Native Arizona bands Asian Fred, decker. and Steff and the Articles performed a free show at the Flycatcher on Friday, March 25.

Well, another year of SXSW has come and gone with tons of panels, swag bags and, of course, live music. This year, seven different Old Pueblo artists headed to the festival to show off the diversity of Tucson's music scene. Playing alongside national and international acts for crowds of folks devoted to live music certainly had some perks for local bands this year, while some played official showcases and others were added on to unofficial events. 

To find out more about Tucson's showing at SXSW 2016, check out the March 24 issue of Tucson Weekly. Until then, though, here are some of the best things I saw at SXSW 2016:

SXSW is for the young, or at least the young at heart: Loud music, late nights, lots of free alcohol, and so many kids running around, trying to hit the jackpot now that they learned how to make a guitar talk.

But last night featured sets by two living legends: Loretta Lynn opened the BBC Music showcase at Stubb's BBQ and Dion played a crowded room at the grand old Driskill Hotel.

Loretta showed that at age 83, the coal-miner's daughter can still sign those hits she's produced over six decades in the music biz.

And Dion, at 76, still has plenty of skill with the six-string and a delighted gleam in his eye when he's onstage. He played a mix of old stuff and new stuff, including—of course—"The Wanderer." 

May we all keep rocking as our own years pile up.

Wednesday was great night out last night at SXSW, beginning with the incomparable Charles Bradley at the annual NPR Music Showcase at Stubb’s Barbecue. The 67-year-old Bradley belted out a set of horn-heavy soul music and told the crowd: “All I want to do on my journey back to my father’s house is show all my brothers and sisters that I am for real.” You are, Mr. Bradley. You most certainly are.

Bradley was followed by Chicano Batman. Like Tucson’s own Sergio Mendoza with his indie mambo act, Chicano Batman has found a way to mix traditional Latino sound with something else: In this case, rthe L.A. band does some kind of psychedelic Chicano soul music accented with a rare dash of polka. Que bueno! Hear what they're all about here.

Up next was Mitski, a simple three-piece led by Mitski Miyawaki, who led the crowd at Stubb’s straight into the uncanny valley with her otherworldly and occasionally on-the-edge-of-creepy vocals that felt like emo punk straight out of Twin Peaks. Get a taste here.

And then there was Margo Price, who brought a lot of rock to the country-rock spectrum she’s on. She sings a lot about tough times on the farm and such, but lights up those country tropes with a band that delivers sizzling guitar licks. If you want to check it out, Price’s new album, Midwest Farmer's Daughter, is streaming on NPR music starting today.

I set off from Stubbs for a change in scenery and found myself catching a little bit of Astronauts, Etc. and Yuck before finally landing at an absolutely explosive set by Diarrhea Planet, which was everything rock and roll was, is and should ever be—loud, in-your-face screeching electric guitars and booming drumbeats that had the audience—and the occasional band member—crowdsurfing atop the dancing masses. Zounds, it was a good way to finish out the night.

When you’re working on something on the scale of SXSW, there will be the occasional technical difficulty—and so it was at the SXSW Music Opening Party at Maggie’s May, where all the tangles of wires and machinery malfunctioned and a visibly furious Har Mar Superstar tried to get it all straightened out, to no avail.

Har Mar told the crowd he wasn’t going to be able to play the set he’d prepared, “which sucks some big fat dick.”

He did blaze through one song before he and his band stormed off stage. Hey, he’s got a few more sets on the schedule, so perhaps our paths will intersect again before the week is out.

To switch things up, my crew headed over to Hideout to check out comedian Nate Bargatze, who presented a hilarious set about raising kids, why he quit drinking. He closed with a tale about a visit to North Carolina’s Cape Fear Serpentarium, which concluded with the escape of a crocodile and a mass panic among the tour group. (Check out this one-star review from Trip Adviser from June 14, 2015 for the horrifying yet hilarious details.)

Not much else to report from night one—a few long lines, a lot of wandering downtown Austin’s streets and a decision to call it a night around midnight because of my own technical difficulties. Looking forward to a lot more music today.

Cherish the Ladies, an all-woman Irish music band, rolls into town Friday, March 18, the day after St. Patrick’s.

“The show is spectacular,” crows Joanie Madden, the Ladies’ founder and its prizewinning flute and tin whistle player. “We’ve been getting standing ovations everywhere,”

The traveling extravaganza of Irish music, song and dance will fill the stage of the Fox Tucson Theatre with a bakers’ dozen of artists. The performers hail from all over the Irish diaspora, coming from the U.S., Canada and Scotland—and Ireland.

Fiddler extraordinaire Liz Carroll, born and bred in the Irish immigrant community in Chicago, is a superstar who played with Altan in Tucson last year. Bronx-born Madden is the daughter of Irish immigrants from Clare and Galway; her father, Joe Madden, was a noted accordionist. Guitarist Mary Coogan, likewise born into the New York immigrant community and to an accordionist father, has been with the Ladies since the band’s start 31 years ago.

Holy Rolling Empire, which spent several years as of Tucson’s biggest drawing rock bands, is reuniting for a free show Thursday.

Though Holy Rolling Empire never officially broke up, the band has performed sparingly since singer Orin Shochat moved to Los Angeles in 2012 and hasn’t played a show at all in about 18 months.

