Comprised of indie folk-rockers Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst, Better Oblivion Community Center will be holding meetings across the United States and Europe. They welcome you to experience a healing sound bath. Live in concert at the Rialto Theatre. Sloppy Jane and Christian Lee Hutson lend their support. Details here.

As a member of the fabled Juice Crew, whose steely chisels carved hip-hop out of crude stone, Masta Ace and East Coast underground producer Marco Polo bring A Breukelen Story (Fat Beats Records) to Tucson Hip Hop Festival: Day 3. Come watch this pair set the stage at Hotel Congress en fuego. Details here.

Bay Area rocker Thadeus Gonzalez has opened for KISS, Mötley Crüe, Slash and Bon Jovi. His sophomore release, Silver Inside (Spectra Music Group), pulses with slashing guitars and rock ’n’ roll swagger. Gonzales performs at Passé. Details here.

Comprised of New Orleans’ most promising young talent, The Willie Green Project represents the next generation of great jazz musicians to emerge from the birthplace of the genre. At The Sea of Glass Center for the Arts. Details here.

W:O:A Metal Battle 2019 finds Ash To Dust, Dedwin, Black Amethyst, Skoville, Eyes Go Black, Fire Glass, Guardians and Sigils Of Summoning grappling tooth and nail for a coveted slot at Wacken Open Air Festival, widely considered “The Mecca of Heavy Metal Culture,” held this summer in Northern Germany. At Club XS. Details here.

The Harm Reduction Benefit Show sees The Trees, Vasectomy, The Rifle, Cruise Ctrl, Flor de Nopal and Xochitl circling the wagons in support of the Syringe Access Program and other community based harm reduction efforts. At 191 Toole. Details here.

For over a decade, these vaudevillians have offered audiences stunts of skill and courage including sword swallowing, quick-change magic, handcuff and strait-jacket escape, the execution blade box, a talking dog y mas. The Pretty Things Peepshow’s 10 Year Anniversary Tour rolls into the Surly Wench Pub. Details here.

Louise Le Hir, Eyelashes, Soft Streak and the debut of Telephone Games takes place at Sky Bar. Details here.

The second annual International Women’s Day Celebration features a performance by June West. All proceeds are donated to Sister Jose Women’s Center and Women for Women International. At Owls Club. Details here.
Day four of Arizona Friends of Chamber Music’s Winter Chamber Music Festival features New York based Escher String Quartet, where the ensemble serves as season artists of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. The program includes works by Takács, Schnittke, Puts and Taneyev. At Leo Rich Theater. Details here.

From Côte d’Ivoire, General Tchefary and his relentless foot soldiers present a night of African roots reggae at Chicago Bar. Details here.

Still Life Telescope, Saint Augustine and Silver Cloud Express expand hearts and minds at Saint Charles Tavern. Details here.

“Wham, bam, kapow!” The Rock is the site for this year’s The Battle For KFMA Day. Like Rock ’Em, Sock ’Em Robots, this year’s contestants—Pyrotechnica, Echoes, Like A Villain, Broken Romeo, exit.dream and Her Name Echoes—will attempt to knock each other’s block’s off to win an opening slot at KFMA Day 2019. Details here.

Subversive Greenwich Village folk singer/songwriter Michael Hurley’s shows (on March 8-9) at Exo Roast Co. have sold out. Details here.

Can you hear the buzz? Inspired by literature and a love of language, classical and pop music these preternaturally gifted siblings recently sold out a headlining show at New York’s Bowery Ballroom without ever having released a song. The next day their first single, “I Was Wrong,” dropped and just as quickly it landed on Stereogum’s radar screen. The word was out. Their debut album Thrilled To Be Here (Fantasy Records) comes with a pedigree. It was produced by Grammy-winning John Congleton, who has worked with St. Vincent and the War on Drugs. Bailen stride chin up into Club Congress. Sweet Ghosts provide support. Details here.

