Friday, Jan. 31

EDM and jam band enthusiasts take heed. Dubbed "The Crown Jewel of the Southwest Festival Scene" by Huffington Post, the Gem & Jam Festival 2020 kicks off its thirteenth installment at the Pima County Fairgrounds. This year's synthesis of jam bands, EDM, cutting-edge sound and lighting includes: Tipper, Big Gigantic, The Floozies, Twiddle, Billy Strings, supergroup TH3 (featuring members of The String Cheese Incident), Thriftworks, Manic Focus, Dirtwire, Desert Hearts Takeover, Desert Dwellers, Bluetech, Buku and many more. Visit gemandjamfestival.com for all the details...

His playing style interweaves the folkloric music of Greece, Spain and Latin America with pop sensibilities. Celebrated guitarist Pavlo blows "Besos Mediterreano" at the Fox Theatre...

Chakalo provide the soundtrack for Día de las Luchas. Briny, spandex-clad luchadores top the bill. At the Rialto Theatre...

In their only Tucson show of 2020, deathcore collective Decayer are set to shoot a video. Before The Silence are making their highly anticipated debut. Stands With Fists, Fire Glass, Dedwin and Creating The Scene add a "Twist of Cane" into the metallic cauldron until it spills over. At The Rock...

Pieta Brown has been hailed by the BBC as "a self-styled poetess, folk goddess and country waif," while David Huckfelt's music functions as a darkly poetic canticle to protect all things vulnerable and sublime. Together these former Tucsonans share the stage at El Crisol Bar...

Shit Knife, Lone Control and Sherbet & Champagne do sordid things. At the Surly Wench Pub...

Modern house connoisseur Dillon Nathaniel manipulates frequencies. At Gentle Ben's...

Saturday, Feb. 1

After a long hiatus, in the wake of a scandal involving accusations of sexual coercion in 2017, Pinegrove seek to earn back fans' trust. At Club Congress. Lake lends support...

This modern violin quartet transform the music of Metallica, Led Zeppelin, AC-DC and others into something uniquely their own. Femmes Of Rock dazzle at The Fox Theatre...

Wolf Parade's latest album Thin Mind (Sub Pop, 2020) was recorded in an old stone barn in the woods while employing '80s synthesizers to create a future-forward sound. Hear what it sounds like live at 191 Toole. Fellow Canadian indie-rockers Land of Talk open...

"The Godfather of British Blues," elder statesman John Mayall will play the Rialto Theatre. Local blues titan Tom Walbank takes to the stage first...

Arizona Opera presents one of the most gifted and distinguished tenors of his generation, Matthew Polenzani, accompanied by pianist Christopher Cano perform at Holsclaw Hall... Progressive hard rockers YYNOT bring Resonance to The Rock...

Tucson Kitchen Musicians presents Grammy nominated Americana/roots artists Wood & Wire. With special guests Ryanhood. At El Casino Ballroom...

From Santa Fe, country-tinged garage poppers Clementine Was Right wheel The Lightning & Regret Tour to The Boxyard. With Moontrax and Tonight's Sunshine...

From Palestine, Texas, Blacktop Mojo's fiery blend of hard-driving Southern Rock will ignite EncoreTucson en fuego...

In a program that focuses on the lowest pitched brass instrument, the Tucson Symphony Orchestra presents Tubalicious. At Catalina Foothills High School...

It's a garage rock extravaganza with The Rebel Set, The Sound Station and Gutter Town. At Sky Bar...

In the tradition of narrative country music, capturing the poignancy and melodrama, James Woodruss (aka Adam Frumhoff) performs select Songs and Sonnets of William Shakespeare. At El Crisol Bar...

Playing a mix of rockabilly, country and rock 'n' roll, the inimitable Al Foul Trio raise the dust in the courtyard at Mercado San Agustin...

Sunday, Feb. 2

The Kinda Cool Quintet plays brisk post-war jazz sorta awesomely. At Monterey Court...

Comprised of violist Wil B. and violinist Kev Marcus, this edgy duo focuses on overcoming stereotypes. Black Violin break down cultural barriers. At Centennial Hall...

