Expect the unexpected. DJs Carl Hanni & Steven Ramshur indulge the muse by spinning everything from Afro-beat to classic honky-tonk. The Suffering Jukebox expiates sin at Exo Roast Co. Details here.

California post-hardcorists Modern Color and Salt Lake shoegazers No Sun create contrast at Club Congress. With local support from The Trees and Carnival. Details here.
Jude Valentine, Jarod W. Spencer, Alice Caroline and Ranelle Mathews comprise the evening line-up of the Touring Songwriter Showcase. At Passé. Details here.

Blues rock guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd forges headlong into the Rialto Theatre. With bluesmen Austin Counts and Tom Walkbank opening the show. Details here.


With lush vocal harmonies and an organic folk sound that enchants and uplifts the spirit. The Real Sarahs create magic at Passé. Details here.

“And We Thought That Nation States Were a Bad Idea.” Ska punks Mad Caddies Punk Rock Steady at 191 Toole. Details here.
La Cocina is the point of detonation for The 34th Annual Tucson Folk Festival Kick Off Party. Various performers will take to the stage. Details here.
Performing acoustically, rock ’n’ roll survivor Billy Sedlmayr lives to tell about it at Wooden Tooth Records. Details here.
Vocalist/guitarist John Ronstadt & Round Midnight perform jazz, as part of the Spring Concert Series, on the patio at Hotel Congress. Details here.
“My second symphony is a confession of the soul.” In a program that focuses the spotlight on late Romantic period, Finnish composer Jean Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2, Tucson Symphony Orchestra and TSO Chorus perform at Tucson Convention Center. Michael Stern is at the podium. Details here.
Imagine this. Pink Floyd classics performed on bluegrass instruments. Lucky Side of the Moon breathes. Lucky Lenny & Friends are at Monterey Court. Details here.
Wedding traditional folk and world music, Kylo sets the tone musically for an evening of romantic intrigue, political conspiring or solitary musings. At Exo Roast Co. Details here.

An odiferous and morose night of mayhem awaits when Shitbag, Dayak, Lasiodora, Moon Curser and ijustsawyoudie are at Ward6. Details here.
Marley B headlines GLDN Party: A proper banger. Kontraband Klick, Slave Name Flick, TK Been Poppin’, T.D.T.ENT share the mic. At Club Congress. Details here.
Help youth Mariachi Corazon celebrate their 10th Anniversary at El Casino Ballroom. Proceeds from the event will help to fund their participation in 15th Annual Battle of the Mariachis at the historic Mission San Juan Capistrano. Details here.
Metal Fest XVII finds Skoville, Beneath The Fallen Suns, Never Say Never, Tribulance, Dirtnap, Animate Echoes and Minutes to Midnight taking siege of the Rialto Theatre. Details here.
This nine-piece ensemble melts down the music and rhythms of Cuba, Mexico, Jamaica and Brazil with funk, rock, jazz and hip hop to extract a new sound without borders or boundaries. B-Side Players storm into 191 Toole. With Tucson’s own Taco Sauce in tow. Details here.
Ballet Rincon and the Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block’s Education Department present Art in the Park. An afternoon of family-friendly, youth-based performance art, art making, food trucks y mucho mas awaits. Featuring performances by Arizona Opera, Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus, Arizona Theatre Company, Vail Youth Symphony Orchestra and the UA School of Dance. At the DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center in Reid Park. Details here.
Sludgy indie rock trio Hotline TNT are “Calling Out 2 You” at Club Congress. Alt rock/shoegazers Hikikomori and The Trees lend support. Details here.
In a program of new works by Mexican composers—ranging from danzas (stately turn-of-the-20th-century ballroom dances) to folk inspirations—The Arizona Wind Quintet presents Homenaje a México at Exo Roast Co. Details here.

