I am not an entertainment journalist.

So imagine my surprise when my editor offered me the opportunity to go to South by Southwest to relay to our beloved Tucson community the performances of the most up-and-coming bands appearing at what is, traditionally, one of the most popular music festivals in the world.

Well, lucky for me, SXSW has much more to offer than the insurmountable schedule of bands and music artists with tracks offering ideas on everything from making music, television and style, to tech, startups and virtual reality, to government, social impact and yes, journalism.

While the music scene doesn’t explode until Monday, we were able to cajole our way to access for all of the festival’s events, and that’s what yesterday was all about. Though much of the day was spent finding our footing, we did manage to make it to some enlightening panels.

Being the journalism and public policy nerd I am, I decided to pop into a panel on “Opening Up Government’s Vault of Data.” This turned out to be an appropriate choice since after I sat down I discovered Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., was one of the panelists.

He was joined by Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, chair of the congressional Information Technology Subcommittee, and Alex Wirth, a Harvard grad “whiz-kid” and co-founder of Quorum, a website that aggregates legislative data.

The panel was moderated by Rene LaVigne, CEO of IT company Iron Bow and an expert on the intersection of technology and government.

Much of the conversation revolved around the ineptitude of the current congressional representation to effectively use technology to create effective policy and maximize transparency when it comes to the drafting of legislation.

Wirth especially made the point that this is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to play a role in increasing government accountability, leading by example.

Though barely missing out on inclusion in the Millennial generation, Hurd and Gallego joked about how other congress members often come to them for advice on the constantly changing fringe of technology.

With a degree in computer science, Hurd said he could more easily identify the missed opportunities for Congress to employ technology in tracking changes to legislation and government services such as census data.

U.S. cities with large immigrant and refugee populations thrive in a variety of ways. There are ways to support this community, which have been proven to make a difference. At the South by Southwest Conference in Austin, Texas, mayors of two sanctuary cities and an expert on smart immigration policy spoke on these issues at “Building Bridges When Others Want to Build Walls.”

Welcoming Immigrants Benefits Everyone

• Immigrants keep America youthful, which is essential to a healthy economy and people.
The average age in Santa Fe, New Mexico, was rising, which is common for expensive tourist destinations, said the city’s mayor, Javier Gonzales. They saw that equalize as their immigrant population grew.

• Cities with more immigrants have lower crime rates.
The 10 U.S. cities with the highest percentage of refugees saw a decrease in violent crime and property crime by as much as 70 percent, from 2006 to 2015, according to New American Economy, an organization that studies immigrants’ impact on the U.S. economy.

Philadelphia, a sanctuary city, is at its lowest crime rate in 30 years, said the city’s mayor, James Kenney.

“One crime is one crime too many, but it’s not our immigrants that are doing so,” he said. “These folks work for a living. They start business. They employ people. They pay taxes when they don’t have the ability to take any advantage of those taxes.”

• Immigrants foster population growth, which fuels a healthy economy
Population growth provides taxes to fund shared services, encourages consumer spending to benefit the local economy, and raises housing values, said panelist Kate Brick, the director of State and Local Initiatives at New American Economy.

“There were no major metros in the United States that grew over the last 40 years without at least 10,000 immigrants joining those communities,” she said.

• Diversity is fun
Citizens of Philadelphia have a great time experiencing a variety of cultures right in their own city.

“You can get around our city and really experience every day almost a global trip,” he said.

Integrate and Protect Migrant Communities

• Immigrant-friendly resolutions
Gonzales passed an immigrant-friendly resolution in Santa Fe, which dictated that police should focus on serious crimes rather than looking at immigration status. And he saw it make a change.

“We saw this incredible move, this development in our community where the new immigrant became very much integrated into the fabric of our community,” he said. “They became job creators. They became young students in our schools.”

Tucson’s mayor, Jonathan Rothschild, passed a similar resolution in December.
Santa Fe also recently passed a confidentiality resolution, stating that government organizations won’t ask about documentation status.

Little lazy off Flower Street. So Tucson.
"Streets of This Town" is a little daily photo series featuring random pics I take on long walks through Tucson—to sort of coincide with Tucson Salvage.

Classic Tucson skyline, beautifully scraped up. A visual of yearning ...

"Streets of This Town" is a little daily photo series featuring random pics I take on long walks through Tucson—to sort of coincide with Tucson Salvage.

No street hassle: A humble and inviting little house down on Forgeus Avenue.

"Streets of This Town" is a little photo series featuring random pics I take on long walks through Tucson—to sort of coincide with Tucson Salvage.

Whether backed by a violin or acoustic guitar or muted trumpet or piano, Tucson's Katie Haverly has one of those voices that can lift and soothe, create tension and then release it. It suggests adoration of golden-age (jazzy) folk-pop like Rickie Lee Jones, Judee Sill, David Crosby, and Joni Mitchell—all lovely DNA, certainly—as well as Erykah Badu and Fiona Apple. Yet her songwriting alone could take centerstage. The deceptively breezy “Wood,” from her ’15 album Aviary, slips into your heart with cool, beat country shuffles, but in the end it’s a story of dreaded male gaze and ugly sexualization. It’s brilliant, and works as a personal social takedown inside wide-appeal pop. Many of her other songs are remarkable too because the pathos never sounds forced or fake—sad poetry of deception sidesteps the maudlin; requiems to lost loves steer clear of self-pity. How does she do that? Well, this ex-Copper & Congress singer is a breathing masterclass of songcraft and delivery, but my theory, cornball as it sounds, is she simply was born to do this. That the tune and the voice and the compassion and the ability to translate unfiltered moments into gentle epistles and hurtsongs is nothing that can ever be taught or learned. It just is. And most don’t have it.

