Past Events
April 14, 2024
Cimafunk
Considered one of today’s greatest showmen, Afro-Cuban Rockstar Cimafunk performs an electric live show with his 9-person band from Havana featuring Pjiama Piyama and Mariachi Nuevo Azteca de Tucson. Join Arizona Arts Live, and Best Life Presents for an evening that will make you move live at the Rialto Theatre!
Cimafunk’s monumental second album, El Alimento, released in October 2021, received overwhelming praise for celebrating black music’s power. Co-produced by Grammy-winning producer Jack Splash (CeeLo Green, Kendrick Lamar, Alicia Keys), the album features hip-hop stars Lupe Fiasco, CeeLo Green, and Afro-Cuban jazz icon Chucho Valdés among others. El Alimento ranked #3 of the Best Spanish-Language and Bilingual Albums of 2021 and #23 of the 50 Best Albums of 2021. It also ranked among NPR’s Best Latin Music of 2021 and #1 of Le Monde’s Latin Music favorites.
In addition to being named a “Top 10 Latin Artist to watch” by Billboard, Cimafunk stole the show at the 2019 South by Southwest Music Festival. Before the pandemic, his moving performance on NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series was chosen as one of the overall best TDC’s of 2020.
April 27, 2024
Rhiannon Giddens
Join us for an unforgettable experience with MacArthur Fellow and two-time GRAMMY Award-winning singer and instrumentalist Rhiannon Giddens. Don’t miss a transformative journey at the Rialto Theatre as she crafts an extraordinary narrative, spotlighting marginalized voices and pushing artistic boundaries.
Rhiannon Giddens has forged a remarkable and multifaceted career in folk music, marked by her two-time GRAMMY Award-winning talent as a singer and instrumentalist. Recognized as a MacArthur “Genius” grant recipient, she is not only a composer of opera, ballet, and film but also a dedicated advocate for acknowledging the overlooked contributions to American musical history. Giddens’s mission involves fostering a more accurate understanding of the country’s musical origins, spotlighting marginalized voices, and pushing artistic boundaries.
Beyond her musical endeavors, Giddens has extended her creativity into various mediums, from writing opera and children’s books to contributing to video game soundtracks. Her influential presence has garnered attention, earning a place on NPR’s list of the 25 Most Influential Women Musicians of the 21st Century and acknowledgment as “one of the most important musical minds currently walking the planet” by American Songwriter.
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April 6, 2024
Las Cafeteras
“Uniquely Angeleno mishmash of punk, hip-hop, beat music, cumbia and rock … live, they’re magnetic”– LA Times
Rediscover the dynamic world of Las Cafeteras, East LA’s musical visionaries on their return to the Old Pueblo. Mixing Afro-Mexican beats and Son Jarocho instruments, they are redefining traditional music with inspiring English, Spanish, and Spanglish lyrics. Don’t miss this electric experience taking center stage at 191 Toole.
Born and raised east of the Los Angeles River, Las Cafeteras are remixing roots music and telling modern-day stories. Las Cafeteras creates a vibrant musical fusion with a unique East LA sound and positive message. Their Afro-Mexican beats, rhythms, and rhymes deliver inspiring lyrics that document stories of a community seeking love and justice in the concrete jungle of Los Angeles.
Using traditional Son Jarocho instruments like the jarana, requinto, quijada (donkey jawbone), and tarima (a wooden platform), they sing in English, Spanish, and Spanglish and add a remix of sounds, from rock to hip-hop to rancheras. Las Cafeteras use music as a vehicle to build bridges among different cultures and communities, and create “a world where many worlds fit.”
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January 26, 2024
The Black Violin Experience
“Their music will keep classical music alive for the next generation”– NPR
Two-time Grammy-nominated Black Violin Experience returns to Tucson in a musical fusion of classical sounds with exhilarating hip-hop beats. Join Arizona Arts Live and the Rialto Theatre for a performance that boldly merges centuries of music with a message of hope and possibility.
The Black Violin Experience comprises classically trained violist and violinists Wil Baptiste and Kev Marcus who combine their classical training and hip-hop influences to create a distinctive multi-genre sound often described as a “classical boom.” The band released their major label debut Stereotypes (featuring Black Thought of The Roots and MC Pharoahe Monch) on Universal Music, debuting at #1 on the Billboard Classical Crossover Chart and #4 on the Billboard R&B Chart. NPR took note declaring their music “will keep classical music alive for the next generation.”
On stage, Kev Marcus gives an electrifying violin performance alongside Wil Baptiste’s magnetizing viola and vocal performance. Joining them are Nat Stokes on drums, DJ SPS on the turntable, and Liston Gregory on keys. Together they are reconceptualizing what a violin concert looks and sounds like, building bridges to a place where Mozart, Marvin Gaye, and Kendrick Lamar harmoniously coexist. The Black Violin Experience invites you to think outside of the box.
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April 14, 2024
Herbie Hancock
Winner of 14 Grammy Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award, and an Academy Award, Herbie Hancock stands as a cultural icon and luminary. Join us for a thrilling musical journey as we celebrate the multifaceted genius of Herbie Hancock together with Devin Daniels on Saxophone, James Genus on Bass, Trevor Lawrence, Jr. on Drums, and Chris Potter on Saxophone live in Centennial Hall!
Now in the seventh decade of his professional life, Herbie Hancock remains where he has always been: at the forefront of world culture, technology, business, and music. Herbie Hancock has been an integral part of every popular music movement since the 1960s. As a member of the Miles Davis Quintet that pioneered a groundbreaking sound in jazz, he also developed new approaches to his recordings, followed by his work in the 70s — with record-breaking albums such as “Headhunters” — that combined electric jazz with funk and rock in an innovative style that continues to influence contemporary music. “Rockit” and “Future Shock” marked Hancock’s foray into electronic dance sounds; during the same period, he continued working in an acoustic setting with V.S.O.P.
Hancock received an Academy Award for his Round Midnight film score and 14 Grammy Awards, including Album Of The Year for “River: The Joni Letters,” and two 2011 Grammy Awards for the globally collaborative CD, “The Imagine Project.”
Hancock serves as Creative Chair for Jazz for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association and Institute Chairman of the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz. In 2011 Hancock was named a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, and in December of 2013, received a Kennedy Center Honor. His memoir, Herbie Hancock: Possibilities, was published by Viking in 2014, and in February 2016 he was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Hancock is currently in the studio at work on a new album.
November 7, 2023
Noah Gundersen
Grammy-nominated American singer-songwriter Noah Gundersen has experimented with indie folk and acoustic rock for nearly two decades. His distinctive bold, genre-busting music has been featured in widely recognized shows including Sons of Anarchy and The Vampire Diaries. Don’t miss an electric and intimate evening taking center stage at 191 Toole!
