“My name is Fido and I am a 4-year-old boy. I am a sweet boy who would prefer to be your only cat to get all of your love and attention. In the past I have done well with calm, cat savvy dogs and gentle kids.” Fido (875896) Fall in love with Fido at HSSA Main Campus at 635 W. Roger Rd. You can also give an adoptions counselor a call at 520-327-6088, ext. 173 for more information.

Drawing from traditional jazz, swing and the American songbook, Tucson Jazz Institute hosts JAZZ JAMbalaya. At Sheraton Tucson Hotel...

Friday, Nov. 29

Always wanted to sing in a group? Come kick the tires at this open participation event—turning the audience into a choir. The science shows the therapeutic benefits (neurotransmitters spark the right temporal lobe to life releasing endorphins that make us healthier and happier) and when we sing together this effect is amplified. Choir! Choir! Choir! At the Rialto Theatre...

A descendent of the Tarahumara people, this award-winning artist recognized the connection between hip-hop and indigenous culture. Artson headlines Red Friday: A Traveling Music and Art Festival for Tribal Nations. Featuring Odin Rock, Communal, Dream Team, Tonight's Sunshine, Saint Jamain and Luxy Vinyl. At 191 Toole...

Escape materialism and capitalism and dance for Black Friday. Mexican emo/queer synth popper Flor de Nopal joins DJ Mijito at R Bar...

Is This Thing On? An emo, post-hardcore, punk night rages forth. This installment sees Signals, Taking Back Harambe, Tucson Is The Reason and Annie Jump Cannon take to the stage in the flesh. At Club Congress...

Dreamy, surfy sounds commingle in harmony with Southwestern gothic soul music. Nelene Deguzman (of The Rifle) and Just Najima are at Saint Charles Tavern...

Since 2005, these multiple Best of Tucson winners for Best Cover Band channel new wave classics, pop and power ballads from what could be your favorite decade. 80s & Gentlemen rock on the rooftop at Playground...

Resident DJs W3$T Friday and Elektra Tek host some of the Old Pueblo's top and up-and-coming turntablists. Funk Yo House Fridays goes off at Irene's Holy Donuts...

A night of many rich flavors. Grungy fuzz and indie rockers Feverfew and The Electric Blankets are paired with hip-hoppers Jivin' Scientists and turntablist/beatmaker Halsero. It all goes down at Thunder Canyon Brewstillery...

Saturday, Nov. 30

Not feeling the spirit? Celebrate the anti-Christmas. Festivus—a term coined by Frank Costanza (on TV comedy Seinfeld) stands as a secular backlash to the commercialization of the Yuletide—features Gutter Town, Black Cat Bones, Desert Fish, Nocturnal Theory, Sworn Apart and AJ's Rockabilly Ruckus. At the Rialto Theatre...

Street cred? In addition to releasing three full-length albums under his own name, this L.A. alt-rocker has contributed to recordings by Ty Segall, Thee Oh Sees, King Tuff and others. Mikal Cronin is at 191 Toole...

"The King of Strings," celebrated blues/rock guitarist Carvin Jones returns to The Rock...

Three generations collide on the dancefloor, The Fineline Revisited: DJ Stubbie keeps the infamy alive. At the Surly Wench Pub...

Rock 'n' roll, loud AF, straight up. Reuniting to toast 20 years of noise making. Dirtnap are at EncoreTucson...

Performing on tiny keyboards, musical instruments and non-instruments both variegated and amusing—Thøger Lund, Dimitri Manos and Jeff Grubic—SRS (Spontaneous Response Squadron) explore ambient improvisation at Exo Bar...

Performing original compositions and adaptations rooted in various pan-African nastyles: African Folk, Afro-pop, Afro-Cuban and Afro-Caribbean rhythms. The Key Ingredients of African Soul will perform what Doc Twang says, "...will be our last show for a while." At Monterey Court...

Natalie Pohanic & The Sunset's honey sweet indie-folk songs shine brightly at the end of the day. In the courtyard at Mercado San Agustin...