So it is that Haverly’s in need of coin to make her next album—her fifth solo—and she’s asking for help. For most anyone else I’d say save your dough for something that really matters. If a record needs to get made it’ll get made. But Haverly’s record needs to be made, and now, because her songs work the senses like some kind of cultural elixir. She’s got golden-eared producer Gabriel Sullivan set to produce too, so you know the LP will have wondrous sonic soundscapes. Her Kickstarter campaign is closing on deadline and is still short on its financial goal.

So Haverly created this live, Julilus Schlosburg-helmed video to help inspire funding. She says this clip for the song "Pluto" is “something a little more intimate … I wrote this song in a cabin in Silver City, New Mexico that I holed up in for four days to help me process our current political and social climate.” She got it here one take here: 

 Haverly live in Tucson:

Gourds and hand-carved totems and faces and the U.S. Postal Service; mailbox as installation art, somewhere near midtown.  

"Streets of This Town" is a little photo series featuring random pics I take on long walks through Tucson—to sort of coincide with my column Tucson Salvage.

"Streets of This Town" is a little photo series featuring random pics I take on long walks through Tucson—to sort of coincide with Tucson Salvage.

For all the boosters boasting of Tucson's financial turnaround, I walk these streets almost nightly and am quietly taken by the levels of abandonment—hollowed out storefronts, houses, gas stations, on major and minor streets. No craft cocktails on 22nd Street and Alvernon.

Since Election Day ’16, legions of dissatisfied have taken to streets everywhere, protesting Trump’s ugly racist policies and reacting to the authoritarian-yet-needy/solipsistic timbre in that dude’s deceptive voice. They’re seeking comfort too in the company of the like-minded. Last Saturday, hundreds of Tucson activists and peace seekers gathered to build community solidarity and strengthen movement work, and hell, to just have a good time. It was actually inspiring.

The shady, tree-lined walkways and mown lawns of historic Armory Park set the scene for the 2017 Peace Fair & Music Festival, hosted by Tucson Peace Center. The sights, sounds and aromatic scents of food trucks, face painters, frolicking children and live music wafted through the sun-drenched park for Arizona's largest gathering of Peace, Justice and Environmental groups.

Up on the bandstand entertaining the afternoon crowd─ranging from spry senior citizens to very young children who were rollerskating, dancing and hula-hooping─were Flagstaff’s Navajo pop/punk outfit Sihasin, Tucson’s salsa soulsters Spirit Familia and the local Latin fusion of Santa Pachita.

Jeneda Benally, Sihasin’s singer and bassist, sports an outlook that embodies the spirit of the fest. Note that she, along with her brother Clayson, performed together as Blackfire for 21 years, yet something was missing. “We recognized that although there is a lot to be angry about,” Benally says. “Something in us changed. Where we realized that … What is the legacy that we are leaving for our future generations, if it is one of anger?”

“We need to leave a legacy of hope and love,” Benally adds, “And yes, there are injustices. But you can never lose sight of the hope that each person is in order to create those positive solutions against the injustices.”

When asked what drove them to take part in this year’s festival, Benally says, “We are looking for events that are hopeful, that bring positive energy to communities. That bring people together. It is really important in this day and age that we celebrate our freedoms, that we celebrate music and art. It is so important to support those that are striving to build healthy and respectful communities.”
Sihasin
The band shined as they delivered an energetic set that mixed infectious percussive elements, on top of a bed of pop/punk rock, and native chant with lyrics about “tearing the wall down.” “It doesn't matter what side you are on...”
Spirit Familia
With a brass heavy, percussive laden sound that combines soul, Latin and sounds from the Hawaiian Islands─where founding member Jomo lived for 17 years─the band had the crowd swaying and delivered a message of unity as they called out from the stage, “Let’s get together now…”

Santa Pachita
Drawing their inspiration from salsa, cumbia, rock, ska and bands like Manu Chao. Fronted by bassist/singer Victor Cruz and guitarist/singer Miguel Reyes, Santa Pachita had the audience dancing to their sultry Latin grooves and Reyes’ stinging lead guitar that recalls Carlos Santana, bringing the festival to a close.

Peace, Justice and Environmental groups
Handing out pamphlets and eager to engage in conversations with interested attendees, organizations comprised of community members on the move for change, tabled at the 2017 Peace Fair & Music Festival including: Sustainable Tucson, Black Lives Matter, Code Pink, Healthcare Not Warfare, Green Party, Speak: The Voice for the Rights of Animals, Occupy Tucson, Water is Life, ¡Resistencia! Tucson May 1st Coalition, Veterans For Peace, and many others.

KXCI radio (91.3) and Tucson poet society Words on the Avenue teamed to create a video series that highlights the powerful work of local poets. And the first episode is now available, and damn is it lovely. It rises on writer Roch Mirabeau's beautifully paced verse and graceful in-person performance of "My Pops Told Me," tackling themes of freedom, equality, fatherhood and "Trumped-up" politics in a little more than two minutes. It's easy to fall in love with Mirabeau's subtle power and empathy. Watch it below. 

This new series, by the way, is generated by Words on the Avenue founder Teré Fowler-Chapman (who happens to be on the cover of this week's Tucson Weekly) as well as videographer Julius Schlosburg, and KXCI Director of Content Hannah Levin. Fowler-Chapman says at KXCI.org that she's "excited to collaborate with KXCI within this vivid new format because like Words on the Avenue KXCI is a community-based platform. This collaboration allows us to archive and re-listen to some of the most powerful lines performed in our space. This collaboration is magic."