Born to a devoutly religious family, Noah Gundersen has been writing and recording music since he was 13, working his way from teenage hardcore and indie rock to creating his own distinctive strain of bold, genre-busting songcraft. A series of solo Eps –including 2011’s breakthrough FAMILY – eventually led to 2014’s self-produced full-length debut, LEDGES. CARRY THE GHOST arrived the following year, earning acclaim from the likes of NPR.
Noah continued to gain popularity after his music was featured on television shows like Sons of Anarchy, The Vampire Diaries, One Tree Hill, and Nashville. Ever searching, he propelled his music toward new terrain on 2017’s WHITE NOISE, melding his increasingly potent lyrical motifs with complex electronics and startling levels of sonic intensity. The album reaped a whirlwind of critical acclaim upon its 2017 release. Consequence of Sound wrote, “…the Seattle native has evolved to become an even more striking musician, his lyrics not only burning brighter, but his arrangements fuller and more intense to match their maker.”
Along with his recorded canon, Gundersen – who also maintains membership in Seattle indie rock heroes Young In The City and the all-star Americana collective known as Glorietta – has spent much of his adult life on the road, performing as headline act and support to like-minded artists spanning Emmylou Harris, Beck, City & Colour, and Josh Ritter.
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November 8, 2023
Jenny and the Mexicats
Join Arizona Arts Live and TENWEST on a musical journey that shows that there are no borders when it comes to music. Don’t miss an evening of rockin’ folk, reggae, flamenco, and jazz fusion with Jenny and the Mexicats on the Hotel Congress stage.
Jenny and the Mexicats, previously known as Pachucos y la Princesa, is composed of English trumpeter and singer Jenny Ball, Spanish percussionist David González Bernardos, and Mexican brothers Pantera Mexicat on guitar and Icho Mexicat on double bass. Formed in 2008, the band released their first Gold record in the summer of 2011.
In 2014, they released their second album ‘OME’ and the first single Labios was part of the soundtrack for the movie “Amor de mis Amores” directed by Manolo Caro. The album has new songs with all the Mexicat spirit and mixes great rhythms, a lot of energy, and moments of sensitivity.
Don’t miss your chance to experience a rare musical combination mixing jazz, rockabilly, folk, flamenco, reggae, and cumbia from award-winning sensation Jenny and the Mexicats.
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November 8, 2023
Silvana Estrada
Silvana Estrada sings from down deep, telling her soulful coming-of-age stories in a voice that embraces the legacy of Latin American song and carries it into the 21st Century. Don’t miss an evening with this Latin GRAMMY-winning artist presented by Arizona Arts Live and TENWEST Festival on the Hotel Congress stage.
Called “one of Mexico’s greatest young talents and vocalists” by KCRW’s José Galvan, Silvana Estrada, who is 23 years old, is the new voice of a movement of independent female artists who have characterized Latin Alternative music over the past decade. She has also been recognized internationally, performing and recording with artists including Uruguayan singer/songwriter Jorge Drexler, Chile’s Mon Laferte, Catalan singer Silvia Pérez Cruz and Spanish group Love of Lesbian, as well as Natalia LaFourcade and other well-known Mexican artists. Silvana was also the first Spotify Mexico “EQUAL” artist and spotlighted in Apple Mexico’s “Up Next” program.
A multi-instrumentalist, Silvana Estrada most often plays the Venezuelan cuatro guitar, whose small body and warm sound suits her hands and syncs with the rolling variations of her vocals. Raised singing Mexican son jarocho and baroque choir music, and schooled in jazz, she is an iconoclast who dismisses musical trends for a personal, poetic style that goes straight to the heart of listeners.
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September 1, 2023 - September 4, 2023
HOCO Fest 2023
Arizona Arts Live joins the historic Hotel Congress for the final installment of HOCO Fest Labor Day weekend in Downtown Tucson. This four-day music festival features over 60 of Arizona’s best artists, a film festival, a record fair, art installations, and daytime parties across six venues in celebration of Tucson as a UNESCO City of Gastronomy.
For over 15 years, HOCO has led the charge in reframing what the modern music festival can achieve. This year is no different. Featuring some of the world’s freshest acts, HOCO Fest 2023 takes place September 1-4, 2023, with the likes of Dusty Chaps, Gatecreeper, Orkesta Mendoza, Giant Sand, Kid Congo Powers, Liz Cerepanya and Pete Ronstadt, Holy Faint, Mastodonna, River Roses, and nightly Linda Ronstadt celebrations.
This four-day festival will also feature daytime pool parties, art installations, demonstrations, and food and drink offerings. Visit hocofest.com for the full lineup.
Tickets are available online or at Hotel Congress.
November 5, 2023
Parsons Dance
Join Arizona Arts Live on Homecoming weekend to welcome home two University of Arizona dancers, Megan Garcia and Christian Blue, as they take the stage with Parson’s Dance. Known for nearly 40 years for their remarkable athleticism and stunning ensemble work, Parsons Dance brings exuberance, joy, and passion to every performance. Here’s your chance to witness the flawless grace of this internationally renowned dance company in an electric performance taking center stage at Centennial Hall.
Internationally renowned Parsons Dance has captivated audiences for nearly 40 years with its energized, athletic ensemble work. Founded in 1985 by Artistic Director David Parsons and Tony Award-winning lighting designer Howell Binkley, the company has toured more than 445 cities, 30 countries, and 5 continents and has performed in notable venues worldwide.
The company performs works selected from the vast and varied repertory of more than 75 works created by “one of the great movers of modern dance” (The New York Times) David Parsons. In addition, established choreographers like Trey McIntyre and Monica Bill Barnes re-stage works from the American canon on its dancers. Through its newly launched GenerationNOW Fellowship, the company offers commissions to young American choreographers whom Parsons mentors through the creative process.
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April 5, 2024
Urban Bush Women: Legacy + Lineage + Liberation
Join us for an unforgettable evening of strength, power, and grace as we proudly present the nationally acclaimed Urban Bush Women: Legacy + Lineage + Liberation. Prepare to be moved by their captivating performance highlighting the voices of women of color in an inspiring and healing journey live at Crowder Hall.
For 40 incredible years Urban Bush Women have been using dance as a medium to unite diverse audiences through their innovative choreography, community collaborations, and artistic leadership development. Now, in Urban Bush Women: Legacy + Lineage + Liberation, they showcase iconic works that transcend genres, amplifying the voices of women of color. These timeless classics offer multiple dimensions of life that deeply resonate with today’s reflection on equity and justice, uplifting Black lives in profoundly inspiring ways.
This dynamic program features iconic works by Founder Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, and a new work by Co-Artistic Directors Chanon Judson and Mame Diarra Speis. Works include but are not limited to: Give Your Hands to Struggle; Women’s Resistance; I Don’t Know but I Been Told…if You Keep on Dancin’ You Never Grow Old; and Haint Blu (proscenium). Urban Bush Women will mesmerize you with their exceptional musicality and thought-provoking reflections on empathy and joy.
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March 12, 2024
Mark Morris Dance Group: The Look of Love
Movement, music, and precision combine in a beautiful dance tribute to the chart-topping songs of Burt Bacharach. Described as “the preeminent modern dance organization of our time” by famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma, Mark Morris Dance Group showcases sensational choreography sure to captivate eyes and ears.
