Friday, July 5

From Athens, Georgia, these pedal-steel drenched indie rockers recently released a new mini-documentary, 10 Years On The Road. “Touring can be a pretty grueling thing. It can really take its toll on you. But at least we’re getting paid in life experiences,” said guitarist Carter King, leaning into the sacrifices that come with touring life. Futurebirds are at The Boxyard. With Daddy Banjo & Banjolina Jolie, Chardonnay Sunset and Dirt Friends.

Distilled through a mix of ’70s bong water, the proto-metal of Sabbath and the biker rock of Steppenwolf and infused with a lyrical bent su used with the fantastical (grim reapers, extraterrestrials, Godzilla, tattooed vampires, etc.), Blue Oyster Cult’s self-titled debut album (Columbia, 1972) quickly established these Long Islanders as radio-friendly heavy metal pioneers. Appearing in various guises over the years, the band has maintained a relentless touring schedule that delivers classics to diehard fans and, as vocalist/guitarist Eric Bloom puts it, “teenagers with green hair.” At the Rialto Theatre. Grungy hard rockers of Limbo wait, in neither heaven nor hell, with crossed fingers.

As the low-watt drone of swamp coolers wears on, acclaimed Americana singer-songwriter/ storyteller Kevin Pakulis and his Band offer relief. At Monterey Court.

Whiskey and donuts? Yes. Hosted by DJ Nic, Beatz & Sweetz finds DJ Hart and Lance Fairchild spinning a baker’s dozen of fresh house music. At Batch Cafe & Bar.

Enjoy jazz in the glorious twilight, outdoors. This installment of Friday Night Live! Free Concert Series finds Phoenix’s What’s The Big Idea pushing boundaries at Main Gate Square.

While Natty & The Sunset’s melodic folk illumes indoors at The Parish.

Showcasing some of the Old Pueblo’s top and up-and-coming turntablists, Funk Yo House Fridays goes off at Irene’s Holy Donuts.

Emo Night at Club Congress features Taking Back Harambe, Stripes and Divy.

Commingling Americana, folk, old-time country and blues, singer/songwriter Lisa O’Neill performs music for catharsis and communion. At Crooked Tooth Brewing Co.

Celebration of Life features DJs Metric Tones, Tell Your Girl, Atom Energy, Lunarfluxx and SkrUb spinning in a benefit rave in memory of Jordan Palmer. At Bar Passé.

Saturday, July 6

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In much the same way that savory menudo is doled out after a hard day’s night of drinking, Pedro y Los Líricos return to Exo Bar to serve up rancheras, cumbias y norteñas, caliente y picante.

L.A. indie poppers Raised on TV despondently lug The Off The Couch Summer Tour into Sky Bar.

Playing a mix of original compositions and covers (from Johnny Cash to Katy Perry), Cameron Hood, one half of award-winning alt-folk duo Ryanhood, performs in the courtyard at Mercado San Agustin.

During the mid-2000s, this Bay Area electronic producer/DJ made his mark blending hip-hop with sinister bass lines. He remains on the forefront of the overriding EDM culture running rampant: Dubstep and bass music. Resonance Monthly: July Edition welcomes Antiserum. At Gentle Ben’s. Oblivion, Alex the Lad, CRISHXN and Isiah Haji lend support.

Escape the heat. Head north. Friends of Catalina State Park presents Music in the Mountains Concert Series. Guitarist Loren Dircks (Gila Bend) joins singer-songwriter Eric Schaffer—backed by the former Sidewinders’ rhythm section of Ken Andree and Bruce Halper—for acoustic/ electric sets of folk, rock and a smidgen of country. Eric Schaffer & The Other Troublemakers perform on the western slopes of the Santa Catalina Mountains.

From Culiacán, Sinaloa, grupo norteño Los Nuevos Ilegales are at Club 4th Avenue.

An extravaganza awaits. Queerella D. Vil hosts Vamp drag show. At 191 Toole. With a performance by The Clunt and more.

