March Radness is not terribly far off (March 8! Get your tickets now! They're going to get more expensive!), so we're going to give you a taste of what to expect from the stellar lineup of bands here on The Range between now and then.

First up, Wild Ones. Portland alt-weekly Willamette Week called them "arguably, Portland's breakout band of the year" and Time called them one of the bands to watch in 2014. If you liked the Cranberries (more "Linger" or "Dreams" than "Zombie") but wanted the singer to calm down some and the band to add some synths, you'll likely be into Wild Ones and their charming electro-indie-pop.

See them and a bunch of bands (Sir Mix-A-Lot! Pinback! Murs!) on March 8 at March Radness, presented by the Tucson Weekly!

A bonus, their free-downloadable cover of Drake's "Hold On, We're Going Home":

The Pima County Fair is 71 days away, and some of your favorite acts are planned to be there.

The Kottonmouth Kings are the latest guests to be announced on the Fair's Facebook page. What better day to see the "psychedelic hip-hop punk rock" band on April 20th?

Country fans will go Redneck Crazy for Tyler Farr on Saturday, April 26.

The very-big-deal groove-based art/music/dance extravaganza Gem & Jam kicks off on Friday providing three nights (and by nights, we mean well into the morning with their after-hours events) of fun for most of the senses. We have four pair of single night tickets to give away to lucky Tucson Weekly readers. Just head over to our contest page, let us know what night you'd like to go (the schedule is below the cut, so you can look for your favorite band or just pick a night and be surprised). We'll pick winners Wednesday at 5 pm and let them know via email.

For more info on the fest or to buy tickets, go to gemandjamfestival.com.

Good luck!

You'll see some familiar faces when Neko Case performs on Conan tonight: Calexico's Joey Burns will be playing cello while Jacob Valenzuela and Michael Carbajal are busting out their trumpets.

Much of Neko's latest release, The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You, was recorded right here in Tucson at Craig Schumacher's Wavelab studio. Pitchfork's assessment:

And that’s the most impressive thing about The Worse Things Get: though it’s a record that looks at topics like depression and parental neglect square in the teeth, its overall tone is one of resilience. The penultimate track, "Where Did I Leave That Fire" begins with a sparse, post-rock arrangement but eventually gathers into a triumphant and surprisingly comic midtempo ballad about mojo returned. But the true victory lap is "Ragtime", a rousing blast of "Crimson and Clover"-esque pop that serves up hard-won hope and plenty of mantras for carrying on. "I’ll reveal myself invincible soon," Case sings, as a parade’s worth of brass swells around her in agreement.

Somehow, The Worse Things Get is Case’s tightest record and also her strangest. With its off-kilter arrangements and eccentric turns of phrase, it’s a world unto itself. If it has any contemporaries, they’re records like Fiona Apple’s The Idler Wheel… or Cat Power’s Sun— the works of artists for whom “maturity” has not meant putting out that fire that Case sings so evocatively about chasing.

Neko performs at the Rialto Theatre on April 12.

• C. Elliott
• Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys at the Fox Tucson Theatre Jan. 29

Ralph Stanley is one of the last great wisdom keepers of a vanishing culture. His music reflects traditions that descended from the Scottish, Irish and Welsh immigrants who settled into Appalachia and the Ozarks as European settlers began to expand their reach beyond the original colonies.

The extent to which his music resonated through a contemporary audience in Tucson, Arizona last week, well into the 21st century, may reflect, in at least a tiny measure, the continuation of that expansion all the way to California. But the people, the culture and the music changed across all that time and geography (see "country" vs "western") and a lot of those old-time sounds got left behind with the good china in the wake of the wagon trains.

Our fearless competitors and amigos at Jalph.net are giving away some rad limited edition sold out 7" vinyls you can't get anywhere else.

All you have to do is share this link on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr (they suggest all three) and you can win two 7" by La Luz and Destruction Unit. You have to tag @Jalph.Net and include #jalphnet to win La Luz's Brainwash and Two Strong Hits by Destruction Unit.

You can catch Destruction Unit play with Prom Body and Man Bites Dog this Wednesday, Jan. 29, at Hotel Congress, 311 E Congress St. The free show (21 and older) starts at 8 p.m.

The Pizza Underground, Velvet Underground meets pizza cover band, played a 15 minute — their entire set — show in front of 200 fans at the Outworld in New Brunswick, NJ on Sunday night. Apparently, the show wasn't as rowdy as the opening band, but there were laughs and happy customers. The band had to share microphones tied to water pipes on the ceiling because there wasn't enough equipment for the whole band.

Macaulay Culkin, former child movie star, and his band had some farfetched requests, according to New Brunswick Today.

From bottles of expensive alcohol to plates of fresh fruit, hummus, and chips, the band's requests were not met in most cases.

The strangest request called for: "one (1) poster of 'Beverly Hills Cop' hanging in the green room prior to bands arrival."

It's not too late to download their demo, or you can buy the cassette if you're cool.

• C. Elliott
• Gabriel Sullivan with, left to right, Connor Gallagher, guitar and pedal steel; Thøger Lund, bass; Jack Sterbis, drums; Jason Urman, keyboards.

The boy likes to stay busy.

Last year between tour stops with Howe Gelb's Giant Giant Sand, local gigs with his breakaway bar-land dance outfit, Chicha Dust, and midwifing an album by Billy Sedlmayr, Gabriel Sullivan recorded a set of new original music in, where else, Denmark, just to keep things simple. While waiting for that release, recording sessions for a new Chicha Dust release, and an impending European tour opening for and accompanying Howe Gelb, Sullivan's keeping busy by writing and recording a new song every day, no exceptions.

At the Tucson Weekly, with the help of the fine folks at Club Congress, the Rialto Theatre and Stateside Presents, we're proud to announce March Radness, a great night of music taking over the east end of Congress on March 8.

For just $15 (and there's a limited number of presale tickets at that price, it'll go up to $20 eventually), you get two venues AND OMG ALL THIS MUSIC.

Co-headlining...you might know him from having a posse on Broadway or his affection for asses, SIR MIX-A-LOT:

Also, they're from San Diego and they're know for their indie-rock magic, PINBACK:

Plus, all these excellent music acts that would probably be worth paying $15 (or $20) for anyhow:

Murs
IAMSU!
Nite Jewel
Painted Palms
PigPen Theatre
Casket Girls
Wild Ones
Stargazer Lily

Plus, more to come.

Tickets are on sale now and we'll be giving some away before this big-ass show.

Get your tickets, mark your calendars and we'll see you there.

A sea of civility flooded the Hotel Congress patio on Sunday, Jan. 19 — the kind of day that makes nearly everyone cordial: sunny, 75 degrees and filled with music to make all ages dance. It was the sort of afternoon where everyone knew everyone, whether you'd ever met them or not. And it benefited a cause on which everyone can agree: We'll never accomplish anything if we can't have a civil conversation.