Following the roaring success of his Beatles tribute Pepperland, Mark Morris teams up again with musical collaborator Ethan Iverson for The Look of Love, a wistful and heartfelt homage to the chart-topping songs of Burt Bacharach. A towering figure, across decades of popular music, Bacharach is known for crafting soaring melodies embedded in unique orchestrations influenced by jazz, rock, and Brazilian music – his longtime lyricist Hal David providing unsentimental, often bittersweet lyrics.
This evening-length showpiece features original choreography by Morris and new, lush musical arrangements by Iverson, performed by an ensemble of vocals, piano, trumpet, bass, and percussion, with singer, actress, and Broadway star Marcy Harriell on lead vocals.
The Look of Love is a production of the Mark Morris Dance Group; BAM; BroadStage, Santa Monica; Cal Performances, UC Berkeley; The Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center at Auburn University; Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth; and Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in association with Arizona Arts Live, University of Arizona; Harriman-Jewell Series; The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; Modlin Center for the Arts at University of Richmond; Moss Arts Center at Virginia Tech; Marybelle and Sebastian P. Musco Center for the Arts; Tennessee Performing Arts Center; UC Santa Barbara Arts & Lectures; and Virginia Arts Festival.
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March 29, 2024
Sō Percussion with Caroline Shaw
Witness a dynamic performance from the internationally celebrated quartet Sō Percussion together with Pulitzer Prize-winning singer Caroline Shaw. Experience contemporary percussion and spellbinding vocals in a genre-bending program featuring scores from their recently released album “Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part.”
For over 20 years, Sō Percussion has redefined chamber music for the 21st century through an “exhilarating blend of precision and anarchy, rigor and bedlam.” They are celebrated by audiences and presenters for a dazzling range of work and for live performances in which “telepathic powers of communication” bring to life the vibrant percussion repertoire. Their extravagant array of collaborations in classical music, pop, indie rock, contemporary dance, and theater and their work in education and community create opportunities and platforms for music and artists that explore the immense possibility of art in our time.
Caroline Shaw moves among roles, genres, and mediums, trying to imagine a world of sound that has never been heard before but has always existed. She works often in collaboration with others, as a producer, composer, violinist, and vocalist, a versatile skill set she utilizes on tour with Sō Percussion. Caroline is recipient of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Music and her vocal work is featured with commissions written for Yo-Yo Ma, the LA Philharmonic, Rosalía (MOTOMAMI), and premieres with GRAMMY-winning contemporary ensemble Roomful of Teeth.
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January 14, 2024
Emmet Cohen Trio
Join Arizona Arts Live and the Tucson Jazz Festival as we welcome multifaceted American jazz pianist and composer Emmet Cohen to the Old Pueblo. This is an explosive experience coming to the Rialto Theatre you’re not going to want to miss.
Emmet Cohen is the winner of the 2019 American Pianists Awards and the Cole Porter Fellow of the American Pianists Association, and Artist-in-Residence at the University of Indianapolis. He was a finalist in the 2011 Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition. Cohen has appeared at major international jazz festivals and at Lincoln Center’s Rose Hall and Washington’s Kennedy Center, in addition to headlining at the Village Vanguard and other major New York jazz clubs. For many years he was Hammond B-3 Organist-in-Residence at Harlem’s SMOKE jazz club. During the lockdown, he created “Live From Emmet’s Place,” a weekly livestream that received millions of internet views worldwide. Cohen is a Mack Avenue artist.
A Suzuki piano student at age three, Cohen holds jazz piano degrees from the Manhattan School of Music (M.M.) and the University of Miami (B.M.). Emmet Cohen has performed, recorded, or collaborated with Ron Carter, Benny Golson, Jimmy Cobb, George Coleman, Jimmy Heath, Tootie Heath, Houston Person, Christian McBride, Kurt Elling, Billy Hart, Herlin Riley, Lea DeLaria, and Bill T. Jones.
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October 12, 2023
Nano Stern Sings Victor Jara
Explore the history of Chilean music under social regimes in a powerful performance by powerhouse artist Nano Stern who weaves together indigenous, African, and European elements into a groundbreaking sound entirely his own. Don’t miss an unforgettable evening of musical virtuosity and poetic advocacy for social justice coming to Hotel Congress.
Hailed by folk legend Joan Baez as “the best young Chilean songwriter of his generation,” Nano Stern’s artistry knows no bounds. With a masterful command of multiple instruments and languages, he brings a fresh and relevant perspective to his music. His closest companions on stage remain, simply, his guitar and staggering vocals. In 2023, as the world commemorates 50 years since the coup d’état in Chile, Nano Stern revisits the songs of legendary folk singer Víctor Jara, who personifies the spirit of the day through his timeless music and poetry. With austere virtuosity, Stern gives new breath to this immortal repertoire.
As a political and outspoken activist, Nano Stern has crafted a unique musical language that blends the youthful exuberance of folk music with the depth of classical and jazz training, all infused with the powerful spirit of traditional Chilean revolutionary songs. There is a rare power and beauty to a Nano Stern performance. Don’t miss this chance to experience the magic of Nano Stern live on stage in an evening that transcends borders, languages, and cultures.
Documentary Screening: En Septiembre Canta El Gallo
OCT 11 | UPDATED: 6:00 PM | CCP Auditorium, FREE to attend
We’ll Be Singing by September is a feature documentary exploring the history, development, and transcendence of Chilean music during the socialist government of Salvador Allende. Throughout a series of interviews with the most prominent figures of the Nueva Canción Chilena, stop-motion animation and never-before-seen archival material, the film travels back to a time when music, creativity, social movements and political force aligned to give birth to an artistic revolution whose songs still resonate throughout the world. September 11 marks the 50th anniversary of the overthrow of Salvador Allende’s democratically-elected government by the military with the backing of the U.S. government. Be sure to stay for the Q&A with Chilean musician and film producer, Nano Stern.
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April 17, 2024 - April 21, 2024
URLAND: Bedtime Stories
On a dark and lonesome night, imagination, technology, and a winding tale of love and loss converge in this gripping radio play, Bedtime Stories. Follow along with young Lily as she is transported to dark, disorienting worlds by the two most influential storytellers in her life – her father and grandfather. As she comes of age, unimaginable events throw these three generations into a frightening journey for one final story that blurs the line between truth and fiction.
Conceived by Dutch collective URLAND, Bedtime Stories celebrates the art of the voice to tell engaging and immersive stories. This pitch-perfect narrated performance takes its inspiration from radio plays, using just actor Thomas Dudkiewicz’s voice and well-timed sound effects to bring to life an enchanting cast of characters.
Meet Lilly, a precocious young girl, her father Max, and doting grandfather George, both master storytellers. Every night before bed, Lilly enters a fantastical universe created just for her, where she encounters a host of strange and menacing creatures. Unforeseen events throw these three generations into a twirling journey through both universes. The final story. Laugh, squirm, and dream as Bedtime Stories catapults towards its unsettling ending, keeping you on edge from scene to scene.
