Are you ready to rock? How about some swing dancing? Luckily, the Gaslight Music Hall has both queued up next month when Backroads Country Band and Vinyl Tap! perform in the drive-in concert series June 10 and 11, respectively.

“We have never had Backroads Country Band at the Gaslight Music Hall, but so many of their fans have reached out to us so we knew we had to have them on June 10 for all of our country music fans,” said Gaslight general manager Heather Stricker. “And on June 11, we bring back one of our most popular dance bands, Vinyl Tap! We are so excited to keep bringing Oro Valley and Tucson live music in this difficult time. We are committed to keeping the entertainment going."

Billed as “The Ultimate Country Cover Band,” Backroads Country Band plays No. 1 hits from the biggest names in country, like George Strait, Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, Garth Brooks, Johnny Cash, Travis Tritt, Brooks and Dunn, and all the way to today’s hits from Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Sam Hunt, Old Dominion, Florida Georgia Line, Zac Brown Band and more.

PHOENIX – Mahleej Zara woke up worried Sunday that celebrations for the end of Ramadan would be dampened by COVID-19 restrictions – but that was before the “car parade” let the Islamic Community Center in Tempe celebrate together while remaining safely distanced.

It was just one of the changes that Arizona Muslims made this year for Eid al-Fitr, which ends the month of fasting of Ramadan. Other mosques held car parades for the holiday, encouraged prayers online or at home or, in one instance, allowed worshipers in the mosque who wore masks and prayed a safe distance from one another.

At the Tempe mosque, Imam Omar Tawil estimated that 250 to 300 cars circled the center Sunday morning, honking as they drove by in cars adorned with balloons and windows painted with sayings like “Eid Mubarak” and “CovEID.” Volunteers wearing masks and gloves handed out small presents and boxes of sweets.

“It was personal enough, and as personal as you could get,” Tawil said. “And we were still wearing masks and still practicing social distancing.”

He said planning for the parade was an “organic” process by volunteers and mosque board members who were looking for “an opportunity to feel what they normally feel in the month of Ramadan,” a sense of community and belonging.

Leena Tohaibeche, a Tempe resident who took part in the parade with her family, said it let her feel safe while feeling herself part of the celebration.

Just because venues are closed doesn’t mean live shows aren’t taking place, and The Gaslight Music Hall in Oro Valley is on a tear this summer, hosting several concerts a week in its parking lot.

This week’s shows, featuring Mr. Boogie Woogie Trio and The Tributaries, are already sold out, so the Gaslight is already selling tickets to the next round of concerts: The Rillito River Band and the George Howard Motown & Soul Band.

"We at the Gaslight Music Hall are overwhelmed and delighted at the amazing response to our new outdoor drive-in concert series,” said Gaslight General Manager Heather Stricker. “To see a community come together to support our small, local business and enjoy live music again in these unusual times is truly remarkable.”

The Rillito River Band, which plays Wednesday, June 3, is composed of longtime Tucson residents with musical roots including rock n’ roll, folk-rock, and folk. Their influences range from mariachi to Cream, from James Taylor to The Cure, and from The Beatles to Kris Kristofferson ( all of which you may hear at a show).

On the heels of a pair of impressive performances this week, the Gaslight Music Hall in Oro Valley is hosting another two drive-in concerts next Wednesday and Thursday.

On Wednesday, May 27, Mr. Boogie Woogie Trio will play. The group, according to Gaslight manager, performer, public relations rep, and booker Heather Stricker, is a “hard-driving, old school, New Orleans style rhythm and blues’ group complemented by Boogie Woogie, “the fastest, flashiest, piano-thumping boogie man from the Netherlands.”

“Yes, that’s right,” Stricker told Tucson Local Media. “This Dutch-based, drive-by piano player hits hard and will take no prisoners. As soon as he starts pounding the ivories, you’ll be on your way to the Land of Good Times.”

If you have a child at home who is waiting to break out of isolation and have a little fun this summer, look no further than the Tucson Museum of Art’s art camp—registration for which is now open.

The camp is designed for young artists aged 5 to 13 and is inspired by the permanent collections and exhibitions located at the museum. While at camp, children will “discover new places and diverse cultures through visits to the galleries and historic buildings, express their creativity and produce original works of art,” according to the museum.

Activities include painting, printmaking, collage, and guided conversations about art and personal life stories translated through visual mediums. The camp takes place across eight weekly sessions, beginning June 1 through July 31, with a one-week break at the end of June.

