Tucson indie singer-songwriter Adam Townsend releases his debut record, “All My Fires,” today, June 7 at Hotel Congress.

Townsend drifts from neo soul through Motown, blues, and folk music, the bit of grit in his voice resounds as he howls to the anthem of enduring love. From the edge of gospel in “Whiskey,” to his soulful collaboration with 16-year-old Nashville native Lindsey Lomis in “Hurricane,” his new record carries dreams of bonfires, feverish aching love, summer nights driving around in an old truck and easy southern living. 

"I get a lot of inspirations from older music and older musicians," Townsend says. "Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding, and Aretha Franklin...I learned to cut my teeth learning to play guitar listening to Jimi Hendrix."

The release of Townsend’s debut record marks his return home to Tucson from six years in San Diego, spent songwriting, performing, and producing music.

"Writing music comes from a place of just needing to get it out," he says. "I have melodies and lyrics in my head all day long."

He recorded and produced his album in the Bomb Shelter Studio in Nashville, Tennessee and brings all the soulful flavor to share with you tonight with his band at Hotel Congress. “All My Fires” Record Release, doors open at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $5.

XOXO caught up with this up-and-comer for a brief Q&A. Let’s find out what keeps Adam Townsend afloat.

What is the spice in life that keeps Adam Townsend going?

My family is what keeps me going. I have an incredible support system between my amazing wife, my son and my parents. I couldn’t do any of this without them. I’d also say that music helps keep me going. At every dark moment of my life, my family and my music have been there to keep me afloat.

You capture a certain vibe, one of hope and resiliency, on “Beautiful Life.” What was it like capturing that energy in the recording studio?

So much about this song, and even my upcoming record, is an expression of where I’ve been as a musician for the last ten years. There were moments when I thought I’d never be able to make this record. And getting to do it in such an iconic city like Nashville, with the help of incredibly talented musicians, who themselves have known a similar hope and resilience, gave me the energy I needed on all my songs...Especially “Beautiful Life.”

Tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from? Why do you call Tucson home? What is your musical background?

I’m a Tucson native. I spent some time in San Diego after college, but came back to my roots a few years ago. Tucson has always been a special place to me and even though I grew up here, it’s been nice to carve out a place of my own with my wife and son. I couldn’t imagine calling anywhere else home. Growing up, music was always a big part of my life. Both my parents were very musical; My dad played extensively around Tucson in the 1970s and ‘80s. My parents tell me I was a musical kid, but I really started honing my skills in high school. By the time I got to the U of A, I knew music was more than just a hobby. Since then I’ve been continuing to develop my music and am looking forward to what the next few years will bring.

What is next for Adam Townsend?

I’m really looking forward to releasing my full length album in June and doing a fun album release show.  (Tonight!)

Adam Townsend’s All My Fires dropped Friday, June 7. Available everywhere.

Local artist and photographer, Tony Aragon, shares his slice of the desert in an installation at Hotel McCoy. The dramatic, mercurial landscape photographs show the natural and unusual beauty of the desert, from quaking monsoon skies to saguaro ribs and blooms.

Aragon is a storm chaser, a lover of big skies, moody clouds and webs of lightning. The breadth of his work shows the sometimes-subtle seasons of the Sonoran desert, from the rare winter snow to epic sunrises over flowering cactus.

The photographs are captured using his Canon 6d with a Canon Ef 24-105mm f/4 lens. Photographs are for sale, and 8"x10" prints are available in the gift shop.

Hotel McCoy is a retro mid-century modern art hotel, with an environmental conscience. The rooms are kitted with upcycled furniture, mid-century decorations, and local art.

The hotel is free and open to the public to check out the art installations in the lobby, murals by different Tucson artists, or enjoy a beer or glass of wine exclusively from Arizona brewers and vineyards.

Where: Hotel McCoy, 720 West Silverlake Road, Tucson, AZ, 85713.

Ballet Tucson recently announced its 2019-2020 season, which includes a steampunk version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a celebration of Dave Brubeck and brand new ballets by local artists.

For the Fall Season Opening Night Gala at the Stevie Eller Dance Theatre on Thursday, October 31, Ballet Tucson's Artistic Director Mary Beth Cabana selected a triple bill of works. The Fall Concert continues these shows on November 1 and 3. 

• Jekyll & Hyde - Ballet Tucson’s fanciful “steampunk” rendition of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson dark Victorian novel. Choreography and concept by Chieko Imada and Mary Beth Cabana.
  
  
• Five Movements, Three Repeats (premiere) - Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon mixes modern dance with ballet in an inventive piece blending styles. Choreography by Christopher Wheeldon.
  
  
• In the Mood - Popular “big band” music is at the heart of this swing-style revival. Choreography by Mark Schneider.