Content warning: contains cursing, gunshots, and themes of death and suicide. Recommended for ages 13+.
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February 22, 2024
Kronos Quartet: Five Decades
“The Kronos Quartet has broken the boundaries of what string quartets do”– The New York Times
For five astounding decades, the multi-GRAMMY Award-winning Kronos Quartet has reimagined what the string quartet experience can be. Don’t miss one of our era’s most celebrated and influential groups with over 70 released recordings and thousands of concerts performed worldwide, live in Centennial Hall.
San Francisco’s Kronos Quartet—David Harrington (violin), John Sherba (violin), Hank Dutt (viola), and Paul Wiancko (cello)—has blended sounds across lines of culture and era, moving beyond the typical terrain for a string quartet. Through brave sonic explorations into the pressing issues of our time, Kronos has established a worldwide influence. This year, the multi-GRAMMY-winning, San Francisco-based quartet will mark its fiftieth anniversary with the KRONOS Five Decades tour, adding to its legacy of innovation by performing programs featuring new commissions, signature works from its vast repertoire, and pieces from Kronos’ Fifty for the Future project.
Kronos’ work has featured prominently in several films, including A Thousand Thoughts by Sam Green. Most recently, the quartet performed on the soundtrack for Users (2021) and is both seen and heard in the documentary Zappa (2020). Kronos’ music has been featured in two Academy Award–nominated documentaries: Dirty Wars (2013) and How to Survive a Plague (2012). Kronos has also recorded complete film scores by Jacob Garchik for Guy Maddin’s The Green Fog (2017); Clint Mansell for Darren Aronofsky’s The Fountain (2006) and Requiem for a Dream (2000); and Philip Glass for Dracula (1999)—a restored edition of the 1931 Bela Lugosi classic.
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January 12, 2024
Arturo Sandoval
Join Arizona Arts Live and the Tucson Jazz Festival for an extraordinary evening of jazz and musical brilliance with 10-time Grammy-winning trumpeter and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Arturo Sandoval. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to witness a living legend in action as he takes the Rialto Theatre stage this winter.
A protégé of the legendary jazz master Dizzy Gillespie, Arturo Sandoval was born in Artemisa, a small town on the outskirts of Havana, Cuba, on November 6, 1949, just two years after Gillespie became the first musician to bring Latin influences into American Jazz. Sandoval began studying classical trumpet at the age of twelve and has since evolved into one of the world’s most acknowledged guardians of jazz trumpet and flugelhorn, as well as a renowned classical artist, pianist, and composer.
Sandoval has won 10 Grammy Awards and 19 nominations; he has also received 6 Billboard Awards and an Emmy Award. The latter for his composing work on the entire underscore of the HBO movie based on his life, “For Love or Country” which starred Andy Garcia as Arturo. Don’t miss your chance to catch one of the most brilliant, multifaceted, and renowned musicians of our time!
Tickets are available online or at The Rialto Theatre Box Office.
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September 25, 2023 - September 28, 2023
Michael Mwenso Community Listening
Come together and recenter through the collective healing, love, and nutritional uplift embedded in Black roots music. Join Arizona Arts Live as we welcome jazz musician, creative producer, and racial justice advocate Michael Mwenso for a weeklong artistic residence this fall.
Known for his work as bandleader of Mwenso & The Shakes and co-founder of Electric Root creative agency, Michael Mwenso’s focus on building solidarity and community through music will take him on a journey through the neighborhoods of Southern Arizona. At the core of his work are artist-led ancestral listening sessions. In this joyful and immersive gathering, Michael will create a sense of community and connection by playing recordings of musical forebears that propelled the advancement of human connection and promoting participants to share what they feel and hear in the messages voluntarily. The ancestral listening sessions reinforce Electric Root’s belief that joy and artistry are essential to dismantling systemic oppression.
Electric Root is the only nationwide curator, producer, and facilitator focused exclusively on Black Roots music in the Performing Arts. Co-founded in 2020 by Michael Mwenso and Jono Gasparro, who both bonded over a personal connection with esteemed jazz artist Wynton Marsalis, Electric Root is a product of passion and urgency with a mission to revolutionize how Black music is presented, expose lesser-known artists, decolonize music curriculum, provide artist-led anti-racism training, and heal people.
Michael Mwenso with The College of Social & Behavioral Sciences
Monday, September 25 | 5:00-7:00 PM
Arizona Arts Live and The College of Social & Behavioral Sciences welcome jazz musician, creative producer, and racial justice, advocate Michael Mwenso for an evening of performance art and community connection at The Dunbar Pavilion. Open to the SBS community; students, faculty, staff, and supporters. Free to attend, registration is required.
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Michael Mwenso Ancestral Listening Session
Thursday, September 28 | 5:00-7:00 PM | Centennial Hall
You’re invited to experience music in a new way in this Community Listening Session led by Michael Mwenso of Electric Root and Mwenso & The Shakes. Part listening party, part discussion, part collective celebration, an Ancestral Listening Session is a safe space to experience familiar songs in a new way. We welcome any and all to join us for this radical new event. Space is limited, registration is required.
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September 2, 2023
Calexico
Arizona Arts Live and Arizona Athletics welcome Tucson’s own globally beloved Calexico in an electric tailgate performance celebrating Arizona Football’s season opener versus NAU. Don’t miss the infectious riffs of this desert noir sensation led by Joey Burns and John Convertino, together with Sergio Mendoza, Jacob Valenzuela, Rick Peron, and Brian Lopez.
Praised by NPR for their “sprawling, cross-cultural indie rock,” Calexico has spent the better part of the past three decades exploring the dusty musical borderlands of the American Southwest, crafting singular, cinematic songs as mysterious and magnificent as the arid desert landscapes that inspired them.
Calexico will play hits from across their expansive repertoire. After decades on the road, Calexico’s music remains boundless and romantic, still gazing upon the horizon in search of their next adventure. Experience the untamed spirit of the Southwest by Calexico in this free, public performance presented on the east end of the Mall at the University of Arizona main campus in Tucson, AZ.
Can’t Get Enough of Calexico?
Don’t miss their return on January 13 at 7:30PM in the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall for a one-night only symphonic experience with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. Presented in partnership with the Tucson Jazz Festival. This concert is available as part of a Create Your Own Subscription. For more information and tickets, please visit the Tucson Symphony Orchestra.
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October 26, 2023
Manual Cinema: Frankenstein
Love, loss, and creation merge in unexpected ways in this visually stunning retelling of Mary Shelley’s classic Gothic tale, Frankenstein. Chicago-based Manual Cinema imaginatively combines shadow puppetry, cinematic techniques, sound effects, and hauntingly beautiful live music to take you on a twisted journey like you’ve never experienced!