Tucson Kitchen Musicians Association presents The 34th Annual Tucson Folk Festival, Saturday and Sunday, April 6-7. Red Molly, Heather Hardy and Mr. Nature’s Garden top the bill. At Jácome Plaza in historic Downtown Tucson. Find the full schedule at tucsonfolkfest.org. Details here.
Saint Charles Tavern hosts a Folk Fest after-party. With festival performers: With Lucky Lenny (bluegrass/Americana), Sister and the Sun (folk/soul) and Larry and Leslie Latour (folk/Americana). Details here. The Spring Concert Series continues, with guitarist extraordinaire Pete Fine’s Beyond Words inducing aphasia on the patio at Hotel Congress. Details here.
Subspace will transform into an immersive cavern of projection and light installations. DJs spin. BYOB Tucson (Bring Your Own Beamer) Dance Party. Details here.
This North Carolina native fuses soulful vocals with blazing blues guitar riffs. Emily Musilino wails at Monterey Court. Details here.
Guitarist Mike Sydloski joins the Mike & Randy 420 Show at The Hut. Details here.
Roman Barten-Sherman’s fingerstyle blues guitar sets the mood for the opening of Head in the Clouds, visual artist Valerie Galloway’s new series. At Crooked Tooth Brewings. Details here.
From Barrio Santa Rosa, this bajo sexto and accordion-driven conjunto specializes in a polka and traditional Mexican steeped sound so intoxicating that one can easily lose their inhibition and dance with abandon. Pedro Y Los Liricos play música norteño in a post-Cyclovia after-party. At Exo Roast Co. Details here.

The horn, percussion and electric guitar propelled Latino sound of Santa Pachita manifests, as part the post-Cyclovia celebration—just how Tucson’s Complete Streets demonstration project will quickly transform the intersection of North Sixth Avenue and East Seventh Street into a vibrant people-centered place—at #CorbettPorch Activity Hub. Details here.
Take a walk on the moon. Indie/ambient trio Moontrax, Phoenix rockers Panic Baby and the picante Taco Sauce are at Club Congress. Details here.
Featuring former members of Dokken—George Lynch, Jeff Pilson, “Wild” Mick Brown and vocalist Robert Mason—The END Machine are out touring in support of their self-titled debut recording. At Club XS. Details here.
Like your toast with jam? Mik & The Funky Brunch provide family-friendly funk. At La Cocina. Details here. Praised for his jackhammer-like flow and lyrics that uplift, underground hip hop artist Mostafa celebrates his latest release L.B.O.L. (Little Bit of Love) with DJ Will alongside Jae Tilt, Street Blues Family and Odd Apollo. At Sky Bar. Details here.

Hurricane Carla Brownlee & The Bad News Blues Band are slated to perform at The 19th Annual Zin, Blues and BBQ. At Hacienda Del Sol. Details here.

Perhaps best known for his early work with The Fabulous Thunderbirds, this Texas guitar legend has gone onto be hailed by Guitar Player as a “virtual guitar deity.” That’s right. Jimmie Vaughan brings his sharp retro style to the Rialto Theatre. Local shredder Michael Hebert and Michael P. jump start the evening. Details here.

“They’re back.” The kind of girls immortalized in Cheap Trick songs. “Returning from the Thunderdome,” Sugar Stains reanimate old haunts. At Sky Bar. With DMV Area experimental indie rockers StereoRiots and the swampy garage rock of Black Medicine. Details here. 

Inspired by the works of Cuban painter Carlos Estévez: Entelechy. Transforming an idea into reality, field recordist/sonic alchemist Karima Walker provides the soundtrack for an evening of spoken word and poetry featuring performances by writer Raquel Gutiérrez. At Tucson Museum of Art. Details here.

Fronted by the engaging voice and songwriting of Australian Acey Monaro, Austin indie poppers with a psychedelic bent Go Fever hawk daydreams at Club Congress. Flanked by local indie rockers La Cerca and American Monoxide. Details here.
Delight in the shadowy folk pop of Natalie Pohanic at Tap + Bottle Downtown. Details here.