Footprints at The Fox, a partnership between Ballet Tucson and The Fox Theatre, returns for the third year in a row on Saturday, November 16. This performance features "the next generation of dance makers" performing new works. And that audience gets to vote for their favorite piece! 
For the Winter season, Ballet Tucson is performing The Nutcracker at Tucson Music Hall on Saturday, December 28 and Sunday, December 29.

Ballet Tucson is also performing their Winter Concert at Pima Community College West Campus' Proscenium Theatre from January 31 to February 2. This is presented in collaboration with Tucson Desert Song Festival, and features three performances:

• Serenade - Considered a milestone in dance history, this is the first ballet created in America by George Balanchine. Choreography by George Balanchine.
  
  
• Unsquare (premiere) - This musical journey brings American jazz musician Dave Brubeck's compositions to life. Choreography by Chieko Imada.
  
  
• Recollections (premiere) - Turn-of-the-century American popular songs are performed live as part of the Tucson Desert Song Festival’s commemoration of American music. Choreography by Mark Schneider.

For more information, visit ballettucson.org

Tucson's favorite ethnobotanist Gary Paul Nabhan will be mixing specialty cocktails at Downtown Kitchen for a happy hour benefiting the Tucson City of Gastronomy nonprofit on June 4. Serving as a "celebrity bartender," Nabhan will use his agricultural and ecological know-how to expertly make some drinks from pomegranate and prickly pear shrubs.

This is also an opportunity to meet board members from the Tucson City of Gastronomy and learn more about their upcoming programs.

Nabhan also recently wrote an article for Tucson Weekly examining the role agaves play in our local food and culture.

4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 4. 135 S. 6th Ave. Open to the public and free to attend.

Smartphones may take sharp pictures, but there's nothing quite like analog film. Kikie Wilkins, local film photographer, uses his film cameras loaded with new and expired film to capture ordinary and candid moments in Tucson. His new zine, Views from Tucson, Issue 2 is out now.

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‪View of a young nephew at work. ‪.‬ ‪📷🎞@Kodak #Brownie #Hawkeye, #Kodak #TX400‬ ‪.‬ ‪#believeinfilm #shootfilm #mediumformat‬ #120film #film #photography #filmphotography #analog #analogphotography #bw #bwphoto #blackandwhite #blackandwhitephotography #boxcamera #toycamera #browniehawkeye #gmc #truck #repair @kodakprofessional @kodakcameraclub_roc #tucson

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The photos in Issue 2 are all taken using his Kodak Brownie Hawkeye box camera. He described the camera as being meant for the amateur photographer "who was more interested in taking pictures of the family vacation or a child's birthday party."

"I decided to use the Hawkeye to take these photographs as a personal challenge to see what results could obtain from such a basic camera."

The combination of Wilkins' use of the Hawkeye and old film creates a sun bleached, dreamy image. The colors drift into dusty pastels and feel like they're from a different time. He photographs familiar landmarks, old cars, images of childhood.

This issue features views of the flooded Rillito river at the Camino de la Tierra crossing, the downtown jazz fiesta, some cars of Tucson and neighborhood views in a self-published book. The 44-page issue is printed in high quality color and black & white on gloss paper.

Issues can be picked up for $15 at Wooden Tooth Records at 426 E 7th Street, Tucson, AZ 85705, or ordered directly from Kikie for $12.

Contact: [email protected]
Instagram: @kikiewilkins

Black Renaissance, the four-week series highlighting local Black artists, ended on a high note with performances by Black Caesar, Seanloui and Street Blues Family.

Night four of Black Renaissance, hosted by Fiona Cadet and Khalil Knight-Papaioannou at Hotel McCoy, was centered on live music made by local bands.

Phoenix-based rocker Black Caesar played a song they felt described them best, their song titled "Cool."

Seanloui played his soon to be released new single "Bad Things," an upbeat fusion of pop and rock. Street Blues Family gave the crowd a mixture of jazz and hip hop.

With plans to return next year, Black Renaissance definitely left the crowd wanting more.

Andy Andrist redux, Bruce Jingles, Amy Miller, Caitlin Weierhauser at the O

Bruce Jingles brings his smart observations, eloquent storytelling and pitch-perfect comedic timing to The O on June 1. He’s the second half of a weekend double-header doubling down on The O’s commitment to creating an uptown jazz and comedy club.

The Unbookables’s Andy Andrist headlines at 8 p.m. on May 31. Tickets for his show, a free-associative trip through his kaleidoscopic mind with side-trips to the floor, may still be available for $8 via Eventbrite.com, or you can pay $10 at the door.

It’s Jingles’ first visit to Tucson, and he performs at both 7 pm and 9 pm on June 1. Tickets are $10 via Eventbrite and $15 at the door. A favorite in Southern California’s stand-up comedy stomping grounds, Jingles plies relatable tales of everyday life with, for example, law enforcement, stereotyping, and weed. He drives them cheerily home with impersonations of people audience members may recognize from their own lives.