Explaining the origins of their name, rapper Issa Gold said, “I feel like the things that we do could be considered underachieving, like smoking pot. So, it’s just a flip on that. Even though technically we’re doing underachiever things, we’re bringing positive energy.” With more than 100 acts on six stages, The Underachievers headline the block party at Tucson Hip Hop Festival: Day 4 at 191 Toole. Details here.

Two-time Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist Chip Dabney’s Amosphere dabble in musical genres at Monterey Court. Details here.

The sultry sounds of Miss Olivia and the Interlopers waft through the air at Che’s Lounge. Details here.

The Worldwide Burger Revolution 7 Tour rails into Wooden Tooth Records. With sets by Thee MVPs and Mom And The Mailman. With local faves Golden Boots. Details here.

Tempest DuJour sets the pace for a jam-packed, family-friendly evening of comedy, music, dance y mucho mas. The Very Big Show (of Support) is a fundraising spectacular benefiting Planned Parenthood. At the Rialto Theatre. Details here.
From Oxford, Mississippi, folk popper Kate Teague brings a bit of the Low Life to Club Congress. With the sad dream pop of French For Rabbits and Chelsey Lee Trejo. Details here.
During the Swing Era of the 1930s and ’40s, this erstwhile bandleader’s popularity was sustained by a matchless string of hits. The world famous Glenn Miller Orchestra keeps the spirit alive. At the Fox Theatre. Details here.

The Determined Luddites obstinately craft acoustic music for the sophisticated urban hillbilly. At Public Brewhouse. Details here.

Grounded in the power of radical femmes, this event places the voices, talents, visions and dreams of liberation fostered by black, indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) who believe change cannot come from a system designed to perpetuate and profit from white supremacy, violence, toxic masculinity, homophobia, transphobia and the continued devaluation of our humanity. International Womxn’s Day Celebration takes place at 191 Toole. Details here.

Mute Swan

Tucson

Regardless of the venue size, these Tucson shoegazers are sure to fill the room with their dreamy vocals, punchy drums and massive guitars. Winners of the Tucson Weekly's Best Rock Band in Best of Tucson 2017, Mute Swan have carved their niche by combining a classic dream pop formula with psychedelic synthesizers, extended jams and crisp production. Their latest single, Enough Fun, hints at an equal parts darker yet more upbeat sound. Formed in 2013, Mute Swan describes themselves as similar to: Yo La Tengo, Of Montreal and Flaming Lips, albeit with more of a "dream-space desert" vibe.

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Courtney Marie Andrews

Phoenix

Courtney Marie Andrews has been touring relentlessly since leaving Phoenix at 16 years old. The road lends itself well to her music, or maybe it’s the other way around. An Americana songstress, yes, but Andrew subverts the subtle expectations of a folk singer with enormous, passionate ballads including crashing drums and droning organ. But this isn’t to say Andrews can’t hold a room still with an intimate and heartbreaking acoustic dirge. On Saturday, March 16, Andrews will perform alongside Andrew Bird and Patty Griffin on one of the most lucrative stages in all of Austin: the SXSW Stage Outdoor Stage at Lady Bird Lake.

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Jared & The Mill

Phoenix

Describing themselves as "Western Indie Rock," Jared & The Mill craft songs for moving one foot in front of the other through this desert we call home. Frontman Jared Kolesar offers soulful vocals over the bands earthy ballads. Jared & The Mill nearly align with Tucson's own borderlands style of music, but infuse it with hints of country and pop. From the beginning, they’ve been five best friends making music together, and that partnership is clear to hear. This folk-rock five piece is capable of building powerful momentum almost immediately, and that force has propelled them onto SXSW stages multiple times in the past, and again this year.

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XIXA

Tucson

XIXA are the spirit of a Tucson night. Part psychedelic, part rock 'n' roll, part cumbia, the scale of XIXA’s instrumentation makes them nearly theatrical, and their dark, gothic inclinations only add to that. These caballeros mix smoky vocals with danceable Latin rhythms and twangy swings. A mainstay in the Tucson music scene for multiple years now, XIXA is performing a handful of shows at SXSW, and soon all of Austin will be haunted by energetic phantoms. If you’re too scared to head out to a desert dance party while on a substance or two, you need to with XIXA in your veins.