Presented with the improvisational spirit of jazz and the heedlessness of rock ’n’ roll—from sold-out clubs to yoga ashrams—Nick & Luke truck their Americana-rooted originals, jazz standards and old-timey bluegrass liturgy​ to Monterey Court. Followed by the reunion of Summerdog. Details here.
Live large. Smile broadly. Big Grin unspool their homegrown brand of Southwest indie folk at Harbottle Brewing Company. Details here.

Bearing a verisimilitude to the authentic, Red NOT Chili Peppers engage in “Californication” at 191 Toole. Details here.

Embodying the duality—the passion and poignancy that exists when age-old ideologies manifest into real world struggles—of a city and its people divided, Arizona Friends of Chamber Music presents the Jerusalem Quartet. With a program that features works by Haydn, Debussy and Shostakovich. Composed in the immediate aftermath of WWII, Shostakovich’s String Quartet in G Major, Op. 76, No. 1 is considered a chronicle of war that begins with a calm unawareness of imminent cataclysm and culminates by asking the eternal question: Why? At Leo Rich Theatre. Details here.

Avid surfers, Grammy Award-winning alt rockers Switchfoot bring The Native Tongue Tour to the Rialto Theatre. Colony House and Tyson Motsenbocker provide underpinning. Details here.

Whether it be politically charged satire veiled in rock ’n’ blues or an introspective acoustic number, acclaimed singer-songwriter Kevin Pakulis and his band bend ears at Public Brewhouse. Details here.
The sophisticated neo-soul serenade that is Street Blues Family enraptures on the patio at Hotel Congress. Details here.

“Forever On Your Side,” Christian rockers Needtobreathe roll their Acoustic Live Tour into the Fox Theatre. Folk and country singer Sean McConnell breathes in “Secondhand Smoke” before the show. Details here.

One of indie rocks’ most beloved acts, Luna create A Place of Greater Safety at 191 Toole. Details here.

From humble beginnings, this former “garage band” from Topeka went on to sell 30 million albums worldwide. Classic rockers Kansas celebrate the release of their sextuple-platinum album Point of Know Return by performing it in its entirety. At the Fox Theatre. Details here.

This pop singer-songwriter is a classically trained pianist. She played keyboard with BØRNS before striking out on her own. Acclaimed for her dreamy, immersive soundscapes, her debut single “White Noise” rapidly climbed both Spotify and HypeMachine’s viral charts to occupy the No. 1 position. Ella Vos at 191 Toole. From icy Sweden, former Ace of Base singer Clara Mae warms up the night. Details here.

With “Yesterday’s On [His] Mind,” L.A. singer-songwriter Chris Cohen arrives with baggage and his psych-infused melancholia in tow. At Club Congress. Indie-folksters Forest Fallows lend support. Details here.

Hot on the spiked heels of Taco Sauce’s debut release, Original Hot—a freewheeling retro hell ride that navigates a few of the pitfalls faced by Generation Y-ers, including dating app hookups and the manipulative psychology of gaslighting—XOXO caught up with frontwoman Gabi Montoya to pick her brain. Saucy? Si señora, just like a worn pair of glitter splatter ankle boots.

Ok. Let’s start with “Swipe Left.” What is the backstory to that song?

I wrote “Swipe Left” a few years ago when I was single and doing the whole Tinder online dating thing. I was both amused and frustrated with how ridiculous it was. Most profiles were making stupid demands like, “you have to like this and if you don't, swipe left.” And, of course, the unsolicited nudes that Tinder is famous for.

What does the release of Original Hot mean to you?

Mostly, it means finally giving our friends and fans what they've been asking for at every show. It's really exciting because we built a big local following way faster than we could have imagined. Many people who came to our shows assumed we were already a well-established band. So, we finally get to use the momentum we gained over the last year and get our music into the hands of our fans. It's just so mind-blowing that we actually have people who have been waiting for this. We're really grateful.

What adjectives best describe your live performances?

Our live performances are engaging, surprising, sexy and oftentimes, pretty silly. Me and [bassist] Isabella [Rodriquez] enjoy teasing each other and making witty banter on stage.