Let's Get Hyphy finds DJ Jahmar and a mysterious special guest spin Bay Area hip-hop. At Mr. Head's Art Gallery & Bar...

Revealing themselves prismatically in a "Daffodil Daydream" Texan alt-rockers Deliah Blue along with Tucson's In Lessons, Heroes Reunion and Manguera lay siege to the Sky Bar...

Award-winning indie-folk duo Ryanhood perform in a free event at the Fox Theatre...

Giving soul to the universe, wings to the mind, Still Life Telescope and Max Parallax skew the great divide. At Saint Charles Tavern...

The intrepid Tucson Symphony Orchestra presents E.T. the Extra-terrestrial In Concert. At Tucson Convention Center...

Sunday, Dec. 1

Celebrate World AIDS Day with a party on the patio. Ras Jahge, Lexi Kay Moncada, Veronica Chase, Tucson High Folklorico and Dust Dance Collective are set to perform in this family-friendly event. Free HIV testing is available. At Hotel Congress...

Inspired by ancient Egyptian and near-Eastern mysticism as well as the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, death metallists Nile bring A Vile Caustic Attack Tour to EncoreTucson...

"We're here to tell a story, about fame, decadence, triumph and tragedy." Mercury: A Celebration of Freddie Mercury's Life and Music is at the Fox Theatre...

Happy Thanksgiving! Folk harp and viola delicately commingle to arrive at a mysterious landing. Mariah McCammond and Deanna Cross are The Hatpin Duo. They will pay a lovely instrumental set at Agustin Kitchen...

Disco. Techno. House. The Optimist Club, Tucson's longest running club night, welcomes H.R. Guerin and Lance Fairchild—co-founders of Project Atlas—as the newest resident DJs. At Club Congress...

Arizona's Most Wanted finds outlaws Mark Insley and Damon Barnaby adding a rock 'n' roll twist to a tall stein of alt-country. At Iron John's Brewing Company-Congress...

DJs Atom Energy and Lunarfluxx continue to tap into a rich motherlode of house music, deep from the underground. Like a stick of dynamite, Deeper explodes at Bar Passé...

"I Like It." At 25, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio's ascent from supermarket bagger into who Rolling Stone calls "The Four-Billion-Stream Man" has been nothing short of meteoric. Bad Bunny leads the Latin trap explosion. At the Tucson Convention Center...

Wrought of Caliche, local R&B/neo-soul/"Pisces poppers" Mesquite are preparing to travel south—along with devilish Mexican garage punks Los Diabólicos and Phoenix's DJentrification—to perform at the Posadelic Festival in Hermosillo. They are circling the wagons at Club Congress for a send-off...

Singer-songwriter Joe Peña and guitarist/pedal steelist Joe Novelli make storm clouds swell. At Tap + Bottle-Downtown...

Bass 'n' drum/electronica duo Basic Biology are hosting a music video watch party to premiere three new vids for songs off Melting Patterns, the result of a recent collaboration with Flam Chen. At Solar Culture Gallery...

Billed as "a reunion of sorts," In Photo Exhibit, the photographic work of Katie Rogers, Michelle Testa and Jarrod Mingus mashes up with the rock/punk/noise, indescribable fury, and, uuh, odor of Free Machines, Carbon Copy and Shit Knife. At 191 Toole...

Gary Mackender, Karl Hoffmann and Billy Yates, otherwise known as The Carnivaleros Trio, add a few secret herbs and spices (use your imagination, will ya?) into a savory stockpot of zydeco, polka y Tex-Mex and bring it to a roiling boil. At Public Brewhouse...

The Tucson Museum of Art is celebrating the local launch of The Queen Next Door: An Intimate Portrait of Aretha Franklin by photojournalist Linda Solomon. The event features Solomon in person, plus a pop-up photo installation, book signing and conversation with the author.

Solomon wrote and photographed for The Queen Next Door over the course of four decades. The book features more than 200 exclusive photographs, plus a foreword by composer Burt Bacharach and an afterword by Aretha’s niece.