Guitarist Noah Horton says the reunion gig came together serendipitously on short notice: Shochat was planning a visit around the same time his sister’s band, the Los Angeles-based duo 222, was looking to schedule a Tucson show. Hermanitos will join Holy Rolling Empire and 222 for the free show, March 17 at Flycatcher.

The reunion show comes as the band—Shochat, Horton, guitarist Ian Carstensen, drummer Dave Mertz and bassist Geoffrey Hidalgo—has its sights set on a new album, Horton says.

“On really short notice we said ‘Let’s get back together and play and reignite the fire,’” Horton says. “We’ve been talking over the past year about at least getting back together and cutting a new record. At the time Orin left town, we had probably eight or nine songs in the can we were looking to record. Everybody got busy and life got in the way and that never materialized, but it’s not like we ever officially disbanded or anything.”

Join local bar The Loudhouse Bar and Grill (915 W Prince Rd.) in a three-day celebration of rock n' roll in Tucson on March 17, 18 and 19.

"Having been in bands and having so many friends who are in bands, I know how tough it is for local music to get a venue to showcase their talents," said manager Michael Essi.

Since taking over the bar, Essi has turned it into a go-to spot for new acts looking to test their talents on stage.

"Not everybody is going to be Led Zepplin. Not everybody is going to be The Ramones, but they need a place to start. They need a place to see if they can become one of those bands," Essi said. "Tucson's got a lot more good vocal acts than it's being given credit for."

The three-day event will feature 15 local bands curated by Essi and his associate Jeffery Locke. Though there will be a cover fee of $5 per day (or $12 for all three days), all the money will go straight to the bands.

"All of these acts have something very special about them," Essi said. "We set it up so they were put on bills that accentuated each other. At the same time, they are different enough that it is not like listening to the same band over and over. There is a lot of raw talent in these bands."

Expect St. Patrick's Day drink and food specials, door prizes, and an airbrush artist as part of the festivities.

For more information about the Loudhouse, visit loudhousetucson.com. Know of a band who might want to play at the Loudhouse? Shoot an email to Mike Essi at [email protected].

Tucson's favorite nautically-themed concept band is back at it, but this time it isn't special screen printed tees or LPs celebrating the eventual crab uprising. This time Krab Legz, which is comprised of Dimitri Manos (Golden Boots, American Monoxide, Dr. Dog) and Ben Schneider (Katterwaul, Whoops, etc.), is serving up a limited edition "Crab Meat To Go Lunch-Bag."

What the hell is a "Crab Meat To Go Lunch-Bag?" you ask.

Well, for just twenty-count 'em-twenty dollars, you can snag yourself all of the following in celebration of National Crab Meat Day:

• Side to Side Fantasy Cassette and Digital Download 
  
• Krab Legz comic book drawn by Lana Rebel 
  
• Krab Legz t-shirt designed by Ryen Eggleston
  
• The new Claws Across America 7” lathe cut record featuring Krab Legz (from Tucson) and Crab Legs (from Fargo) 
  

According to Manos, the split release with fellow crab leggers came as a result of an initial conflict between the two bands:

After me and Ben named our band “Crab Legs” we found out via Facebook that there was another band from Fargo named Crab Legs… and they were pissed that we took the name with out checking first. Me and Ben figured no one was dumb enough to name their band Crab Legs… OR, if they did, to care if there were multiple bands called Crab Legs…. but we were wrong. We had many exchanges with the other Crab Legs, not always pleasant. Eventually we conceded to change our name to “Krab Legz” and after all the nastiness we also decided to extend the olive branch and do a split 7” together: Claws Across America… and now we are friends! 

This very crabby lunch-bag will be available only at Wooden Tooth Records and Old Paint Records on Wednesday, March 9. So get out there and get you one.

It's a two giveaway kind of day! This Thursday, March 10, Neon Indian will be performing with BRYDES at the Rialto Theatre. Want to go? We're giving away a pair of tickets. 

Not not familiar with the music? Here's Neon Indian's bio, as told by the Rialto.  

Neon Indian (aka Alan Palomo) has announced the long awaited follow up to 2011’s Era Extraña and this year’s standalone single “Annie.” Slated for release via Mom + Pop on October 16, VEGA INTL. Night School was conceived during a period of aesthetic reinvention for Palomo, as he retooled the lo-fi and spontaneous writing style he’d developed as Neon Indian by incorporating elements of the cleaner production values and dance oriented approach of his previous recording moniker VEGA, ultimately merging the two into one fast lane. Developed over a four year period, the album brims with funk-centric guitar lines, pronounced Balearic rhythms, and the most elaborate songwriting of his career.

Composed and recorded in a variety of locations including, but not limited to, the cabin aboard a cruise ship, DFA’s Plantain Studios in New York, Pure X’s practice space in Austin, Ben Allen’s studio in Atlanta, and mixed in Brooklyn with Alex Epton (XXXchange). Upon its completion, Alan noted “most of what I’ve learned about human nature in my twenties has happened after dark. People are just kind of more honest then. More deliberate. I like to call the places I go to Night Schools.”

The new album single “Slumlord” arrives alongside an inventive relaunch of his website as Nightschool.biz The site features an hotline (+1-512-643-VEGA) to receive and send audio of the song and a special voice greeting about the album, in addition to newly announced US tour dates and an album-preorder that comes with instant grat tracks “Annie” and “Slumlord.”