Taco Sauce… Hmm. So, where did the name come from?

The name for the band was a combination of ideas. I like the word “saucy.” We thought something about tacos or Mexican food or Chicano culture would be fitting. And, very Tucson. Also, I think the name appeals to dirty minds, considering we're an all-woman band with queer members.

What about “Gaslight.” What was the inspiration there?

“Gaslight” came from reflection upon relationships with men in which I wasn’t, umm, shall we say, ‘satisfied.’ I realized that it’s still a very common tactic for men to blame women for aspects of their relationship that they're not happy about; essentially, gaslighting women into believing that the woman is the problem or the problem is all in her head.

Is Original Hot self-released or on a label?

Original Hot is self-released. The tracks were recorded at three different studios to help us experiment with finding our sound.

So, is there an album release party on the horizon?

Isabella and I are currently planning a summer tour. Our original drummer [Dessa Keys] left the band a few months ago. Now, Gaby Lisk is acting as our drummer. So, we're just trying to reorganize and figure out who we want to be going forward. We feel more free to do what we want. We aren't going to do a release party per se. But, we'll definitely treat all of our upcoming shows as a celebration of this new release.

There you have it.

Taco Sauce's debut EP, Original Hot, is now available for streaming on Spotify. Or purchase at tacosauceband.bandcamp.com

This pop star started her career penning songs for Gwen Stefani, Britney Spears, Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez. And, the girl’s got “Issues.” Recently, in People she admitted to bad behavior in the name of creativity. “I think as an artist it’s fairly easy to become stagnant. When that happens you do a lot of really shitty things to people, that you don’t really mean to.” Julia Michaels reveals her Inner Monologue at the Rialto Theatre. Accompanied by a handful of rising artists: Billy Raffoul, Josie Dunne, Corey Harper and Spazz Cardigan. Details here.

Her sound is smoky. The reverb-drenched twang bears a 1950s feel, reminiscent of when beehive bouffants ruled the Earth. She declares defiantly, “You Don’t Own Me,” only to find that “There’s Still a Tear in [Her] Beer.” Country songstress Whitney Rose is at Club Congress. Gus Clark and the Least of His Problems opens the show. Details here.
Originally self-released in 1969, Ode To Quetzalcoatl was then championed in The Acid Archives as “one of the ultimate incarnations of tormented religious loner, downer folk.” Psychedelic folk outlier Dave Bixby triggers weird acid flashbacks or conversations with the risen Christ. At Wooden Tooth Records. With the freak folk of Dave Merrell. Details here.

This Tucson OG plays blues, Motown and everything in between. The George Howard Band keeps the party going in the Tropico Lounge at Casino Del Sol. Details here.

On the rooftop, ’80s and Gentlemen keep the decade alive. At Playground Bar & Lounge. Details here.
Echo Chamber features performances by Kristen Miologos, Karima Walker, Michael Dauphinais and Bryan Jacobs. A day of new, experimental music awaits at MOCA Tucson. Details here.

Borderland Brewing’s Taproom Sessions presents Natalie Pohanic. Details here.

Guitarist, folk storyteller Gene Moran performs at The Dusty Monk Pub. Details here.

Johnny Hootrock, The Vooduo and The Shivers do unspeakable things with planks of wood and strings at the Surly Wench Pub. Details here.

The feral Hank Topless Band show little in the way of restraint at Saint Charles Tavern. Details here.

Parisian guitarist Naim Amor leads A Jazz Trio at Exo Roast Co. Details here.

Avant-garde viola and harp duo Hatpin enchant with original compositions in the tasting room at Sand-Reckoner. Details here.

Springboarding the Spring Concert Series, chameleonic neo-soul/jazzers Mesquite are on the patio at Hotel Congress. Details here.

Vocalist/guitarist Ben Gibbard culled his band’s name from the title of a song performed by the infamous Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. Death Cab for Cutie careen into the Tucson Music Hall. Details here.