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Tow'rs

Flagstaff

The romantic and woodsy sounds of Tow’rs sidestep the rustic radio folk label with beautiful storytelling and unique instrumentation. Lead by a husband and wife team, this indie folk band grows far beyond an acoustic guitar, with piano, trumpet, harmonica, cello and more. Tow’rs recently landed on the NPR’s Austin 100, an elite list of performers to look out for at SXSW, and rightfully earned their spot. Their tender sounds and pristine harmonies feel both grand and intimate, like a great hall filled with reverberations.

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Poranguí

Sedona

While originally from Brazil, Poranguí currently resides in Sedona, and has received praise from the Arizona Commission on the Arts and taught at the Phoenix Conservatory of Music. His energetic and hypnotic fusion of tribal instrumentation and electronics lends itself well to the music festival circuit. Poranguí plays the didgeridoo, drums, mbira and belts out soulful vocals over the whirling vortex of spiritual sounds. The title of his studio album Ayahuasca should tell you all you need to know.

Day One: Tucson Hip Hop Festival 2019 features a zine workshop and open mic with Ojala Systems at La Pilita. Details here.

If music is food for the soul, then this band is a Thanksgiving feast. Pioneering the sound best summed up as “maximum rock ‘n’ soul,” The Bellrays administer a mighty dose of Black Lightning at 191 Toole. Oakland garage punks The Atom Age opens the show. Details here.

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Courtesy of The Sea of Glass

Rumor has it, tickets for Trippie Redd’s Life’s A Trip Tour at the Rialto Theatre have sold out. Details here.

Full of joy and energy, these siblings are three-time Canadian fiddle and stepdance champions. From the Ottawa Valley, The Fitzgeralds rollick into the Sea of Glass Center for the Arts. Details here.

Occasionally melancholy, often lively and always sweet, Two-Door Hatchback delight at Exo Roast Co. Details here.

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Courtesy of Hotel Congress

The Al Foul Trio deliver a raucous time at Owls Club. Details here.

Often called the “Tom Waits of Mariachi,” singer Carlos Medina sets out on a five-state tour with his latest record El Cantador. “It’s straight-up mariachi,” says Medina. But outside of his musical influences, there’s nothing “traditional” about this bootstrapping DIY musician’s career path. At Club Congress. With Street Blues Family. Details here.
This “genial guitar genius” and singer has been credited with re-popularizing jazz. The John Pizzarelli Trio “reinvigorate the Great American Songbook.” at the Fox Theatre. Details here.

In case you haven’t adjusted your radio presets in a while, Tucson has a “new” Old School & R&B radio station. 

Late in February, Bustos Media, the new owners of KTGV 106.3 FM The Groove announced the re-launch of the radio station. This new addition brings the number of Bustos Media owned and operated stations to twenty-three across the nation.

So, what’s new? Well, The Groove has expanded their playlist, added a special feature they are calling Commercial Free Mondays and incorporated “live DJs” into the morning, midday and evening mix. And, in the digital age of corporate radio, instead of automatons, this is novel.

Now, let’s meet the crew.

Krystal Pino takes hold of the wheel during the harried morning commute. Pino is a leading radio and television personality in the Southwest. She is also is an experienced stand-up comedian. “Her commentary on the world around her will start the audience’s day off with a laugh.”

Big Ed Alexander eases into the midday slot. A longtime Tucson radio veteran, Alexander, who graduated from Rincon High School, can boast of holding a Golden Mic Award. “He loves hanging with his listeners and exploring all the great places that make Southern Arizona a wonderfully unique place to live.”

DJ SuperSnake holds down afternoons and the drive home. In addition, Snake will be the new program director for Bustos Media. Snake explained, “From Hotel Congress to the UofA, to my friends at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, I want The Groove to be a force for listeners to have fun and hear great music.”

There you have it.

The guys and gals at The Groove are celebrating the occasion with a launch party. The fête takes place Friday, March 8 at Desert Diamond Casino in the Monsoon Nightclub. See 1063thegroove.com for details.