Jingles is a popular podcast guest and a fixture on USO tours. He’s been seen on ABC, VH1, TMZ, NUVOTV, and two Showtime specials, and he appeared in the 2008 dark comedy Driving Bill Crazy. His live comedy album, Bruce Jingles: Comic, released by RBC Records, can be found on iTunes, Pandora and Spotify.

The O keeps rolling on Wednesday, June 5 with Amy Miller, Caitlin Weierhauser and Steve Hernandez. According to her bio, headliner Miller was one of Comedy Central’s Up Next comics for 2018, and was a breakout favorite in Season 9 of Last Comic Standing. She’s also appeared on the Adam Carolla Show, Viceland and the Doug Loves Movies comedy podcast. Most recently she guested on the Stephen Colbert Show.

Miller describes her comedy as “personal, political, and 100 percent authentic.” She earned her comedy stripes in the Bay Area, but began attracting more widespread attention when she moved to Portland’s rich and even more diverse comedy scene.

She won the title Portland’s Funniest in a 2015 competition sponsored by Helium Comedy Club and was voted Portland’s Funniest Comedian in both 2013 and 2015 by readers of the independent Willamette Week. She was the first woman to top either, let alone both, of those contests.

Her album, Solid Gold, is available on the prestigious Kill Rock Stars label. Her podcast, Who’s Your God, with fellow O linep member Steve Hernandez, is at libsyn.com. She’s performed at numerous comedy festivals, including SXSW, Bridgetown, Big Sky and the San Francisco Sketchfest.

L.A.-based Weierhauser describes her comedy as social commentary with “coach vibes and … unhinged enthusiasm, often political, frequently personal and entirely too tantrum-prone.” Naturally she was cast in a Disney movie. It’s Timmy Failure, being readied for the 2020 debut of the new Disney streaming service, Disney +.

Weierhauser was voted one of the top three performers at Big Sky Comedy Fest and has performed for Bridgetown Comedy Festival, Bumbershoot, and the All Jane Comedy Fest.

Also from L.A., Steve Hernandez founded the popular LA bar show, Chatterbox Comedy Night. He was featured as a Field Correspondent on I Love You, America! With Sarah Silverman and appeared in Comedy Central’s Corporate.


Local First Arizona kind of spells LAF

Tucson’s favorite cartoonist and raconteur David Fitzsimmons hosts a comedy show at 8 p.m. Wednesday, June 5 at Borderlands Brewery. Admission is $5 at the door or in advance via squareup.com.

The event wraps up a Local First Arizona Roadshow hosted from 4 to 7 pm by the Rialto Theatre at its offshoot entertainment venue 191 Toole. It’s at the other end of the block from Borderlands.

LFA-member the Comedy Alliance of Tucson (full disclosure: I am its founder) organized the comedy show to include, besides Fitzsimmons: Roxy Merrari, host of Comedy at the (Surly) Wench; Monte Benjamin, known for clean comedy rooted in his experiences as a black American; Matt Ziemak, co-host of the monthly Brew Ha Ha comedy show at Borderlands; Mo Urban, stand-up comedy coach at Tucson Improv Movement, founder of a half-dozen local comedy shows and frequent guest in Arizona comedy festivals; Alex Kack, a leader in CAT, producer of this show and host of several local comedy shows, and Josiah Osego, a popular guest in comedy shows in Phoenix and all over Southern Arizona.

Ever the joker, Borderlands Brewing Company co-owner Michael Mallozzi says, “Running a business is no joke! But that doesn’t mean we can’t laugh! Join us for the Local First Arizona Roadshow to support your local businesses because you can’t spell laugh without LFA.” (Just don’t overthink it.)

Michael Peel, Southern Arizona Director of Local First Arizona, says the LFA Roadshows, which are free to the public, are a new program to get business members out in the community, like farmers’ markets promoting products and services. Peel says, “We create fun and engaging ways to connect local businesses to the community on a regular basis and keep more dollars in our local economy. 

Peel and Mallozzi have been advisers in the formation of the Comedy Alliance of Tucson (CAT), seeing it as a means to expand the local business sector using comedy as a draw. Since it was established last year, CAT has worked with local businesses to create more opportunities for comedy in Tucson, promoting existing shows and venues while encouraging new ones. The organization promoted its first CATcomedy520 LOL crawl last January and currently is networking and pursuing initiatives with FEATS-AZ, the Marana Chamber of Commerce, Visit Tucson and TEN WEST as well as Local First.

Peel says, “Expect different themes and a rotating cast of LFA members and partners each month spotlighting and celebrating what makes our community so unique.” 