“I met Aretha in 1983. At this time I was a columnist with the Detroit News. I arranged with a producer of a local talk show in Detroit to come down and take one photograph of Aretha,” Solomon says. “I did a column about this first meeting and shortly after I received a message from Aretha inviting me to a private reception with her family at the Mayor’s residence in Detroit . She continued to invite me to private rehearsals with The Rolling Stones, James Brown and others.”

Solomon, a member of the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame, has written and photographed for multiple books. She also founded the Pictures of Hope program, which supports homeless children, including those in Tucson, through the power of photography.

“My book shows Aretha’s realness and the photographs shows how she gave her heart and her soul to everything she did,” Solomon says. “The photographs are intimate, fun and express the heart of an international treasure.”

A Night With Aretha at the Tucson Museum of Art. Tuesday, Dec. 3. 6 to 8 p.m. 140 North Main Avenue. Free. For more information, visit tucsonmuseumofart.org/event/a-night-with-aretha

Musician/comedian Steven Yanez Romo hosts, what is rumored to be an "extreme" experience, "the best in town" and "buttloads of fun." Karaoke with Romo. At Thunder Canyon Brewstillery...

The Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance and the Town of Oro Valley are once again partnering to bring the largest celebration of the arts and culture in the region back to town in the form of the Oro Valley Holiday Festival of the Arts & Tree Lighting Celebration.

The creative place making event returns Saturday, Dec. 7 and Sunday, Dec. 8 to the Oro Valley Marketplace (12155 N. Oracle Road). The two-day festival includes more than 150 artisans, 30 performances by student and local musicians, family arts activities, food trucks, the TUBACHRISTMAS holiday play-along, an appearance by Santa and plenty opportunities to make some memories with your loved ones.
 
Festivities culminate in the lighting of the 35-foot Oro Valley holiday tree at 6 p.m. on Dec. 7. A community favorite, TUBACHRISTMAS takes place Dec. 7 at 2 p.m.

Entertainment Schedule


Saturday, Dec. 7

10 to 10:30 a.m.: Oro Valley Jazz Band
10:40 to 11:10 a.m.: SASO Flute Ensemble
11:15 to 11:40 a.m.: Maguire Academy of Irish Dance
11:50 a.m. to 12:05 p.m.: One Rehearsal Short
12:10 to 12:40 p.m.: Sons of Orpheus
12:50 to 1:05 p.m.: Wilson Elementary Choir
1:10 to 1:30 p.m.: Wilson Middle School Choir
2:00 to 2:45 p.m.: Tuba Christmas
3:00 p.m.: Santa Arrival Procession with Ironwood Marching Band 
3:10 p.m.: Opening Remarks by Andrew Capasso
3:30 to 3:50 p.m.: Painted Sky Elementary Chorus
4:00 to 4:15 p.m.: Oro Valley Team Dance
4:20 to 5:00 p.m.: Kids Unlimited
5:10 to 5:30 p.m.: Tucson Girls Chorus Northwest Choir
5:00 p.m.: Lauren Lawson performing at Tree
5:30 p.m.: Carolyn’s Carolers performing at Tree 
6:00 p.m.: Tree Lighting Celebration with Santa at Tree

Carolyn’s Carolers will play music through the event from 4 to 5:50 p.m.

Sunday, December 8

10:15 to 10:45 a.m.: Lauren Lawson (Oro Valley Singer-Songwriter)
11 to 11:45 a.m.: Absinthe Beat Cats (Jazz and Holiday)
Noon to 12:45 p.m.: Nossa Bossa Nova (Brazilian Holiday Songs)
1 to 1:45 p.m.: Desert Melodies (Holiday Favorites)
2 to 2:30 p.m.: Coronado Middle School Singers
3 to 3:45 p.m.: The Nazarene Band 

Havin’ a Blast A Capella Quartet will perform music through the event from noon to 2 p.m.