The backing soundtrack to this Christian music singer-songwriter’s childhood was bluegrass music. “The first sound I remember as a little barefoot boy was my daddy’s Martin guitar and a five-string banjo.” His latest, Deeper Roots: Where the Bluegrass Grows pays homage to his rural Kentucky heritage. Steven Curtis Chapman helps us “Remember to Remember. At Leo Rich Theater. Details here.

The country music institution that is Loveland congregate at Crooked Tooth Brewing. Details here. 

Folk/Americana practitioners Dash Pocket work their craft at BlackRock Brewers. Details here.

Creating a playlist from one of the most successful vocal groups in rock history’s chart topping hits, Stayin’ Alive: One Night of the Bee Gees is a quintessential tribute. At the Fox Theatre. Details here.

Got chops? This all-ages/genres/styles competition serves as a showcase for up-and-coming drummers, and sundry others, to gain exposure. Oh yeah, and a chance to win really cool swag. Tucson Battle of the Beats 2019 bashes at Club Congress. Last year’s winner, Matthew Wineinger returns to uphold his badassery. Details here.

On the patio at Hotel Congress, a unique multidisciplinary event unfolds layer by layer. Synesthesia features the sentience of artist Joe Pagac, whose paintbrush will be guided by what he hears in real time, while providing the auditory stimulation is the newly christened Chris Black Quartet. Details here.

Proclaiming to be “all things that go bump in the night,” horror rockers Epitaph Romance top a bill brimming with metallic darkness. At House of Bards. With Olden, Never Born and Copper Magma. Details here.

Influenced by blues and jam rock, from the Ozark Mountains, Vintage Pistol “Lay It Down” at Sky Bar. With the deep, spacious, soulful sound of Zero Miles to Empty. With “Only Girl” Juju Fontaine. Details here.

Since coalescing in London in 1975, groundbreaking jazz fusionists Brand X display Unorthodox Behavior, for all to witness, at 191 Toole. Details here.

Surf rock champions Shrimp Chaperone make everything groovy at Saint Charles Tavern. Details here.

Combining ’60s pop with Latin influences, Los Puchos bring their lo-fi aesthetic to Exo Roast Co. Details here.

Drawing from a rich culture through a fresh, contemporary lens. And, its intoxicating rhythms: Son, cha cha cha and rumba. Asere! A Fiesta Cubana features musicians and dancers from the Havana Club All-stars. At the Fox Theatre. Details here.

Songstress Joyce Luna, performing her confessional style of folk/Americana, makes her debut at Public Brewhouse. Luna will be accompanied by mandolinist Mike Markowitz. Details here.

A rousing night of post-modern Americana is promised when P.D. Ronstadt & the Company and the Kate Becker All-Star Band join forces at Monterey Court. Details here.

Twain & Little Mazarn are at Exo Roast Co. With an opening set by Chelsey Lee Trejo. Details here.

Jeff Tremaine, director of the Jackass films, tries to deliver an actual narrative movie and bombs miserably with this lame biopic of Motley Crue.

Based on the book written by members of the band, the film covers the band from formation through their career, and makes a mess of the whole thing.

For starters, Tommy Lee lookalike Machine Gun Kelly delivers a bad performance as the iconic drummer, making him into more of a cartoon than he already is. Daniel Webber is an annoying prick as lead singer Vince Neil, who actually is an annoying prick in real life, too, so I guess he gets a pass. Douglas Booth renders bassist Nikki Six boring, while Iwan Rheon is the closest thing to any fun as the old, grumpy guitarist Mick Mars.

I confess, I’ve never liked the band and I find their music amateurish and shitty, so me liking a movie about them might be a stretch. Still, we are talking some bad wig acting here, and nothing revelatory whatsoever about the group. (They had groupies, they did drugs, blah, blah, blah.)

I never thought I’d see a rock biopic that annoyed me more than Bohemian Rhapsody, but here you go. (Streaming on Netflix).