Highlighting non-binary artistry, Femmes & Thems features Pearl Earl, garage psych rockers (with great big harmony vocals and a dash of camp) from Denton, Texas. At Club Congress. Followed by the spring 2020 installment of Opti Club, which sees special guest Xochique join resident DJs H.R. Guerin and Lance Fairchild behind the decks. At Club Congress...

After dropping out of college and setting his job as a welder aside, this singer-songwriter's career began to take flight. Sam Riggs tracks Red Dirt country onto the stage. At the Rock...

Arizona Friends of Chamber Music present the Killer B's performing American Song: From Amy Beach to the Beach Boys. A program that reflects the hopes and struggles of 20th century Americans. At Crowder Hall...

UG Late Night #006 features Jae Tilt, Benny Loc & Cass, Pariah Pete, Zeus and more. At Thunder Canyon Brewstillery...

Straddling the cultural divide, singer-songwriter Oscar Fuentes and blues singer/violinist Heather Hardy sing songs in English and Español. At Tap + Bottle-Downtown...

In the tradition of Bob Wills and Earl Scruggs, The Titan Valley Warheads are coming out to play. At Monterey Court...

From Mozart to original Tango compositions, rogue violinist Samantha Bounkeua and pianist Russell Ronnebaum perform an evening of delightful classical violin and piano duets. At The Coronet...

For Those About to Rock We Salute You. Noise Pollution: The AC-DC Experience will shake you all night long. In the Paradiso Lounge at Casino Del Sol...

A taste of Spain in downtown Tucson? Alternating weekly, singer-songwriters Amanda Rochelle and Natalie Pohanic shall serenade for Tapas & Tonics. In the lounge at the AC Hotel Tucson..

. Something new, something old or something forgotten. Wooden Tooth Records DJ Set pops off with guest DJs Tommy Larkins & Dimitri Manos trolling the crates, pulling out the deep cuts and dance hits. On the patio at Che's Lounge..

Extending out over 600 acres of the century old Pima County Fairgrounds, taking place over the course of three days—filled with art, gemstones, camping, live painting, music and a shared sense of community to create a truly unique festival experience—it is a small wonder that the Huffington Post has dubbed this destination festival “The Crown Jewel of the Southwest Festival Scene.”

After a year hiatus, the epic synthesis of jam bands, EDM, cutting edge sound and lighting and visual arts that is Gem & Jam Festival 2020 kicks off its thirteenth installment.

Festival organizers are stoked. This year’s lineup includes: Tipper, Big Gigantic, The Floozies, Twiddle, Billy Strings, supergroup TH3 (featuring members of The String Cheese Incident), Thriftworks, Manic Focus, Dirtwire, Desert Hearts Takeover, Desert Dwellers, Bluetech, Buku and many more.

Gem & Jam Festival 2020 runs Jan. 31-Feb. 2. At the Pima County Fairgrounds 11300 S. Houghton Rd, Tucson, AZ 85747. Visit gemandjamfestival.com for tickets and all the details.

Here is a preview of what’s in store.

Citizens of the world, currently calling Shanghai home. There latest Pulled Apart by Horses (2019) was inspired by the attempted-but-failed dismemberment of Peruvian rebel leader Tupac Amaru II by Spanish colonial authorities in the 18th century. Alpaca thrash till death at Club Congress. Copper Magma, Demon Grass and Stone Witch join in the uprising…

He is not just an award-winning fiddle player. Performing solo on acoustic guitar, Billy Shaw Jr. sings at the Cowpony Bar…

Cruisin’ For A Bluesin’, Tucson blues institution, Bad News Blues Band have their dukes up. At Chicago Bar…

Drawing from a magic hat filled with the music of the Grateful Dead, classic rock and reggae, singer/guitarist Dan Stein & Friends are at Irene’s Holy Donuts…

Born on August, 2, 1979, Isaac Kirkman grew up in Greenville, South Carolina into a military family who moved about regularly.

In a 2015 interview with Cynthia Dagnal-Myron, for The HuffPost, Kirkman described his hometown as a place where “the Civil War never ended.” He encountered bigotry and intolerance. “I was an alien to this world,” he said. “And was treated like one. Bullied. Humiliated. But I was determined to write my way to a better life. I would write my way to freedom.”