Innovation Station

At this year’s Innovation Station, presented by Pima Federal Credit Union, The University of Arizona Center for Digital Humanities will present a virtual reality station utilizing Oculus VR to display 3D art designs. Attendees can also paint in a “3D immersive landscape” with Google’s TiltBrush software.

Bookman’s will also host a literary pop up where children can hear stories from local authors, or enjoy a superhero adventure with the Comic Bookmobile, hosted by Frank Powers.

Chalk Art

Sponsored by the Town of Oro Valley, the festival will also feature holiday-themed murals from local artists Wesley Creigh and Alex Jimenez in front of the Walmart and Century Theaters. 

Friday, Nov. 22

"Sweet Jesus of Nazareth!" New Orleans rapper and Queen of Bounce—an up-tempo, bass heavy music designed to make "yo' ass shake"—Big Freedia, ​with​ ​her​ ​legendary​ ​Shake​ ​Team,​ ​bring​ ​bounce ​dance ​moves​ ​like​ ​"the​ ​twerk," "the wiggle," "the​ ​bend​ ​ova'" and ​the​ "hands​ ​on​ ​the​ ​ground" to the Rialto Theatre. South Korean boy group Boyfriend hit the stage first...

During the mid 1980s, David Slutes, Rich Hopkins and compadres became known as one of the progenitors of the desert rock sound. Today, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the release of Witch Doctor (Mammoth/RCA Records, 1989), The Sidewinders' hooky songs, like Mexican jumping cactus, will attach themselves to your skin. At Club Congress. Birds and Arrows open the show with aplomb...

In 2018, after a 10-day tour of Mexico City venues, this San Diego-based electro-pop act recorded their self-titled debut EP with Oingo Boingo bassist John Avila before relocating to Mexico City. Viri Dimayuga—cemetery counselor by day, singer/guitarist by night—believes Mexicans, in general, are more open to electronica. "They grew up with it. And, they like to dance more." Sisster—with local support from female-fronted pop punkers en Español Diluvio—are at The Boxyard...

Combining the raw power and sinewy tension of rock 'n' roll with the poetic artistry and expressive movement of dance, Tucson Libertine League's Burlesque Battle of the Bands pits hellfire rockers Sugar Stains against the blue-eyed soul/rock of Miss Olivia and the Interlopers. This is sure to be a monumental clash, the type found in classic dystopian fiction that serves to quash the underpinnings of a repressed society questing for freedom. At 191 Toole...

It's Nitecall's First Anniversary. To celebrate resident DJ Mijito goes deep into the Depeche Mode catalog pulling out rarities, B-sides, remixes and all the classics. At R Bar...

Her passion for music was spurred at 19 when she began her love affair with the guitar. Tucson via Hermosillo, indie-pop songstress Belinda Esquer performs at Hotel McCoy...

Obstinately crafting acoustic music for the sophisticated urban hillbilly, The Determined Luddites will be joined by alumni Gary Mackender on the squeezebox. At Crooked Tooth Brewing Co...

Susan Artemis tickles the keys at The Dusty Monk Pub...

Led by Parisian guitarist, now Tucson fav, Naim Amor's A Jazz Trio sets the tone at Exo Bar...

Playing bossa novas, ballads and blues, The Jed Paradies Trio swing at The Coronet...

Live large. Smile broadly. Big Grin unspool their homegrown brand of Southwest indie folk at Sand-Reckoner...

BTP & Friends along with Dirty Magic Mike offer up a menu of indie rock and desert folk. At Saint Charles Tavern...

From London, these vintage-tinted rockers with a literary bent, aim for their songs to have the depth and variety of book characters. The Dead Writers perform at Thunder Canyon Brewstillery. Flanked by Silent Movie Actress and Something Like Appropriate...

Led by spitfire vocalist/violaist Deanna Cross, The Unday bring their genre-defying sound to the Surly Wench Pub. Gladhammer and Whiskey Knuckles pound furiously in support...