The museum is taking extra precautions this year due to COVID-19. Each session will be limited to 36 campers in four different groups, and each session will only offer full-day programming. There will be no drop-in participation allowed, all families must register to send a child to camp.

In addition to size changes, the museum announced a series of health and safety precautions:

Following last week’s sold-out performance by The Tributaries, the Gaslight Music Hall in Oro Valley is expanding this week’s drive-in concert to two shows.

This Wednesday, May 20, and Thursday, May 21, the music hall will host FLG Frank Lopez Group - A Tribute to Santana. The Tucson-based band is composed of musicians dedicated to authentically presenting the music of the Grammy Award-winning, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician.

According to the group’s bio: “They pride themselves on giving audiences an authentic, Latin flavor that is accentuated with the motifs and signatures of Santana that have become familiar to audiences worldwide.”

The drive-in show will begin at 6:30 p.m. and run until 8:30. The Gaslight moved the shows back half an hour to lessen the time spent in the summer sun. Tickets are $25 per vehicle. A pizza and snack package is available at the time of reservation and delivered to the vehicle.

Attendees can sit in truck beds or sit in chairs, or in the vehicle and listen to the FM radio transmitter. Performances are broadcast on 102.9 FM. No season passes or gift cards will be accepted at shows, and all sales are final. There is a 24-hour cancelation policy.

For more information, including ticket sales, go online to gaslightmusichall.com. The company also posts regular updates on its Facebook page. The music hall is located at 13005 N. Oracle Road, $165.

Tucson Local Media is a sponsor of the Gaslight’s drive-in concerts.

Just in case you need to sate your craving for live music, the Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance is partnering with the Town of Oro Valley to host live concerts every Thursday through June 4.

The weekly performances begin at 5 p.m. and are streamed through SAACA’s Facebook page and the Town of Oro Valley Parks and Recreation Facebook page. Performances range between an hour and 90 minutes.

“Music brings us together, and the town is proud to be working with SAACA to host these concerts,” said Oro Valley Mayor Joe Winfield, in a release. “These concerts—and these musicians—can help bridge the social distancing gap that we are facing today with their artistry. I think we all look forward to a time when we can gather together and kick up our heels. For now, let’s stay connected through music.”

The concert series was launched after the COVID-19 pandemic canceled arts and culture performances throughout the region, including the shows at Steam Pump Ranch and the Oro Valley Marketplace.

If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that home life has taken on a completely new meaning as the world sets up shop from their houses. With that in mind, Roche Tissue Diagnostics decided on a different theme for this year’s summer art exhibition.

The company normally hosts an annual show of its employees’ artwork at its Oro Valley campus but is unable to do so with most of the staff working from home. A partnership with the Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance moved the summer show up the calendar.

This year’s exhibition, entitled Home | Zuhause, includes photography from Roche Molecular Solutions employees and their immediate family members from across the world, including Germany, Switzerland, and South Africa. The company also has domestic sites in California and New Jersey.

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum received a strong vote of confidence this week when it was granted accreditation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums independent accreditation commission.

The association is a nonprofit organization “dedicated to the advancement of zoos and aquariums in the areas of conservation, animal welfare, education, science and recreation” and acts as the accrediting body for zoos and aquariums in the United States and 11 other countries.

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum was founded in 1952, and today contains more than 4,800 living animals spanning more than 240 species. The museum is also home to more than 56,000 plants of 1,200 taxa and an impressive mineral and fossil collection.

“I, the Board of Trustees, and all the staff and volunteers of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum are extremely pleased to hear that the Museum has, once again, earned accreditation through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums,” said museum executive director Craig Ivanyi, in a statement. “The AZA is the gold standard for the zoological industry and maintaining accreditation is critical to the credibility of the Museum and all its sister organizations, as we remain steadfastly focused on our critical conservation mission.”

When assisted living facilities, memory care homes and hospitals began limiting visits and shutting their doors to the public amid the outbreak of COVID-19, the creative minds at the Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance knew there was a need to fill.

Not only would friends and family no longer be able to visit, but SAACA could no longer supply its programming. The nonprofit provides regular art therapy, and the Music and Memory program puts mp3 technology in the hands of retirees who could use a blast from the past.

Now, that support comes in the form of care packages compiled with help (and donations) from the creative community.

SAACA Executive Director Kate Marquez said the new program is the result of brainstorming with her staff.

“Most of us have the capacity to go outside into our backyards or front yards, take a walk and enjoy our surroundings and get a little bit of respite, but that’s genuinely not the case for so many people here in Southern Arizona, and they happen to be the most at-risk,” Marquez said.