"I’m from where the dead vomit red clay/in a seashell splatter, of kudzu and black confetti/where you can hear the sound of slave chains/in the soft foam of surf crashing onto Charleston’s shores/as little white kids with confederate flags/flapping from their bikes, ride happily into the sun/dreaming of the day the south shall rise again/See, I’m from where plantations turned into prisons/the way HIV turns into AIDS/And every cop is a doctor trained to prescribe bullets/to black children and call it the cure.” –Isaac Kirkman

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He spent part of his youth living on the slopes of an active volcano in Sicily, where a beloved teacher, Signora Longo, told him how St. Agatha used breast milk to protect Catania from the volcano’s destructive flows.

A gifted child, Isaac painted and drew, eventually gaining admission to the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art in New Jersey.

He also spent long years in the American hospital system, where he was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a hellish genetic condition that causes progressive deterioration of connective tissues throughout the body and intractable pain. He also struggled with depression throughout his life.

A decline in health prompted him to turn his focus to writing. “There remain obstacles,” he said. “But I will make art from them.”

Possessing an open and inquisitive mind, he pored over psychology and occult texts.

Isaac never drove a car. He spent a lot of his time walking, taking in the urban landscape in different ways and always observing.

A troubled teen, for a time he lived on the streets. “I always had a notebook on me,” he said. “Writing on the couch as my friends sold drugs out the front door, sleeping outside, writing descriptions of the junkies and the outlaws, writing metaphors to capture the agony of the ghetto, and the ecstasy of God.”

He found his heart and words—depicting the human struggle towards redemption—on the streets.

After moving to Tucson, Isaac would often walk the streets, in the scorching heat and torrential rains, it mattered not. He'd leave votive candles on shrines and the sites of recent homicides,. “to pay respect to the spirits and religions of the barrios, honoring their losses as well as my own,” he said.

Here in Barrio Santa Rosa, where he lived, he got on the path to sobriety and enrolled in his first and only writing class at The Writers Studio. Soon afterwards he had his first piece of fiction published.

“I never gave up on writing because it was my destiny,” he said. “Because I had to tell the stories of the forgotten. I didn’t come to this through academics. I came from my own grave. I have been beaten humble and beaten pure.”

Isaac’s poetry and prose have appeared in numerous journals: Waxwing, Huffington Post, Thuglit, Tucson Weekly and many others.

Featuring whimsical string layers, an airtight rhythm section—equally adept at playing improvisational jazz rhythms in odd time signatures as straight ahead 4/4 pop rock—“girlish vocals” coyly delivering “quirky” lyrics, Steff and the Articles came together in 2009, as a vehicle for singer-songwriter Steff Koeppen to give her piano-based songs wheels.

The band is comprised of drummer Tom Beech, violinists Jessica Muiseke-Wilkison and Katie Vargas, guitarist Johny Vargas, bassist Christopher Pierce and Koeppen on piano.

Kismet. They released their self-titled debut in 2010.

Koeppen details their sound as an indie alternative, pop band.

"We produce piano-based songs which touch on jazz, folk, and classical styles while maintaining an accessible, pop-oriented sound.”

Recorded at home, the band released their follow-up album Stories You Can't Tell in 2012. A single from that record, “Two Cities,” received rotation on MTV Networks. Why It Was So - EP came in 2013. And, their latest full-length, teeming with infectious pop candy, Timekeeper, dropped in 2017.

Subsequently, Steff and the Articles toured throughout the Southwest, West Coast and Mexico—along the way opening for national acts Holychild, Great Big World, Copeland and others.

After carving out their own unique “Corner of the World,” Koeppen reflects on the past decade. “We’ve written a full adventure together, and now we get to celebrate a decade’s worth of music and art that came from that," she said.

As for the future, “No concrete plans at the moment. It’s looking like we’re all taking most of February off, after a crazy-busy winter. Then hitting it again in the spring/summer.”

Pierce expanded on their tour plans.

“We've been talking about doing some more touring and working on new music, which I am super-stoked about," he said. 

Steff and the Articles celebrated their 10 Year anniversary on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 191 Toole. Dirt Friends and Night Weather added to the festivities.