DJ Jahmar International hosts '90s Juggalo Jam. With live performances by Gilgamesh, ILL V and a surprise guest. At Irene's Holy Donuts...

Leading the youth-driven alternative corrido movement, T3r are at Club 4th Ave...

Saturday, Nov. 23

Pushing the lexicon of mariachi music into nuevas fronteras. Challenging boundaries that the male-dominated orthodoxy may see as nothing short of heresy. Their reputation as NYC's first and only all­female mariachi precedes them. With flowers strewn through their hair, or perhaps, garlands of victory, Latin Grammy winners Flor de Toloache will perform at the Fox Theatre. Violin-wielding child prodigies The Villalobos Brothers add appreciably to the evening...

After 30 years of writing, recording and life on the road, Rolling Stone recently wrote that this musical couple, Karin Bergquist and Linford Detweiler, show "no signs of fatigue, whose moment has finally arrived." If only in your mind, the "post-nuclear, pseudo-alternative, folk-tinged art-pop," of Cincinnati's Over The Rhine will have you eating "Blood Oranges In The Snow." At 191 Toole...

Drum 'n' bass, bounce, trance, house spin round for Smakksgiving. Wolfie, Skip Glitch, Cuddle Muffin, PhotoniX, Kool Arrow and Smakk drop a needle in a groove. At Irene's Holy Donuts...

Rising up from the underground, West Coast rave scene veteran—and resident DJ presiding over legendary full moon desert gatherings—Brad Moontribe will take you on a techno dance journey. With OVRLP (DJ Hart b2b Nic). At Solar Culture Gallery...

Natty & The Sunset entertain with the sweetest of indie-folk songs. In the courtyard at La Cocina Restaurant & Cantina...

Singer-songwriter Leila Lopez, accompanied by bassist Brian Green, perform at Sand-Reckoner...

Backed by some of Tucson's finest, Emilie Marchand sings jazz standards, '60s soul and vintage country. In the courtyard at Mercado San Agustin...

"Like, Oh my god." "Gag me with a spoon." Relive the nostalgia—or hell, Gen Zers experience it for the first time—of director Martha Coolidge's Valley Girl. DJ NoirTech chaperones the '80s dance party. At the Surly Wench Pub...

Sunday, Nov. 24

Post-modern American songster Peter Dalton Ronstadt & The Co. and old time country crooner Freddy Parish share the stage. At Monterey Court...

The Last Sunday Revival finds country bluesman Christopher T. Stevens waxing and wailing at Tap + Bottle-Downtown...

In the mood for a Guatemalan cacao, mugwort and CBD-infused lucid meditation weaving through hypnotic soundscapes? RootFlute connects with ancient Mayan wisdom. At Solar Culture Gallery...

Four historic organizations—Arizona Public Media, Hotel Congress, The Rialto Theatre and Tucson Symphony Orchestra—celebrate milestone anniversaries with a soirée that includes live performances, art, historical lectures and tours and, oh yeah, birthday cake. Yay! Century of Tucson Party unfolds at Hotel Congress...

As part of the centenary the Rialto Theatre will transform for the day into El Cine Plaza (as it was once known during its time as a Spanish language movie house in 1970s) and screen Al Son Del Mambo, Cantiflas' Por Mis Pistolas and other silver screen classics from yesteryear. As well as a musical performance by Sergio Mendoza. Mucho caliente...

It's guaranteed to get funky when Mik & The Funky Brunch serve it up at La Cocina Restaurant & Cantina...

Comedy magic for grownups

Forget Houdini. Magic doesn’t have to be about dark and dangerous arts. As Rod Housley tells it, all magic is about fooling people. He believes that fooling people should be fun to watch, and even more fun to be fooled.

Housley has entertained thousands at conventions and special events over the more than 20 years he’s performed as a professional magician around the country. He’s also won more than 20 awards in magic including Arizona’s Close-up Magician of the Year, Arizona’s Stage Magician of the Year, and the People’s Choice Award.