Project Atlas: Independence Day Weekend is manned by a crew of AZ house music specialists: DJs Alex Anders, ZAW, H.R. Guerin, Lance Fairchild and Macefacekilla (Icehause recording artist). At Solar Culture Gallery.

Tucson’s longest running alternative club night, Opti Club, presents The Official 4th of July Fireworks Afterparty. At Club Congress. “Free, like America.”

“All grit and no quit,” is the mantra this Texas rising star has used to propel his career from the perilous roughstock events of the rodeo circuit into the fickle arms of the music industry. Josh Ward with Scottsdale’s Harry Luge and The County Line are at The Rock. Put your boots on and stomp around in the red, red dirt.

Sunday, July 7

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From Murfreesboro, Tennessee, this chart-topping country singer’s first record purchase was Keith Whitley’s L.A. to Miami (RCA, 1985), followed by albums by Randy Travis, Tracy Lawrence and Brooks & Dunn. “I’ve always loved country music, and I really liked singing it as a kid. So I was like, ‘That’s what I want to do.’ I just kind of always knew.” Chris Young was truly “Raised On Country.” At AVA Amphitheater.

Banjos, mandolins and ukuleles shall waft through the night air. Wally Lawder & The Stragglers offer their unique blend of folk, Americana and a pinch of something else. At Monterey Court.

Spinning R&B, hip-hop and rap from the ’90s and early 2000s, DJs Mijito and Plastic Disease preside over After Dark. At Bar Passé.

Featuring the sonic alchemy of Jillian Bessett, Samantha Bounkeua, Vicki Brown and Julius Schlosburg, Loops: An Exploration of Solo Loop Music takes place at Che’s Lounge.

Friday, June 28

Like the nail-biting scene in Pulp Fiction when Vincent Vega revived an overdosing Mia Wallace, this Mexican singer-songwriter's career received an intracardiac injection of epinephrine with the release of Me Déje Llevar (Universal Latin, 2017), a major label debut that yielded four smash hits on both U.S. Latin and Mexican charts. As the title (translated to English) implies, "I Got Carried Away" is full of tales of drinking to excess, double-dealing and bearing the karmic weight of being the betrayer, as in "Te Fallé." His vocal style has drawn comparisons to iconic Mexican crooner Luis Miguel and "El Rey de la Música Ranchera" Vicente Fernández. At 20 years young, with guns ablaze, Christian Nodal ascends to the throne at Tucson Music Hall.

The New York Times raved that it's "the gleeful profanities, righteous protest anthems and impeccable folk songwriting" that have carried one of the finest folk duos of all time through a career spanning three decades. Two distinct voices and worldviews—that of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers—come together. Indigo Girls strive to create something transcendent at the Rialto Theatre.

Keep your antipsychotic meds close. Maximal insanity awaits. Hitman Entertainment celebrates 8 Years of Keeping It Heavy ALWAYS Anniversary Show with WitchAlley, 7eventh of Never, Psycho 78 and Legion. At House of Bards.

Transcending all musical barriers, Washington indie rockers Stereo Riots cause a ruckus. With Defeat the Band whose collective interests include "weed, good times and nice people," and the mighty Sur Block. At Sky Bar.

This week's installment of Tucson Duels sees The Demons vs. The Öhmlauts in a samurai sword fight to win the honorary title of kensei (Japenese sword saint). At The Screening Room.

Marrying humor with infectious cumbia/salsa rhythms singer Stephani Candelaria delivers a powerful feminist message. La Mera Candelaria adds a piquant sabor caribeño to the recurrent dance party sin fronteras that is El Tambó. With DJ Humblelianess. On the plaza at Hotel Congress.

Like the mythical and elusive Chupacabra, Bordertown Devils roam the desert wasteland by moonlight in search of prey. With The Endless Pursuit and PS9. At the Surly Wench Pub.

Texas death metalists Creeping Death caution against the "Specter of War." With Fuming Mouth, Languish, AOM and Scowl. At Ward6.