Friday, Jan. 24

“No Justice, No Peace, No Hope.” Piecing together an album reflective of the present, Good Luck Everybody (2020) is “pessimistic and sad, with small pockets of love and grace.” Despite an aversion to writing political songs, songwriter Sean Bonnette expands on the underlying theme, “Basic human connection is the path to our collective return to sanity.” Phoenician indie/folk punks AJJ—skirted by the irrepressible Tacocat and The Exbats—usher in the “New World.” At 191 Toole…

From the City of Angels—spinning a ridiculously fun blend of danceable indie rock interspersed with live elements and special guest performers—Electric Feels is an experiential party with a festival feel. At the Rialto Theatre…

Windows into Song is a program of sacred music by Rossini, Respighi and the world premiere of Vokas Animo by Tucson composer Robert Lopez-Hanshaw. It points the spotlight on soprano Federica Lombardi, who made her Metropolitan Opera debut in January 2019. She joins conductor José Luis Gomez and the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. At Tucson Music Hall…

A “night of rock under the stars” awaits. Country-western/psych rockers, Jim McGuinn & The Cosmic Cowboys and Pocket Sand—as popularized by King of The Hills’ Dale Gribble—fend off any would-be assaulters. With Abes Bones. At SkyBar…

Musical shapeshifter Jacob Acosta’s music ranges from the bucolic to the blue-collared. Hear the sounds of the expansive desert. At Harbottle Brewing Company…

“Love, love is a verb.” This installment of NiteCall finds resident DJ Mijito + special guest Tristan Iseult (Lilith) pit Massive Attack and Sneaker Pimps against Portishead and Tricky in a trip-hop battle royale. At R Bar…

The Dead of Winter Fest is an annual heavy metal festival with showcases in Tucson, Kingman, Flagstaff and Phoenix that benefits local youth music programs. This year’s lineup: Cutthroat Gorgeous, Scattered Guts, Adavant, Deadspawn, Shadows of Algol, Pain Patterns and Despair. A portion of the proceeds to benefit Keep Children Rockin’. At The Rock…

With a focus on classics, Naim’s A Jazz Trio is at El Crisol. Makes a perfect pairing for date night…

Club Z sees local tech house bad bois, Low Audi0 and ZAW, dropping that heat. At Zen Rock…

Saturday, Jan. 25

With a keen eye for detail—from spot-on renditions handpicked from the Beatles extensive catalog to a stage show with costume changes reflecting every era of their career—The Fab Four tip a velvet hat. At the Fox Theatre…

A “New Consciousness for a New World.” A new late night experience. The Techno Alliance V1.0 features special guest WYGHT (DarkBlack Records). This hard techno artist’s tracks landed on Umek’s “Behind The Iron Curtain” podcast, Binary Hertz and charted on Beatport. With sets by local turntablists: Chris Miranda, Lunarfluxx, Toby Roberts, Justin Silva and Cat Child. Rave into the morning. At Solar Culture Gallery…

Arguably, “rock’s newest supergroup”—comprised of Deen Castronovo (Journey, Bad English), Tim Gaines (Stryper), Joey Tafolla (Jag Panzer) and Kevin Goocher (Omen)—Of Gods & Monsters make their first Arizona appearance. At EncoreTucson…

Holding steady after 35 years, reggae institution Neon Prophet demonstrate just “How The West Was Won.” At Chicago Bar…

No two shows could ever be the same. Landing somewhere between David Lynch, Ennio Moriccone and Earth, the high desert-noir of The GRAL Brothers perform alongside absurdist, lo-fi folk/pop/rock deconstructionists Golden Boots. At El Crisol…

Spinning new wave, gothic and industrial, DJ Stubbie upholds three generations of delicious infamy. Fineline Revisited At Surly Wench Pub…

From Bozeman, Montana, vocal centric electro/soul duo Dash promise to have you “out on the dance floor, rocking out to the unknown.” At Sky Bar. Locals Juju Fontaine and Moontrax add sass to the lineup…