Manual Cinema stitches together the classic tale of Frankenstein with the biography of the original novel’s author, Mary Shelley, to create an unexpected story about the beauty and horror of creation. The real-life and fictional narratives of Shelley, Victor Frankenstein, and Frankenstein’s monster expose how family, community, and education shape personhood – or destroy it by their absence. Watch this stunning production come to life using over 400 puppets, overhead projection, live video, and a hauntingly beautiful score performed live.
Commissioned and premiered by The Court Theatre in Chicago in November 2018, with additional commissioning support provided by the University of California, Berkeley, Frankenstein was initially developed with The Public Theater’s Devised Theater Initiative in a research residency partnership with the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, with assistance from the Orchard Project Ari Edelson, Artistic Director. The show was the recipient of the 2018 Jim Henson Workshop Grant.
Recommended for ages 8 and up; there are loud sounds, flashing lights, and haze.
Arizona Arts Live’s Pre-show Costume contest6:30 PM -7:15 PM | Show at 7:30 | Ages 8+
Even if you don’t want to compete, we encourage you to arrive in festive dress! Folks who want to compete will be judged on effort, presentation, and creativity by members of the Arizona Arts Live community. The costume contest will run on a first come first serve basis from 6:30 PM – 7:15 PM. We’ll be there to guide you through registration, judging, and photos. Winners will be announced before the performance. Costume or not, everyone gets a chance to celebrate their style at the photo booth!
Please note: All costumes must be family-friendly and appropriate for all ages. Makeup, body paint or face paint must not come off through casual contact. No open carry of firearms. Costume weapons must meet weapons policy guidelines.
For safety reasons, the following props are not allowed:Live animals (with the exception of service animals).Substances that might damage or stain facilities or other costumes and participants, i.e. fake blood, glitter, confetti, silly string, water, messy body or face paint etc.Aerosol sprays. (Please apply hairspray or hair color before you leave home.)Projectiles of any kind. Don’t throw anything. Flames, pyrotechnics or explosives of any kind.Metal bats, large wrenches, shovels, or anything that resembles anything like this.Any object or substance designed to (or which could be reasonably expected to) inflict a wound, cause injury, incapacitate, or cause death
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October 21, 2023
Las Cafeteras: Hasta La Muerte
Death is not the end. Music, dance, theatre, and folklore combine in this enthralling new production celebrating life and death in the spirit of the Indigenous/Mexican practice known as Day of the Dead. Step into the colorful, spellbinding realm of Hasta La Muerte by the sonic explosion of Las Cafeteras.
From the imagination of Las Cafeteras, Hasta La Muerte is a vibrant musical adventure exploring the stages of grief and loss through the celebration of life and death. Follow along as La Catrina (Patron Saint of the Dead) returns every Dia de los Muertos to console the living and guide the dead to the afterlife. Watch as she encounters the spirits of La Llorona, La Bruja, and young migrants crossing the borders in a powerfully moving testament to the universal power of storytelling as a form of processing grief and sharing love with those in the beyond.
Join us at 6 PM on the Centennial Hall Patio for our first ever Día de los Muertos fiesta, featuring an unmissable collaborative performance with Las Azaleas mariachi and larger-than-life Red Herring Puppets, a taco bar by Taco Stop, festive snacks and drinks, arts and crafts, and an altar in memory of our passed loved ones. Guests are also invited to bring ofrendas of food, drink, incense, flowers, or photos for our altar outside of Centennial Hall. Join us for a full evening of vibrant fun—we hope to see you there!
Born and raised in East Los Angeles, Las Cafeteras are remixing roots music as modern-day troubadours with their medley of Afro-Mexican rhythms, electronic beats, and powerful rhymes. Their electrifying traditional instrumentation, like the 8-string Jarana, 4-string Requinto, Quijada (donkey jawbone), and Tarima (a wooden platform) echo their deep roots in Chicano pride.
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January 19, 2024
Cécile McLorin Salvant
MacArthur Fellow and three-time GRAMMY winner Cécile McLorin Salvant has a gift for storytelling and curating layered, evocative programs that draw connections between vaudeville, blues, international folk traditions, theater, jazz, and classical music, delivering it all with her powerfully swinging voice. Join Arizona Arts Live and the Tucson Jazz Festival as we welcome Cécile McLorin Salvant center stage in Centennial Hall.
The Late Jessye Norman described Cécile McLorin Salvant as “a unique voice supported by an intelligence and full-fledged musicality, which light up every note she sings.” She has developed a passion for storytelling and finding the connections between vaudeville, blues, folk traditions from around the world, theater, jazz, and baroque music. Salvant is an eclectic curator, unearthing rarely recorded, forgotten songs with strong narratives, interesting power dynamics, unexpected twists, and humor.
Since winning the Thelonius Monk competition in 2010, Salvant has received GRAMMY Awards for Best Jazz Vocal Album for three consecutive albums, “The Window,” “Dreams and Daggers,” and “For One To Love,” and was nominated for the award in 2014 for her album “WomanChild.” In 2020 she received the MacArthur Fellowship and the Doris Duke Artist Award. “Ghost Song,” Salvant’s debut for Nonesuch Records, was released in March 2022 to critical acclaim and has gone on to receive two GRAMMY Nominations.
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September 30, 2023 - November 5, 2023
Los Trompos
Creos | Esrawe + Cadena
Get ready for a mesmerizing and interactive art installation that will transport you to a world where color collides with motion. Los Trompos features larger-than-life, three-dimensional spinning tops in a kaleidoscope of vibrant colors and intricate designs as traditionally woven by Mexican artisans.
Los Trompos (Spinning Tops) draws inspiration from a toy popular with children around the world since the dawn of time. These colorful, large-scale, and interactive installations engage visitors in meaningful ways to give new significance to the art of play. As you interact with each spinning top, you’ll become part of the art itself, creating a symphony of motion unique to each person who experiences it.
Great for all ages, this installation is sure to awaken your sense of wonder and leave you with a newfound appreciation for the beauty of the world around us. Los Trompos will be available to students, faculty, staff, and the public in the Student Success District on the Campus Mall at the University of Arizona main campus in Tucson, AZ.
Los Trompos Farewell Spin PartyThursday, November 2 | 5-7 PM | UA Mall
Arizona Arts Live and the Wildcat Events Board bring you Spin Party! Say farewell to Los Trompos as we celebrate homecoming on campus this Thursday, November 2, from 5-7 PM. Live music, picnic games, activations, and of course the magic of the giant spinning tops combine for an evening of fun! Registration is not required. This family-friendly event is free and open to the public!
Héctor Esrawe
Ignacio Cadena
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September 9, 2023
Cirque Inextremiste: EXIT
See a thrilling adventure unfold on the University Mall featuring tightrope walking and extreme acrobatics with Cirque Inextremiste: EXIT. Set on the University Mall, this is the story of a group of asylum patients on their quest to free themselves at all costs. What ensues is a hilarious spectacle featuring a high-flying hot air balloon and never-before-seen balancing acts on a vertical stage you must see to believe.