Looking for a night of soul music? This upcoming Saturday, May 25, check out "Saturday Night Soul" at Sky Bar Tucson.

Starting at 9 p.m., enjoy the rhythmic sounds of local Tucson artists such as rapper Chakara Blu, and singers Shekinah and Just Najima. 

The show is 21 and up unless accompanied by a guardian up until 10 p.m. After 10 p.m., only 21 and up are permitted entrance. The show is free! 536 N 4th Ave. 

Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca once said, “Besides black art, there is only automation and mechanization.”

Black Renaissance is an event taking place throughout May, celebrating black artists from the Tucson community. The ongoing event is designed to educate and enlighten attendees on black culture and its vast impact.
Founder of Black Renaissance, seanloui has lived in Tucson for years and noticed a lack of black artists represented in the city. So he felt the need to create a project to illuminate their work.

“But because of us being a minority inside Arizona and Tucson particularly, we weren’t given those chances in order to present their art so it is another opportunity for them to do so,” seanloui said.

He created Black Renaissance to bring together African-American artists from Tucson and to showcase their art, whether that be spoken word, music or visual art. He particularly emphasized bringing together artists of all backgrounds and platforms.

“I think it’s going to spotlight the amazing artists from the black community that are doing some really cool stuff and as well I think it will bring the black community closer together,” seanloui said.

Black Renaissance takes place every Saturday throughout May at Tucson’s new “art hotel,” Hotel McCoy. Each weekend will host a different art theme.

“Each night is power-packed, because it’s different and because of amazing high-level artists,” seanloui said.

May 4 is hip-hop night, featuring performances by local musicians Chakara Blu, Cash Lansky, Jaca Zulu and Kaizer.

“It’s really cool to have an event that shines light on us, like we are here, and a lot of us are artists and we do exist,” Blu said. “For me, it feels powerful.”

For May 11, the theme is spoken word. On this night, poets and comedians will take the stage and show off their talents. Featured artists are Stephanie Lyonga, Stevie Rose and many more. Lyonga  is a comedian by night. She was tagged in a post on Facebook by a friend calling all black comedians or poets in Tucson to be a part of Black Renaissance.

“I don’t tell jokes, I just go out there and pretty much tell my life story somehow it comes out funny and people laugh,” Lyonga said.

Lyonga feels she has always been partial to comedy because she loves the nature of laughter. Being ex-military, she described her life then as very strict when she was younger. Comedy was something that made her life more upbeat.

“As a black comedian myself, I’ve been in Tucson six years and there’s a handful of black comedians let alone black people period,” Lyonga said. “I haven’t really seen much of them.”

The third Saturday, May 18, Black Renaissance gives the stage to visual arts with the Black Museum. Painters, photographers and sculptors will all showcase their work. Featured artists include Allison Miller, Elizabeth Denneau, Troy Miller-Perry, FlawlessViktory, Sandra Taylor and many more.

The last night, May 25, is the final concert of Black Renaissance. Street Blues Family band and Black Caesar will close out the event. A musician himself, seanloui will also be performing his own beats and original sounds.

Next year, seanloui has plans for Black Renaissance to return to Tucson again with bigger and more exciting things to come.

“[Black Renaissance] is an appreciation for new artists, black artists, entrepreneurs, people who are starting out and doing something on their own,” Lyonga said. “People who need to be recognized, and Black Renaissance recognizes that.”

Black Renaissance takes place each Saturday in May, May 4, 11, 18 and 25 from 8 to 10 p.m. At Hotel McCoy, 720 W. Silverlake Rd. Free.

For more information, visit blackrenaissance.online

I had been perusing the playbill for 20th Century Blues while waiting for the show to begin. I noticed the image of four women, standing in solidarity, walking toward a camera. The sounds of Motown and 70’s anthems played in the background. As the lights rose on Invisible Theatre’s season-ending production, my feminist spirit was ready to see what playwright Susan Miller, and directors Susan Claassen and Fred Rodriguez had in store.

It’s not often we get to see four older, diverse female actors on stage together with meaningful, powerful dialogue. The women talk to each other with a directness that we rarely get to witness. They talk about sex and race and gender and their aging bodies with brutal honesty.

One of the women, Mac, played by To-ree-nee Wolf, is African American, and a lesbian. Her character often calls out the others for privilege and for asking her speak for “her people."

A few of the topics discussed made the audience cringe just a bit, which I absolutely loved. The playwright didn’t care if the honesty pushed buttons. In the time of #metoo and #timesup, we need to tell women’s stories without abandon.

20th Century Blues is playing at Invisible Theatre now through May 5th. Tickets can be purchased online at www.invisibletheatre.com or by calling their box office at 882-9721.

- Reviewed by Gretchen Wirges. Read the complete review at tamingofthereview.com.