From the island province of Newfoundland, Canada, lo-fi singer-songwriter Aaron Powell aka Fog Lake creates music that’s been described as “a complex collage of nebulous angst and heartfelt nostalgia.” At Club Congress. With NYC’s Foxes in Fiction and Video James…

Blue-collar singer-songwriter Paul Opocensky tells stories of love, loss and redemption through song. At Borderlands Brewing Company…

“Up on the Roof.” Latin fusionists Santa Pachita make bodies cha, cha, cha. At Playground Bar and Lounge… “In Living Hell.” Pyrate Punx presents an all ages punk rock extravaganza. Social Conflict, The Afraid, Conflict Resolution and Drizzle rebel against dullness. At Spark Project Collective…

“Soul, blues and funky fun.” It’s a dance party with Little House of Funk. It’s like “WD-40 for the hips, Baby!” In the clubhouse at El Rio Golf Course…

In honor of this 4th Avenue venues’ 1st Anniversary, Hank “Cry ‘em All” Topless performs a solo set of his not so “Happy Time Blues.” At The Boxyard…

This English blues harpist/guitarist plays guitar like a drum. “I play the harmonica like a drum as well, very rhythmically. If I get too far from the rhythm, I know I am doing something wrong.” Tom Walbank stays on point. In the courtyard at Mercado San Agustin…

¡Qué candela! Acerekó performs Afro-Cuban/jazz at Crooked Tooth Brewing…

Waxing poetic, Chicago indie folksters Barefoot on Bumblebees sing “Songs That No One Knows.” At Irene’s Holy Doughnuts. Backed Hairbrain and Stripes…

Sunday, Jan. 26

It started informally, “...just getting together and doing some picking,” says vocalist Todd  Sheaffer. Shortly thereafter, on the strength of their five song demo they landed a spot at the prestigious Telluride Bluegrass Festival before even playing their first gig. But, what kind of music is this? Afterall, they use amplifiers and drums; Instrumentation considered anathema by many in the bluegrass world. “Souped-up string band,” Railroad Earth perform at the Rialto Theatre. The familiar yet innovative sounds of Marty O’Reilly & The Old Soul Orchestra stir up the dust first…

Beware of the Green Fairy’s bite. Songs of heartbreak, romance and light are on the menu when For Love or Absinthe perform at the Royal Sun Lounge…

Leading the funeral dirge, Sworn Apart, No Paradise, Flying Half Full and Rich Young pay respect to the music of Type O Negative and Carnivore. At The Rock…

With its origins deeply rooted in the Gypsy culture of Spain, this traditional art form presents the interactions between song, dance and guitar, executed atop a percussive wooden platform. Tablao Flamenco perform at El Crisol…

Country blues guitarist Christopher T. Stevens leads the congregation at the Last Sunday Revival. At Tap + Bottle-Downtown…

PD Ronstadt & The Co. tag team with Sweet Ghosts in a mellifluous lucha libre of sorts. At Monterey Court…

Smash the winter chill with the psycho/post-country sounds of Hank Topless & The Dead Horsemen. On the patio at Che’s Lounge…

Tipping a hat to the music of Jerry Garcia, Legion of Mario presides over Sunday church. At The Hut…

No matter what size, Tiny House of Funk will make you “Shake, shake, shake...Shake yo’ booty.” At Public Brewhouse…

As depicted in many of the world's religions, a tree represents the link between the underworld, the Earth and the heavens. Led by acclaimed artist Daniel Martin Diaz, this Tucson experimental rock band’s architecture is a sentient ecology of the cosmos.

If you listen closely; Solar winds speak, oceans speak and Trees Speak.

Using sound, signals and vibes. They speak constantly, even if quietly, communicating above and below ground, connecting with everything that exists, and just possibly you. Scientists increasingly argue that humans can learn to hear this ancient form of communication.

Although "tree" is used in common parlance, there is no universally recognized definition of what a tree is botanically. Much like the band. By incorporating elements of avant-garde, minimalism, neo-psychedelic and electronica—”along with violin-bowed guitar, theremin and a glut of effects pedals”—Trees Speak transcend the mainstream: Their branches extending towards the sky.

And, similar to photosynthesis, Trees Speak capture energy and convert it into something else.