Extreme acrobatic collective Cirque Inextremiste plays with our fears and wreaks havoc with our perspective in their latest production, EXIT. Watch as a hot-air balloon tamer, musicians, and other surprise characters slowly disrupt the performance and derail this feat of engineering. As the story unfolds, performers take over a hot-air balloon to create daring balancing acts and extreme acrobatics, all while several stories in the air.
Cirque Inextremiste retains its signature quirkiness, remaining clownish and extravagant while continuing to defy the laws of gravity and push back the boundaries of the circus arts, theatre, and stunt work. Step into a world of madness and escape with this powerful performance as we follow the dreams of a group of unlikely heroes. EXIT is free to attend and will be presented on the east end of the Mall at the University of Arizona main campus in Tucson, Arizona.
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June 19, 2023
Beyond Legacy – Juneteenth Celebration
Join the Tucson community and the Beyond Juneteenth Committee in an extraordinary legacy event celebrating Juneteenth, one of the most significant commemorations marking the end of slavery in the United States. Beyond Legacy: A Juneteenth Celebration recognizes the history of African Americans and their formative impact on our nation.
Don’t miss a moving and empowering evening featuring remarks by Reverend Dr. Bernice King, strategist, peace advocate, and daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Professor Ilyasah Shabazz, award-winning author, educator, and daughter of Malcolm X.
Reserve your seat now for an inspiring experience you’ll never forget! Beyond Legacy: A Juneteenth Celebration is free and open to the public. Tickets are required for entry. A college student ID is required for special student seating. Due to the nature of this event, a clear bag policy is in effect. Anyone entering Centennial Hall is subject to a search of personal belongings. Bags larger than 12” x 6” x 12” are not permitted. Exceptions will be made for medically necessary items after proper inspection. For more information, please visit Security Policy.
October 28, 2023
Amal Walks Across America
Produced by The Walk Productions in association with Handspring Puppet Company
Discover the power of art and compassion in a free, community-wide event with Amal Walks Across America. Join us in welcoming Little Amal, a 12-foot puppet of a 10-year-old Syrian refugee girl, to the Old Pueblo as part of her 6,000-mile journey in search of family and friends.
An “international symbol of human rights” (The Guardian, 2022), Amal will travel across the United States to learn firsthand about a country that has long been a refuge for those seeking safety and opportunity. Her walk is a celebration of art, hope, and shared humanity that aims to unite communities while refocusing attention on the urgent needs of refugees and highlighting the rich cultures immigrants bring.
Amal will join over 1,500 artists in 100+ local events across 35 towns and cities to learn more about the stories of the American people who established roots in these communities over the last hundred-plus years. She will begin in Boston, MA on September 7 and reach San Diego, CA on November 5. The cross-country journey will take Amal through the nation’s capital, the Midwest, the South, and across the Southern border, before heading north to Los Angeles. Walk with Amal Across America. One Little Girl. One Big Hope.
Schedule of Events
6 AM: Sunrise on Cemamagi Du’ag
Desert Laboratory at Tumamoc Hill1675 W. Anklam Road, Tucson, AZ
Little Amal joins hundreds of Tucsonans to climb the oldest continuously inhabited hill in the US and to catch a magical sunrise over the saguaros. She witnesses a land blessing and is reminded that she walks on ancestral lands.
9 AM: İBienvenida a Nuestro Barrio!
Galeria Mitotera802 S. 4th Ave, Tucson, AZ
On her way from Tumamoc, Amal will notice the rich history of our Chicanx, Mexican, and Indigenous communities. The smell of home-cooked foods and the sounds of music will fill the air upon her arrival at Galeria Mitotera’s community art space. Amal will be welcomed to our Barrio of South Tucson with a seat at our community breakfast table, performances by local mariachi and folklórico groups, and a fun-filled pinata breaking with her new friends in South Tucson!
10 AM: Dos Vidas Car Ride
Cruise through South Tucson
After a warm welcome in South Tucson, Amal catches a ride with Dos Vidas Car Club and friends, and heads to a block party downtown. Along the ride, she sees vibrant neighborhood murals, crosses the threshold of iconic Five Points, and passes by beautiful Santa Cruz Church.
11 AM: İHola! A Tucson Block Party
Children’s Museum Tucson200 S. 6th Ave, Tucson, AZ
After hitching a ride with Dos Vidas Car Club, Amal comes upon the Children’s Museum Tucson, where a celebration of the city’s many cultures fills the area with music, art, and food. Amal is greeted by young folklórico dancers, who lead her through the festivities, where she eventually hears the notes of home.
4:30 PM: Wildcat Welcome
University of Arizona Mall1737 E. University Blvd, Tucson, AZ
At the University of Arizona Tailgate, Little Amal is greeted by the University’s international community, a group of scientists and science students with their eyes on the stars. She’s swept along in the festivities around the UArizona Football game against Oregon State by the band, cheer, and football players.
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October 28, 2023
David Cross
Worst Daddy In The World Tour
Join Arizona Arts Live and the Rialto Theatre for Emmy Award winner and two-time Grammy Award nominee, David Cross. An inventive performer, writer, and producer, Cross has appeared in numerous critically acclaimed productions on stage and screen.
On February 12, 2022, Cross premiered his comedy special, David Cross: I’m From The Future, as a live-stream event available internationally on his website. Recorded on November 8, 2021, in Brooklyn, NY, the special finds Cross reflecting on life during the pandemic, euthanizing a pet, The Gettysburg Address, the true power of wishes, and so much more. Cross’ 2019 comedy special, David Cross: Oh Come On, is available on Amazon Prime and Peacock. He was nominated for two Grammy Awards for the albums, …America…Great, and Shut Up You F***ing Baby, and his comedy special, David Cross: The Pride is Back, was named one of the 25 best stand-up comedy specials and concert films of all time by Rolling Stone in July 2015.
In 2021, Cross starred in the National Geographic series, Genius: Aretha, portraying famed music producer, Jerry Wexler, opposite Cynthia Erivo as Aretha Franklin; he made guest appearances in the critically-acclaimed HBO Max miniseries, Station Eleven; and starred in the HBO Max film, 8-Bit Christmas. Other groundbreaking TV credits include Arrested Development, Goliath, The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, Mr. Show with Bob and David, Freak Show, and The Ben Stiller Show.
In 2020, Cross received rave reviews for his starring role in the dramatic film, The Dark Divide, and in 2018, he was part of the ensemble cast with Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep in Steven Spielberg’s The Post. Cross released the indie film Hits, which he wrote and directed, and has appeared in numerous films including Kill Your Darlings, It’s a Disaster, Abel, Year One, Waiting for Guffman, Men in Black and Men in Black II, Ghost World, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Pitch Perfect 2, I’m Not There, and he provided his vocal talents for several animated films, including Megamind, the Kung Fu Panda franchise and Curious George.
Tickets are available online or at The Rialto Theatre Box Office.