He will treat Tucson comedy fans to two unusually intimate club performances at 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday, Nov. 22 and 23 at The O. Reservations are $10 and $15 via intimatewonders.wellattended.com.

Housley began creating comedy magic as a child to cope with his sister’s death. “I kind of became the entertainer in my family,” he says. “Magic does the same thing comedy does. Telling a joke, there’s usually a left turn where you don't see it coming. It makes your brain fire in a new place. Magic creates that wonder. When you see something (surprising), people automatically laugh.”

Asked what makes him a magician's magician, Housley says his technique is like that of a standup comedian justifying the payoff to a joke. “I create a ‘why’ for every trick. Most magicians just do a trick and then they do another trick.

“I might do the trick a thousand times and then, suddenly, I'm like, ‘Oh! That's how I should present that. That will resonate with the audience’.

“I try to create magic that leaves the audience in a better place, where anything's possible and things are amazing and you're allowed to laugh. That's the childlike state of wonder that I think magic can create.”

Dreading Thanksgiving dinner?

The O’s Pre-Thanksgiving Extravaganza on Wednesday, Nov. 27 has some potential to stuff you with enough comedy that your uncle’s politics won’t give you indigestion. It’s worth a try.

Stephanie Lyonga lights up the lineup with electric energy and language unfit for reverent family holidays. Bilingual comedians Andrea Salazar and Tony Kanani Bruhn perform in English but make audience members feel at home in either language. Rounding out the show are Daryl Graves and two popular Phoenix comics, Glendon McGee and Derek McFarland.

The show starts at 7:30 p.m. and admission is $5 at the door.

What are you doing New Year’s?

Laffs Comedy Caffe is now taking reservations for folks wanting to welcome 2020 with a smile.

Ron Feingold headlines shows at 7 and 10:30 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 31. Reservations are $30 plus tax and tip. The 7 p.m. show includes dinner, and at the 10:30 show, a dessert buffet sustains revelers in the count down to the new year’s debut. May it give us all something to look forward to.

More Laughs!

Friday, Nov. 22: Politically musical Standup with Randy Rainbow at 7:30 p.m., Fox Tucson Theatre ($41.50 to $87.50). Country musical standup with Rodney Carrington at Desert Diamond Casino ($30 to $45). Standup with Greg Romero Wilson at new winter times, 7 and 9:30 p.m., Laffs Comedy Caffe ($12.50 and $17.50). Improv with Shatfan and The Lobbyists at 7:30 p.m. and The Soapbox at 9 p.m., Tucson Improv Movement (TIM)($5). Family-friendly improv with Not Burnt Out Just Unscrewed (NBOJU) at 7:30 p.m. and Fourth Friday Free Form Friday at 9 p.m., Unscrewed Theatre ($5 and $8).

Saturday, Nov. 23: Standup with Trevor Noah at 9:30 p.m., Tucson Music Hall ($47 to $93) and Greg Romero Wilson at 7 and 9:30 p.m., at Laffs Comedy Caffe ($12.50 and $17.50). Improv with Third Beats and Harold Omega at 7:30 p.m., and Pilot Season and Standup 101 at 9 p.m. at TIM ($5). Uncensored improv with NBOJU at 7:30 p.m. and uncensored Tellabration!, a nationwide event hosted in Tucson by Tellers of Tales at 9 p.m. at Unscrewed Theater ($5 and $8). High camp Retro Game Show Night, BattleMimes, at 7 p.m. at Club Congress ($12, Eventbrite).

Free Open Mics

Sunday, Nov. 17, 6:30 p.m., The O, and 8 p.m., Chuckleheads in Bisbee.
Monday, Nov. 18, 7 p.m., Comedy at the Wench, The Surly Wench Pub.
Tuesday, Nov. 19, 6:45 p.m., Neighborhood Comedy at The Music Box Lounge.
Wednesday, Nov 20, 7 p.m., The Screening Room and 8:30 p.m. at The Mint.
Thursday, Nov. 21, 8 p.m., Laffs Comedy Caffe and 8:30 p.m., Rockabilly Grill.