The big-hearted songs on this Philadelphia singer-songwriter’s seventh full-length release, Bottle It In, is a vessel teeming with sentiment. “It’s like that moment on the airplane,” Kurt Vile says, “when you’re on your way somewhere and you have that burst of panic. When you’re terrified of dying. That’s when you want people to know you love them.” Kurt Vile and The Violators at the Rialto Theatre. Canadian alt-country rockers The Sadies open up the show. Details here.

Riot Grrrl resurgence? Fea and Taco Sauce commit ferocious acts of hook-filled hardcore with a lovely social conscience at the Surly Wench Pub. Details here.

Recreating the sound and flamboyance of Queen, Gary Mullen—winner of Britain’s “Stars In Their Eyes”—channels Freddie Mercury. (Queen guitarist Brian May says he bears “more than a likeness.”) One Night of Queen at the Fox Theatre. Details here.


And, Fat Tuesday would not be complete without a bonafide Carnival celebration New Orleans style. River Road Ramblers, Mike Herbert Prison Band, Tiny House of Funk, The Brian Dean Trio, Mighty Joel Ford and Michael P. Muffulettas, Bad News Blues Band and In tha Zone work all the kinks out before the divine spirit of Ash Wednesday soberly kisses the early morning air. At The Parish. Details here.

An eclectic potpourri is in store at Club Congress when Brooklyn art punkers Gustaf, the New York-via-Madrid seductive and sinister R&B of Pecas, the soul and R&B drenched indie pop of June West and the velvety snarl of indie rockers Weekend Lovers well over the stage. Details here.

After suffering his share of Hangovers and Heartaches, Drew Cooper gives this “beat up, broke down town” another go around as he kicks off a monthly country hootenanny at Club Congress. The country blues of Chris Hall gets this shindig started. Details here.

“Raised by chickens,” this guitar virtuoso used to wear a KFC bucket on his head emblazoned with an orange bumper sticker that read “funeral” and a Michael Myers Halloween-esque mask on his face. The mask remains but the bucket is now plain white. Even so, Brian Carroll has made it his “mission in life to alert the world to the ongoing chicken holocaust in fast-food joints around the globe.” Buckethead disseminates the word, and his world-class guitar chops, at 191 Toole. Details here.

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Courtesy of Eventbrite

Fearlessly finding new modes of artistic expression, saxophone colossus Joe Lovano wails at UA Crowder Hall. Details here.

Reggae rockers Desert Fish and Skyler Lutes perform on the rooftop at Playground Bar & Lounge. Details here.

From Ocean Beach, California, “Ameridelic” rock jam band Moves Collective, Pherkad and Legion of Mario keep the spirit of Jerry Garcia alive at Sky Bar. Details here.

An evening of Latin American music with Tradiciones Entre Peruanos unfolds at Exo Roast Co. Details here.

This event finds Los Angeles sound artists Samurai Guru, iLLIXIE and Talk2Strangers exploring the innovative medium of beat-making. Performances will be followed by a discussion about the healing power of music among the ethereal works of Carlos Estévez (Entelechy, Works from 1992 to 2018). Offbeat. The High Art of the Underground Beat Scene take place at Tucson Museum of Art. Details here.

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Courtesy of Hotel Congress

The latest installment of El Tambó spotlights DJ Jeremy Sole. This turntablist is on a junket to show how music is a singular universal language. He believes that each culture’s rhythms and melodies are merely different accents of the same mother tongue. On the plaza at Hotel Congress. Resident DJs Dirtyverbs and Quiahuitl oversee the sonic ritual. Details here.

Among the glut of tribute bands plying their wares, at a performance, this artist brought the daughter of the Man in Black, Cindy Cash, to tears. Cash’D Out, the “next best thing to Johnny Cash,” is at 191 Toole. Details here.

Hosted by inimitable drag queen Tempest DuJour, the Rialto Theatre’s Seventh Annual Fundraising Gala: A Night of Disco and Decadence at Studio 54 features disco grooves spun by Future Syndicate, performances by Cirque Roots y mucho mas. Details here.