Please note, this is an 18+ show.Charity Fee: $2 from every ticket will go to support The Innocence Project which works to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions, and create fair, compassionate, and equitable systems of justice for everyone. Founded in 1992 by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, the organization is now an independent nonprofit. Our work is guided by science and grounded in antiracism. https://innocenceproject.org/Phone-Free Event: This event will be a phone-free experience. Use of cellphones, smart watches, smart accessories, cameras or recording devices will not be permitted in the performance space. Anyone seen using a cell phone or recording device during the performance will be immediately escorted out of the venue. We appreciate your cooperation in creating a phone-free viewing experience. Please note: this is NOT a Yondr event.Copyright Notice: David Cross owns all rights in the content and materials, including any jokes and sketches (the “Materials”), delivered during his performance. The Materials may not be copied, translated, transmitted, displayed, distributed, or reproduced verbatim (the “Use”), in whole or in part, in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed, without the express prior written consent of David Cross. Any Use of the Materials without the express prior written consent of David Cross is strictly prohibited and shall be subject to all available legal remedies, whether in equity or at law at the cost of anyone who violates this prohibition.Clear Bag Policy: to provide a safer environment for the public and significantly expedite fan entry into our venues, Rialto Theatre & 191 Toole have instituted a clear bag policy as of March 1st, 2022. The policy limits the size and type of bags that may be brought into our venues. The following is a list of bags that will be accepted for entry: Bags that are clear plastic or vinyl and do not exceed 12in x 6in x 12in One-gallon clear plastic freezer bags (Ziplok bag or similar) Small clutch bags, approximately 5in x 7in All bags subject to search. Clear bags are available for sale at the box office.
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May 17, 2023
Tamikrest
With support from Quetzal Guerrero & Sergio Mendoza
This Spring, take a trip to Mali with Arizona Arts Live and KXCI Community Radio as they welcome Tamikrest for an unforgettable evening of cutting-edge desert-blues, rock, and pop.
Tamikrest (a Tamasheq word for “junction, connection, knot, coalition” in reference to its members hailing from different regions) is a 5 member band from the Republic of Mali known for fusing African music with modern rock influences to share the richness of their Tuareg identity. Through the message of their songs, Tamikrest is making Tamasheq poetry and culture accessible to inhabitants of a world larger than the immensity of the Saharan desert.
Starting with just two homemade guitars in 2006, the group has built a global following and grown its repertoire to include over twenty-five compositions. Tamotaït, their most powerful album since 2013’s wildly acclaimed Chatma, turns up the volume to express their thoughts on the state of the Sahara and the world. Don’t miss your chance to experience adventurous music with a twist of familiarity in a feast for the eyes and ears only at Hotel Congress!
April 10, 2023
Etran de L’Aïr
Take a trip to Agadez, the capital city of Saharan rock, with Arizona Arts Live and Best Life Presents as they welcome Etran de L’Aïr or “stars of the Aïr region.” Playing for over 25 years, Etran has emerged as stars of the local wedding circuit. Their sound invokes the desert metropolis and celebrates the sounds of all the dynamism of a hometown wedding.
Beloved for their dynamic repertoire of hypnotic solos and sun schlazed melodies, Etran stakes out a place for Agadez guitar music. Etran is a family band composed of brothers and cousins, all born and raised in the small neighborhood of Abalane, just in the shadow of the grand mosque. Sons of nomadic families that settled here in the 1970s fleeing the droughts, they all grew up in Agadez.
The band was formed in 1995 when current band leader Moussa “Abindi” Ibra was only 9 years old. “We only had one acoustic guitar,” he explains, “and for percussion, we hit a calabash with a sandal.” Over the decades, the band painstakingly pieced together gear to form their band and built an audience by playing everywhere, for everyone. “It was difficult. We would walk to gigs by foot, lugging all our equipment, carrying a small PA and guitars on our backs, 25 kilometers into the bush, to play for free…there’s nowhere in Agadez we haven’t played.”
This is a 21+ event.
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June 15, 2023
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
This summer, join Arizona Arts Live and Live Nation for Grammy-winning Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Don’t miss these two icons reuniting for their latest release, Raise the Roof, nominated for Best Americana Album, Best American Roots Song, and Best Country Duo/Group Performance!
“These are songs that have gone into our hearts way back in time, but got lost in the twists and curves of the passing years,” says Robert Plant. “You hear them and you go ‘Man, listen to that song, we got to sing that song!’ It’s a vacation, really—the perfect place to go that you least expected to find.”
In 2007, Plant and Alison Krauss released Raising Sand, one of the most acclaimed albums of the 21st Century. It was an unlikely, mesmerizing pairing of one of rock’s greatest frontmen with one of country music’s finest and most honored artists, produced by the legendary T Bone Burnett. It entered the Billboard 200 at Number Two and was certified platinum, and it won six Grammy awards, including both Album and Record of the Year.
Now, after fourteen years, the two icons return with Raise the Roof. Nominated for Best Americana Album, Best American Roots Song (“High and Lonesome”) and Best Country Duo/Group Performance (“Going Where The Lonely Go”) at the 2023 GRAMMY Awards, these dozen songs span a range of traditions and styles, extending this remarkable collaboration in new and thrilling directions.
Plant and Krauss, though, were determined not to simply replicate a formula. “We wanted it to move,” says Krauss. “We brought other people in, other personalities within the band and coming back together again in the studio brought a new intimacy to the harmonies.”
The duo’s intention had always been to continue the momentum of Raising Sand. “There was so much enthusiasm, excitement and adrenaline that it would have been folly if we didn’t keep going,” says Plant. “We did join up and consider songs, try to work out some ideas, but then somebody would ask if I’d want to take my band to the Arctic Circle—‘OK, I’ll do that, call you back, Alison!’ And then she goes off and gets another Grammy. We’ve both constantly made new recordings.
“I knew what we could share. In the length of time that I’ve been making records, this is very rewarding, but a very unusual place to find myself.”
In fact, the two singers were stockpiling ideas for songs they might do together, and passing selections back and forth, during the intervening years. “I’ve heard Lucinda Williams sing ‘Can’t Let Go’ forever, and I sent that to Robert at least ten years ago,” says Krauss. “I remember riding around listening to it and thinking it would be so much fun to do together.”
Plant had his eyes on a couple of R&B deep cuts. “The Betty Harris song ‘Trouble With My Lover’ was always in the air,” he says. “To hear Alison sing that is such a great way of her turning her gift around. And Bobby Moore’s ‘Searching for My Love’ is something I used to sing at school, another nugget of beautiful lost soul music which has been ricocheting between us for a long time.”
When they were finally able to reconvene in Nashville in late 2019, Plant admits that it was “kind of daunting.” After all, when they first met up, there were no expectations; “When we started, Robert had said that if it didn’t work, we’ll try it for three days and say goodbye,” says Krauss. But this time, they not only had to clear the bar of their own magnificent careers, they also had the success of Raising Sand to contend with. Once they got rolling, though, Krauss says the recordings felt “very natural, very easy—and really fun.”