“Our intention is to create music with an unrehearsed minimalist approach performing simple beats, riffs, and sequences that take one inward. We let the musical performance sculpt its own destiny and create imperfect perfection. Our tool of creation is the anxiety one feels when they are unrehearsed or prepared for a performance. We believe this approach brings us closer to the authentic self. The result is genuine music without an agenda that captures the unfiltered spirit.”

In keeping with the lofty dialectic of kosmische musik (cosmic music, in German), a genre of electronic music which originated in West Germany in the 1960s—where titanic and barbarous forces struggle mysteriously with an underlying unity—Trees Speak seek to patch their hearts onto your soul.

Avant-experimentalists Trees Speak—joined on stage by Birds and Arrows with vocoder and guitar treatments—fête the release of Ohms with a visually provocative live show. On Friday, Jan. 24. At the historic Club Congress. Performances by Ryan Alfred (on modular synthesizer) and modern dancer Ravenna add appreciably to the event.

For the uninitiated, here is a taste. 

Extra, Extra. It’s a punk rock party. Burger Records recording artists Soda Boys are “All Jammed Up.” Watch them flail about at Sky Bar. Phoenix garage punks DOMS—who Don Bolles (Germs/Ariel Pink) describes as, “So powerful. So Cool”—and homies, local provocateurs, Lenguas Largas form a phalanx…

Propelled by sound and vision, Reveal: A debut of burlesque performances tantalizes the senses. With special guest entertainers from Tucson Libertine League. At 191 Toole…

Melding Americana, hip-hop and sample-based electronics with soulful lyricism, Nocturnal Theory promises to “Set Our Bodies On Fire.” At Club Congress. Reggae rockers Desert Fish and Viane share the stage…

Their music is a smooth blend of Hollywood, Broadway, R&B and soul. Silk and Soul is a musical husband and wife duo comprised of soprano Arlette and pianist Mark. In the Lookout Bar & Grille at Westward Look Resort…

Like a tropical hurricane on a trajectory to level all in its path, Miss Olivia and the Interlopers hit land at Tap + Bottle-Downtown…

“Sing-a-long, drink-a-long.” Elliot Jones hosts Piano Bar 2020. At The Dusty Monk Pub…

Learning to increase sight from the third eye, “prog-adelic” rockers Still Life Telescope and Southbound Pilot expand consciousness at The Boxyard…

Friday, Jan. 17

A central figure in Cuban music, bandleader Juan de Marcos González—whose oeuvre includes  the Buena Vista Social Club, Rubén González, Ibrahim Ferrer, Sierra Maestra and others—has been on a mission to demonstrate to the world the wealth, diversity and vitality of Cuban music for the past three decades. The Afro-Cuban All Stars play the Rialto Theatre...

The Secret Jazz Series Night Two: Crooner Night sees Howe Gelb backed by local luminaries. At El Crisol...

Club Z sees local tech house bad bois Low Audi0 and ZAW dropping that heat. At Zen Rock...

This Chicago duo's sound has been described as "sultry vocals and dreamy yet alt-rock-driven guitar soundscapes floating over a rhythmic whiplash of drumming." Bernie & The Wolf bring the Haughty Banter Tour to Sky Bar. Bolstered by the "Hello Kitty-colored fuzzy post-grunge garage" of Feverfew and the thinking man's prog rock of Still Life Telescope...

The Dive Bar and Kitchen is ground zero for a death metal hardcore extravaganza. Featuring Creeping Death, Sanguisugabogg, Languish, Bloodlust and Skin Ticket...

Vermont's own traditional roots power trio, Pete's Posse are at Monterey Court. With Matt Rolland & Freddy Parish...

Saturday, Jan. 18

On Aug. 28, 1963 at the March on Washington, Mahalia Jackson, the Queen of Gospel, prompted Martin Luther King Jr. to go off-script, shouting out, "Tell 'em about the dream, Martin." King began to improvise the speech's most iconic passage. "I'm really interested in these pivotal details that kind of shape things," says violinist David Harrington. UA Presents Kronos Quartet performing a mixed repertoire including Peace Be Till, a new composition based on that historic moment in Washington, D.C. At Crowder Hall...