Hone your ear. At Soundwalk, led by local field recordist David Dearmore, you can hike through the urban ecosystems of downtown Tucson’s streets, washes, gardens and parks through a combination of “naked-ear” and amplified listening. At MOCA Tucson. Details here.

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Courtesy of Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson

Playing original jazz, bossa novas and experimental works, Dark Maps create unique atmosphere in the courtyard at Mercado San Agustin. Details here.

Courtesy of Agustin Kitchen

One of the pioneers of the Arizona hip hop scene, The Raskal celebrates the release of his 13th album, Final Hour. Backed by Mr Shadow, Break, Coupe Deville, IamBDailey, Trilogy, Lazy Dubb, Petro Sonny and Bully Tha Kid. At Club XS. Details here.

Masters of dub reggae, Dub Society are at Corbett Brewery. DJ Lion Brimstone spins. Details here.

Like heavy metal? TesseracT and Between The Buried And Me take siege of The Rock. Details here.

Promising a night of noise, rock ’n’ roll and, of course, swill, Quaker Folk kickoffs a tour at Passé. With Droll and Monsignor Wednesday. Details here.

Avant-metallists Mushroomhead and HellzaPoppin Circus Sideshow Revue cause an unparalleled level of Madness & Mayhem at The Rock. Details here.

Wooden Tooth Records hosts a truly uncanny event. Perhaps the world’s only metal Madonna tribute band, Mastodonna, will push your love to the “Borderline.” With Mother of Thousands and artwork by Satanabinoid. Who can resist? Details here.

From Utah, the state with the highest literacy rate in the nation, a band of freshly scrubbed teenagers—none yet old enough to legally drink—craft quizzical, über chilled indie pop originated in suburban bedrooms. Ritt Momney are at Club Congress. Flanked by Pelt and Yum. Details here.

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Courtesy of Hotel Congress

Violinists Laura Tagawa and Sam Bounkeua perform a lovely evening of classical violin duets. In the bar at Agustin Kitchen. Details here.

Bass technician Downlink injects a heavy dose of dubstep into the collective bloodstream. At Gentle Ben’s. Details here.

Creating the verisimilitude of the real, this band of veterans are billed as the nation’s premiere tribute to Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. PettyBreakers are “Running Down a Dream” at the Rialto Theatre. You decide. Details here.

Originally formed in Phoenix, these heavy metalists’ 11th studio album, Ritual, mashes up political and religious themes. “Bow down to the greatest corrupter/Evil in place of power.” Soulfly make prophecies at The Rock. Details here.

Indie rockers DIVY are at Club Congress. Droll and Adara Rae & the Homewreckers provide underpinning. Details here.


Mötley 2 give some semblance of the drug-addled, sex-addicted Crüe when they ruled the Sunset Strip of lore. In the Paradiso Lounge at Casino Del Sol. Details here.

Singer-songwriter Joe Peña sings songs from Dust of Our Love. Tempe’s Gene Moran opens the the evening. At Tap + Bottle Downtown. Details here.

Performing a solo set of traditional, American primitive and experimental folk, singer-songwriter Chelsey Trejo will be joined by trapsman Adan Martinez Kee and bassist Grant Beyschau for a set of ’60s and ’70s country and folk covers at Exo Roast Co. Details here.

Experimental musician Karima Walker melds traditional folk-song structures with found-sound abstractions to create a kind of dreamscape which may exist independently from anything we know. She joins Gabriel Sullivan for his Tuesday songwriter night at Owls Club. Details here.

With a wealth of indie rock/dance party hits in their arsenal, their live set is rumored to be “a sweat drenched laser soaked affair.” STRFKR will “Open Your Eyes” at the Rialto Theatre. Self-proclaimed “landlocked surf outfit” Shy Boys open the show. Details here.

Before this guitarist’s guitarist discovered BB King, Tinsley Ellis’ ears were captivated by the roar of the British Invasion and “tied to the whipping post” by Southern rockers. At 191 Toole. Details here.