postmodern decolonialists aim to unite people from different cultural and spiritual backgrounds, by creating a 21st-century global trance tradition. At Centennial Hall... Three Lock Box: The Ultimate Sammy Hagar Tribute rolls like a twister into the Paradiso Lounge at Casino Del Sol... Bring a lil' downhome twang to Thursday night, Donkey Tonk are at Tap + Bottle Downtown... The saxman led Jed Paradies Trio to play bossas, ballads and blues. At The Coronet... Alternating weekly, singer-songwriters Amanda Rochelle and Natalie Pohanic entertain for Tapas & Tonics. In the lounge at the AC Hotel Tucson... Resident DJs Lunarfluxx and Atom Energy dig into the crates to take you Deeper into the EDM underground. At Bar Passé...

Friday, March 6

From his early work with The Soft Boys to his later projects with The Egyptians, this surrealist poet/guitarist/cult artist describes his songs as "paintings you can listen to." Robyn Hitchcock brings his wry British nihilism to the Club Congress stage... Notorious Sin City rockers Escape The Fate bring I Am Human, their sixth studio album, to The Rock. Pyrotechnica and Echoes kick things off... Arizona Friends of Chamber Music's Winter Festival Day 4 features compositions that span the seasons: Auerbach's Winter, Theofandis' Fall, Nishimura's Spring, Tower's Wild Summer and more. Performed by Yura Lee, Dimitri Murrath, Alexander Sitkovetsky, Jasper String Quartet, Julie Albers and Lera Auerbach. At Leo Rich Theatre... Led by vocalist/accordionist José Darey Castro, Latin Grammy Award winners, Dareyes de la Sierra bring their dancefloor-packing norteño sound to Club 4th Avenue... Contemporary folk singer-songwriter Joyce Luna serenades. At Sand-Reckoner Wine Bar... The Kinda Cool Quintet plays brisk post-war jazz sorta awesomely. At The Dusty Monk Pub... "Wild Women," vocalist Diane Van Deurzen and pianist Lisa Otey perform boogie woogie, blues and torch songs. At Harbottle Brewing Company... Anton Shekerjiev (Kyklo, Balkan Spirit) leads an Eastern European Balkan Jam. At El Crisol...

Saturday, March 7

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Billy Shaw Jr.

In five short years, between 1975 and 1980, these SoCal soft rockers hit the Top 40 charts five times—including Top 5 hits "How Much I Feel" and "Biggest Part of Me." Impressive. Ambrosia is at Desert Diamond Center. With Peter Beckett (best known as the voice of Player)... Like permanent waves emanating out in all directions, Moving Pictures: A tribute to the golden years of Rush propels the spirit of radio into the limelight once again. At Rialto Theatre... Singer-songwriters Howe Gelb and Gabrielle Pietrangelo strip down for an evening of mostly acoustic solo sets, and a few collaborative moments. At Club Congress... One of the longest running hometown musical institutions celebrate 26 years. The mighty Greyhound Soul is at Che's Lounge. Expect special guests to sit in... The Colby Olsen Foundation—whose mission is to raise awareness about issues that affect LGBTQ youth and seniors in our community—presents Tucson's Got Talent Finale. Showcasing talented performers ages 10 and up. At 191 Toole... Recounting stories about the hardscrabble life of rancheros in Northern Mexico, Eliseo Robles—aka "the golden voice of norteño music"—sings at Club 4th Avenue... Las Aguilitas, a youth mariachi group from Davis Bilingual Magnet School, perform at El Crisol... The tequila taxi pulls up just long enough for the Al Foul Trio to fall out and entertain in the courtyard at Mercado San Agustin... The Billy Shaw Jr. Band supplies the foot-stomping soundtrack at Whiskey Roads... Singer-songwriter Tammy West & The Culprits along with Sweet Remember perform at Epic Cafe... Locals Only returns to Mr. Heads. Michael Mick, NATIVE 4 LYFE, Doe, Lo, TELLIE, Case Vibes, Greg The Dancer, Kyirim and SwissaSweets share the mic... From SoCal, the Ultimate Stones Band faithfully recreate the magic. At Gaslight Music Hall at Oro Valley...

Sunday, March 8

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Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story

Before the Beatles, before the Rolling Stones, this bespectacled '50s rock 'n' roller was making history. Fully loaded with classics, Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story is a jukebox musical ready to "Rave On." At Fox Theatre... Soccer moms take heed. During the 1970s and '80s—when Hawaiian shirts sang of wind, sails and adventure—the pablum of Pablo Cruise, Rupert Holmes, Christopher Cross and Player led the vanguard of this then-unnamed genre. Love it or hate it? Drift away on a piña colada-scented breeze with the softest of ad nauseam soft rock when Yacht Rock Revue brings the Hot Dads in Tight Jeans Tour to Rialto Theatre... Arizona Friends of Chamber Music's Winter Festival draws to a close. Day 5 features Strauss' Capriccio, Op. 85, Bax' Viola Sonata, Edwards' Four Inscapes and Mendelssohn's String Quartet in D Major, Op. 44. Performed by Julie Albers, Yura Lee, Dimitri Murrath, Alexander Sitkovetsky, Tara Helen O'Connor, Matthew Strauss, Yang Jin and Jasper String Quartet. At Leo Rich Theatre... "Like an India ink painting," Loolowningen & the Far East Idiots, avant punks from downtown Tokyo, perform material from Anökumene, the trio's latest. At Club Congress. Flanked by locals Droll and Rough Draft... English bluesman extraordinaire Tom Walbank will leave you shaking your head when all is said and done. At The Coronet... The Eugene Boronow Trio perform sophisti-folk music acoustically. At Public Brewhouse...