For his part, Plant wanted to introduce a musical tradition that was part of his own culture. “I’ve been a big follower of Bert Jansch’s work since I was a teenager,” he says, “and of that whole Irish, Scottish, English folk style that has a different lilt and different lyrical perspective. I was very keen to bring some of that into the picture.”
“One of my favorite parts of this is the songs and songwriters that I had never heard of ” says Krauss, noting that in addition to the inclusion of Jansch’s “It Don’t Bother Me,” she feels the “peak of the record” comes with “Go Your Way” by English folk singer Anne Briggs. “Working with Robert, and with T Bone, is always a great education in musical history.”
The material on the album encompasses compositions by writers as diverse as Merle Haggard (“Going Where the Lonely Go”) and the mysterious blueswoman Geeshie Wiley (“Last Kind Words Blues”)—and even a Plant-Burnett original, “High and Lonesome”—in arrangements even more evocative, spare, and hypnotic than those on Raising Sand. In addition to the core band of ace musicians assembled by Burnett, including drummer Jay Bellerose and guitarist Marc Ribot on all tracks, there are appearances from such guests as David Hidalgo from Los Lobos, jazz wizard Bill Frisell, and the eternal Buddy Miller.
Both Plant and Krauss point to the recording of “Quattro (World Drifts In),” a song by the beloved Americana band Calexico, as a turning point in the Raise the Roof sessions. “When I heard the song for the first time, it came in the group of songs Robert sent me as possibilities he liked as ideas for us to record,” says Krauss. “I thought, ‘Oh gosh, here we go’—hearing that song was the moment I knew we’d make another album.”
The recording of Raise the Roof was completed just weeks before the world went into lockdown, after which the two singers were separated by an ocean for eighteen months (“I’ve never been in one place this long since I was at school,” says Plant). Now that they finally feel ready to put this music out into the world, they’re making plans for a tour that fans have been waiting to return for more than a dozen years.
“It’s time to think about walking on the stage again and having that feeling of being just a little bit nervous,” says Plant. “And that’s really the thing that we both live for—that walk from the side of the stage to the microphone. That’s the longest journey, because it lasts a lifetime.”
The accomplishments of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, of course, are immeasurable. But with Raise the Roof, they take the next step in a project that offers them creative rewards unlike anything else. “There’s so much romance in contrast,” says Krauss.
“It’s such a far cry from everything I’ve done before,” says Plant. “I love the whole kaleidoscope of music that I’ve explored, but this is a place where you can think within the song, you can decide how to bring home an emotion. It’s another blend that we’ve got, and long may we have more of them.”
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April 26, 2023 - April 29, 2023
Dimanche
by Chaliwaté Company and Focus Company (Belgium)
Join us for a comedic, family-friendly piece of innovative theatre using lo-fi FX, miniature vehicles, puppetry, video, deadpan mime and ingeniously simple physical recreations of film language. Don’t miss this tender portrait of humanity coming to Tornabene Theatre!
Dimanche, a humorous and magical play, features two stories to paint a portrait of mankind totally out of step with climate catastrophes swirling around them. Adventure with a team of wildlife reporters as they travel the world to document the last living species. And spend a quiet Sunday afternoon with a family paying no attention to trembling walls and lashing rain as they absurdly try to preserve their daily life.
Between dreamlike fiction and factual reality, Dimanche observes the ingenuity and stubbornness of humans as they try to preserve their day-to-day habits, going to absurd extremes to keep up a sense of normalcy despite the chaos of an ecological collapse. Great for all ages, this production weaves together lo-fi effects, video, puppetry, and clowning in a wondrous work of physical theater!
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April 12, 2023 - April 15, 2023
Air Play
By Acrobuffos
Umbrellas fly, fabrics soar over the audience, balloons swallow people, and snow swirls on the Centennial Hall stage this spring. With stunning images and gales of laughter, Air Play bounces on the edge of definition: part comedy, part sculpture, part circus, part theater.
A circus-style adventure of two siblings journeying through a surreal land of air, Air Play transforms ordinary objects into uncommon beauty. Created by circus performers Seth Bloom and Christina Gelsone in collaboration with kinetic sculptor Daniel Wurtzel, this performance was devised through years of experimentation with simple materials, movement, and technology.
Join us for a visual poem great for all ages that uses no words to bring to life the very air we breathe. No translation necessary, this experience has played from the southernmost opera house in the world in Chile to London’s Royal Festival Hall, Melbourne’s State Theatre, and Shanghai’s Grand Theatre, and continues to tour.
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April 6, 2023
Fran Lebowitz
Unorthodox and intellectual with a wry sense of humor, voracious reader Fran Lebowitz brings New York to The Rialto Theatre. Don’t miss an evening of humor and unapologetic cultural satire by this style icon.
In a cultural landscape filled with endless pundits and talking heads, Fran Lebowitz stands out as one of our most insightful social commentators. Her essays and interviews offer her sharp views on current events and the media – as well as pet peeves including tourists, baggage-claim areas, after-shave lotion, adults who roller skate, children who speak French, or anyone who is unduly tan.
A close friend to Martin Scorcese, Fran Lebowitz is featured in multiple documentaries, television dramas, and films, including Law & Order, The Wolf of Wall Street, Public Speaking, and the Emmy-nominated Netflix series Pretend It’s a City. She has long been a regular on various talk shows including those hosted by Jimmy Fallon, Conan O’Brien, and Bill Maher. Lebowitz is the 2021 Foreign Press Honorary Awardee – an award given by the Foreign Press Correspondents Association & Club USA.
Martin Scorsese Presents | Pretend It’s A City | Official Trailer | Netflix
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March 24, 2024
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Embark on a 60-year musical legacy with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, five-time Grammy winners spreading messages of peace and love. With a deep respect for cultural and personal history, they return to the Old Pueblo for an evening of uplifting South African rhythms and harmonies taking center stage at the Rialto Theatre.
For over 60 years, the five-time Grammy-winning group Ladysmith Black Mambazo has captivated global audiences with messages of peace, love, and harmony. Formed in the early 1960s, their name symbolizes the founder’s hometown (Ladysmith), strength (Black, like oxen), and the ability to triumph over rivals (Mambazo, Zulu for chopping ax). Specializing in isicathamiya, a traditional music style developed in South African mines, the group reflects the cultural resilience of black workers who, despite harsh conditions, found solace in music during weekends away from home. In the mid-1980s, Paul Simon collaborated with them, introducing their rich harmonies to mainstream audiences through his landmark Graceland album, a pivotal moment in the popularization of World Music.
Their musical efforts over the past five decades have garnered praise and accolades from a wide body of people, organizations, and countries. The late former South African president Nelson Mandela designated the group “South Africa’s cultural ambassadors to the world,” a title the members carry with them with the highest honor. In 2018, the group received two Grammy Award nominations for two separate albums, a first in the history of World Music. These two nominations brought their career total to 19 Grammy nominations.
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