Transforming passion into infectious joy, this renowned bassist effortlessly has crossed genres lending his virtuosity to projects with jazz and pop legends and classical masters alike. People Music (Mack Avenue Records), the title to his 2013 release, is his personal mantra. "Sometimes jazz musicians get too caught up in their own heads. I figure the best way to communicate is to let the people navigate where you should go." Christian McBride leads his hard-swinging acoustic quintet Inside Straight at the Fox Theatre...

Inspired by the cult films cherished by these L.A. indie rockers, Heaven Surrounds You (Danger Collective Records, 2019) acts as a Map to the Stars, if you will, for disaffected youth. And, their live show is said to be akin to a coming-of-age ritual. Surf Curse at Club Congress. Laika and Stripes provide wicked backing...

Eschewing the lion's mane wig, the dragon suit, the vintage Ludwig Vistalite drum kit, they chose a different path than other tribute acts: To stand on the music alone. Zeppelin USA gives an all-American salute to the music of the very British Led Zeppelin. At The Rialto Theater...

Spinning your favorite jams from the '80s, '90s and early 2000s, Rewind: The Ultimate R&B, Reggae and Hip-Hop Throwback Party takes shape at 191 Toole...

After 11 years, Club Sanctuary is calling it quits. DJs Plastic Disease and Black Flagg promise to drop some sinister industrial, electro and goth tracks for the Grand Finale. At the Surly Wench Pub...

The Secret Jazz Series Night Three: Electro Night features The Jazz Pyramid Scheme. At El Cirsol.

Need a reason to head east? Silver Cloud Express and La Cerca are playing at Crave Coffee Bar...

Ultra '80s Dance Party: DJs Sunanda and Elektra Tek spin your pop favorites. At Passé...

"A Momentary Relapse." After a hiatus groove death metallists By the Gods reincarnate. With Elyzian, Within A Dream, Decrown The Heir and Guardians. At The Rock...

Revel Wine Bar turns 3. Illuminaughty supplies the jams. Cheers...

Sunday, Jan. 19

Among her numerous distinctions, she is both a Blues and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and a civil rights icon. "One of America's defining voices of freedom and peace," she marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., performed at John F. Kennedy's inauguration and sang in Barack Obama's White House. "I'm the messenger. That's my job. And I can't just give up while the struggle is still alive. We've got more work to do." The mighty Mavis Staples performs at the Fox Theater. Vocalist Suzanne Santos opens...

Paying one's dues. Five years of constant touring with Albert Collins, followed by another decade on the road with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, turned this Stratocaster-wielding guitarist into a fire-breathing monster. Eight solo albums later—and a significant portion of his life living out of a suitcase—Coco Montoya delivers the blues' hardest truths. At 191 Toole...

This former mechanical engineering student, found a connection between sound, design and fabrication amid the din and dust of a University of California machine shop. Harnessing the power of noise, doom and metal in unparalleled ways, Tristan Shone aka Author & Punisher takes Club Congress by siege. Up first, experimental/electronic/IDM artist Vytear hits the ground running...

Groove to Motown classics like "Respect," "A Natural Woman," "Chain of Fools" and more. Featuring vocalists Capathia Jenkins and Ryan Shaw, The Tucson Symphony Orchestra perform a musical tribute to the Queen of Soul: Aretha Franklin and the Soul of America. At Tucson Music Hall. Lucas Waldin is at the podium...

"Don't Let The Bass Get Ya." This installment of Resonance Monthly sees DJ/producer Cazztek, who "Came To Get Funky," drop bass and tech house. At Gentle Ben's. Enri, Kevek, Low Audio and Mikkey lend support...

From San Diego, post-hardcore/rockers Secrets bring The City Sleeps In Flame: 15th Anniversary Tour to The Rock. Backed by In Lessons, Echoes and The Abstract...

This week's Sunday Patio Sessions features singer-songwriter Joe Peña, guitarist Joe Novelli and drummer Rick Bailey playing an early set. At Che's Lounge...

The Gabrielle Pietrangelo Trio, playing timeless romantic love songs from the 1930s and '40s, brings Dillinger Days to misty-eyed close. On the plaza at Hotel Congress...