Monday, March 9

Bringing death, metalists Mortiferum with Thra and Suicide Forest turn the Club Congress stage to black, the darkest possible color... Representing women's voices in Celtic rock, the fire-breathing Eldritch Dragons perform under the light of the full moon. At The Metal Arts Village... The dreamy folksy strains of Natty & The Sunset enliven Monday night. At Elliott's on Congress...

Tuesday, March 10

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Tinsley Ellis

Once you get past the fringed Lone Ranger mask, no other conclusion can be drawn: This Canadian musician can croon with the best of them. "The mask exists as a point of discussion," he told the New York Times. On "Dead of Night," this masked crooner eerily channels the ghost of Roy Orbison, as he sings a lonesome hymn to the "incredibly talented women" at the Chicken Ranch brothel: Where the West is still wild. "Stark, hollow town, Carson city lights/Baby, let's get high/Spend a Johnny's cash, hitch another ride/We laugh until we cry." Recently appearing on the cover of British GQ, enigmatic country singer Orville Peck rides high into Rialto Theatre... Before discovering "King of the Blues" BB King, guitarist's guitarist Tinsley Ellis' youthful ears were captivated by the roar of the British Invasion and Southern rockers. Ellis, a "bona fide, worldwide guitar hero," is at 191 Toole... The motley crew that oversee this zydeco-tinged, accordion-fueled Tex-Mexican bacchanal on occasion splinter off. The Carnivaleros Trio occupy second Tuesdays at Tucson Hop Shop...

Wednesday, March 11

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Jimi Giannatti
Hank Topless

In the 1980s, Californian Chuck Prophet became an adopted son in the hearts of Tucsonans as a member of the first wave of desert rockers Green on Red. Prophet's latest album, Bobby Fuller Died For Your Sins (Yep Roc Records, 2017), refers to the mysterious death of '60s musician Bobby Fuller. Speculation still runs wild. Was Fuller murdered by order of the mob or Charles Manson, as some have speculated? Or was it a suicide? Fuller's corpse was covered in petechial hemorrhages suspected to be caused by gasoline vapors. Prophet explores mysteries and the tension between romance and cynicism at Club Congress... Episode 18 of the Loser's Lounge serves an all-you-can-eat country buffet. First up, a heapin' helpin' of folksy country courtesy of Grip Jensen, followed by Hank Topless & The Dead Horsemen offering up a set of psycho post-country damage. At Owls Club... The Lookout Tucson Singer-Songwriter Series continues with a Tucson Folk Festival Showcase. Featuring Eb Eberlein and Robyn Landis performing handcrafted familiar and original songs. In the Lookout Bar and Grille at Westward Look Resort...

Thursday, March 12

"Honky-tonk ain't what it used to be/Somewhere along the way the lines got blurred." Guitars ablaze, Ryan Chrys & The Rough Cuts dole out their Southern fried, honky-tonk backseat rhythm & blues for mass consumption. At Thunder Canyon Brewstillery... From 1982's "No One Like You" to 1991's "Wind of Change" (an anthem of political change that coincided with the fall of the Berlin Wall) the Scorpions landed on the Billboard Hot 100 six times. From L.A., Lovedrive: A tribute to the Scorpions pay homage. In the Paradiso Lounge at Casino Del Sol... This edition of Ladytowne, your favorite local feminist variety/talk show, features a comedy set by Roxy Merari, interviews with Erikha Montes de Oca (BRXA), Chezale and Mother Tierra. Tonight's Sunshine supplies the music. At Club Congress...

Shout Out

Fiendishly rad Bisbee darlings The Exbats celebrate the release of their latest, Kicks, Hits, and Fits (Burger Records, 2020)—a life-affirming, sock-footed hop of an album capable of making a jaded heart fall in love with rock 'n' roll, "in a fucked up world," over again—with an all-ages party. Yeah, baby. On Friday, March 6. At Wooden Tooth Records. Stripes and The Wanda Junes join in the festivities... Boldly confronting the constructs of gender-nonconformity, the intersection of religion and queerness, self-acceptance and finding family, indie-folk troubadour, Bryan Thomas Parker & Friends fête the release their third full-length album, Fluid, on Friday, March 6. Little Cloud and Natty & The Sunset add to the celebration. At Sky Bar...

Until next week, XOXO...