Nitecall: Disco 2000 features performances by The Häus of Polkadots. DJs Mijito and Plastic Disease preside over the nights events. At R Bar.

Darkly roasted strains of country noir will waft through the air when West Texas Intermediate play Exo Bar. Hans Hutchison performs an opening set.

Desert rockers The Craig Green Band celebrates the release of Flyboy Serenade. At Monterey Court. Big Grin and Mike Sadler lend a hand.

Doom and sludge your thing? Wallow in the mire. Sixes, Atala and Dayak get filthy dirty at House of Bards.

After a rollover bus accident, in 1999, that claimed the lives of two band members and their road manager, these Tejano/norteño stars have lived up to their name. Intocable are at AVA Amphitheater. With Banda Machos.

Exuberant. Raw. Innovative. Former Funky Techno Tribe, DJ/remixer Donald Glaude spins house at Zen Rock. It's going to be "Off the Hook..." The Jack and Public Enemy #1 pay homage to AC-DC and Mötley Crüe. At The Rock.

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

The sons of U.S. Air Force personnel stationed in London, this trio formed in the 1970s. Shortly after graduating high school, their tight vocal harmonies propelled major transatlantic hits: "A Horse with No Name," "Sister Golden Hair" and "Ventura Highway." America, The Band are the Desert Diamond Casino - Sahuarita.

Saturday, June 29

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Rolling Stone Brazil named them "one of the most interesting retro acts of the last decade." Riding in on a heat wave of '70s roots rock revival from São Paulo, Ted Marengos' Timeless Beat USA Summer Tour descends upon the Sky Bar. They share the bill with epically spaced-out rockers Silver Cloud Express and psychedelic/synth-poppers Tropical Beach.

What you got in your pocket? Cruize: A Queer AF Hanky Code Party. Unfamiliar with the code? Google it and educate yourself. An evening free of hate and shaming, for queers by queers. DJs Atlantis Moreupset, Papita, Robertitx, DADDY SLMBR PRTY and Sissy Peniston spin the jams into the dawn.

A major star in regional Mexican music, "El Rey de Mil Coronas" (The King of a Thousand Crowns), Lalo Mora brings his accordion-powered norteño to Club 4th Avenue.

A bare-knuckle brawl ensues at Che's Lounge when Dirt Friends and Asian Fred face off.

Somewhat cryptically, Hank Topless asserts, "Come hear why hippie music is so much better than all that countryfied corn that went before." At The Dusty Monk Pub.

Shitkickin' since 2003, Phoenix cowpunks The Earps share the stage with local punks The Öhmlauts and rock quartet Escape Goat. At Irene's Holy Donuts.

An evening of clever songwriting awaits. Lana Rebel & Kevin Mayfield's songs provide the perfect soundtrack for a late-night porch gathering in the still of a summer night. Can you hear the crickets chirping? John Mount is known for crooning next to kegs at backyard parties. And Grip Jensen writes tender country songs for adults. At Exo Bar.

Prepare to be "Thunderstruck." The ultimate all-girl tribute to AC-DC will shake you all night long. Sugar Stains and Mean Streets add to the sheer chaos. At Encore (formerly Club XS).

The horn, percussion and electric guitar propelled Latino sound of Santa Pachita manifests at Monterey Court.

Here Comes the Music. Songstress Adara Rae performs blues/pop/rock in the tasting room at Sand-Reckoner.

Queer Bazaar is an evening of revelry, outreach, engagement and pride to benefit the Reveille Men's Chorus and THEM Youth Ensemble Choir. DJ Mijito spins.

Featuring two-time Grammy nominee pianist/composer Enrique "Hank" Feldman, Acerekó performs Afro-Cuban/jazz at Crooked Tooth Brewing Co.

Tap + Bottle - Downtown celebrate 6 years on 6th with food trucks, libation and the music of Mariachi Tesoro, Hey, Bucko and Tongs.

"We'll leave the light on for you." Nite Lite: DJs Dominator, Terry Jasinto and Cactus spin EDM from late at night until early in the morning. At Solar Culture.

Sunday, June 30

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