TUCSON, Ariz. – September 18, 2024 – Arizona Arts Live proudly presents a 2024-2025 year of new and incredible experiences with the world’s best artists, dancers, storytellers, illusionists, musicians, and acrobats.
Join Arizona Arts Live for the U.S. premiere of the visually stunning spectacle of propulsive dance, powerful music, and dazzling lighting of Frontera; an evening of Wonders with world-renowned illusionist and mentalist Scott Silven; an immersive theatrical party with Indian Ink Theatre’s Mrs. Krishnan’s Party; a celebration 100 years in the making with the Martha Graham Dance Company; a musical journey across the globe with GRAMMY-winning Silkroad Ensemble; and the return of Australia’s revolutionary contemporary circus company CIRCA – a small glimpse of the spectacles that await audiences, arts lovers, and fans.
“Arizona Arts Live celebrates its fourth year with new, world-class works exploring our humanity and what’s to come,” said Chad Herzog, executive director of Arizona Arts Live, official performing arts presenter at the University of Arizona.
“We’re helping set Southern Arizona as the gateway to thrilling, unforgettable moments in the extraordinary. Expect to experience astonishing spectacles to awaken your senses with the world’s best performing at the University of Arizona and in the heart of Tucson.”
Pueblo Vida
Arizona Arts Live is also proud to announce the University of Arizona’s second collaboration with Pueblo Vida. Following the release of Wildcat Cerveza, Experience Unexpected with Arizona Arts Live is a mouthwatering Hazy IPA infused with hibiscus flavor. The beer release event is Oct. 13, 5pm, at Centennial Hall.
Student Ticketing
Thanks to the generous support of the Marshall Foundation, Arizona Arts Live will continue its student ticket initiative. K-12 through university students can engage and participate in cultural experiences for just $10 regardless of seat.
Tickets on sale now with more experiences added throughout the year.
DIGITAL MEDIA KIT | Visit ArizonaArtsLive.com for updates.
Relics and Their Humans
SEP 19-20, 2024 | Centennial Hall Stage
Commissioned by Arizona Arts Live, the Krannert Center for Performing Arts and the Wexner Center for the Arts
A family’s moving story told through visual and musical relics featuring three-time Obie Award-winning writer/director Ain Gordon and composer Josh Quillen of Sō Percussion, a group that presents adventurous new work. Relics and Their Humans frames a story from Quillen’s family following his father’s ALS diagnosis and is guided by three family relics: a recorded interview, journal entries, and a 17-track playlist.
LEARN MORE | AIN GORDON | JOSH QUILLEN
MOMIX: Alice
SEP 27, 2024 | Centennial Hall
Presented together with MOMIX
Known for presenting work of exceptional inventiveness and physical beauty, MOMIX is a company of dancer-illusionists under the direction of Moses Pendleton. Inspired by Lewis Carroll’s classic “Alice in Wonderland,” as a “taking off point for invention,” ALICE blends illusion, acrobatics, magic, and whimsy. Although not a retelling of Alice in Wonderland, Alice does encounter time-honored characters and other surprises.
Audiorama
SEP 30-NOV 12, 2024 | Eastside Centennial Hall
Inspired by the Audioramas of Mexico City, our Ts-iuk-shan Audiorama will be located on the east side of Centennial Hall on the Historic University of Arizona Mall. Read, nap, and daydream; the Audiorama is a place for people to rest in the company of nothing but trees and music. It is an open-air concert auditorium, and there are several places to sit surrounded by speakers that play the music all day long — the type of music differs by the day of the week. Bring a book or borrow one, escape the noise and craziness around us, and sit with nature. Ts-iuk-shan Audiorama was designed by Arzate Designs of Tucson and built by CAPLA Students and Arizona Arts Live.
Kavita Shah & Cape Verdean Blues
OCT 4, 2024 | The Century Room
Presented together with the Century Room
Kavita Shah is an award-winning jazz vocalist, composer, researcher, polyglot and lifelong New Yorker of Indian origin, hailed for possessing an “amazing dexterity for musical languages” (NPR). In her latest project, Cape Verdean Blues, she explores the sounds and stories of São Vicente, an island of Cape Verde, off West Africa, and the birthplace of world music legend Cesária Évora.
On the Far End
OCT 11-12, 2024 | Tornabene Theatre
Presented together with the U of A Office of Native American Advancement & Tribal Engagement
In a captivating one-woman performance, playwright, actor, and attorney Mary Kathryn Nagle (Sovereignty; Manahatta) recounts the pivotal moments in the life of Muscogee (Creek) Nation activist Jean Hill Chaudhuri who founded the first off-reservation Indian Health clinic in Tucson and was inducted into the Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame posthumously in 2013. From the Trail of Tears to the Supreme Court’s landmark opinion in McGirt v. Oklahoma, Nagle sheds light on her mother-in-law’s relentless pursuit of justice.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse in Concert
OCT 13, 2024 | Centennial Hall
Presented together with Broadway in Tucson
Miles Morales, your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, embarks on an interdimensional journey across the Multiverse. Watch this Oscar-winning film, with a full orchestra performing the film’s iconic score and soundtrack live. Plus, a DJ on turntables, percussion, and electronic instrumentalists.
Coco: Live-to-Film Concert
OCT 24, 2024 | Centennial Hall
Catch a full screening of this beloved film as the 20-member Orquesta Folclórica Nacional de México, known for their ability to fuse pre-Hispanic instruments with instruments from the colonial era, performs Oscar®-winning composer Michael Giacchino’s musical score live. This family-friendly experience also features “Remember Me” by Oscar-winning songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez.
Animals of Distinction: FRONTERA
NOV 1, 2024 | Centennial Hall
In this visually striking spectacle, choreographer Dana Gingras asks, what space remains for the unruly, ungovernable body in a world consumed by monitoring technologies? Watch 10 dancers navigate a spectacular world of light-based scenography by United Visual Artists in a visual conversation between choreography, architecture, and live music by Fly Pan Am.
Scott Silven: WONDERS
NOV 20-23, 2024 | Tornabene Theatre
World-renowned illusionist, mentalist, and performance artist Scott Silven brings his unique form of theatrical enchantment to Tucson in Wonders. Following a sold-out international tour, Silven creates immersive theatrical experiences that draw audiences in through artful storytelling, a little patron participation, and a captivating bit of mystery. “Wow. Wow. Wow.” – The New York Times.
Avatar: The Last Airbender in Concert
NOV 24, 2024 | Centennial Hall
Presented together with Broadway in Tucson
The global phenomenon comes to Tucson for one night only! Avatar: The Last Airbender presented with a live orchestra performing the series’ soundtrack by award-winning composer Jeremy Zuckerman. Enjoy a two-hour special recap of the animated series’ three seasons featuring original dialogue and sound effects for a truly immersive concert experience.
Garrison Keillor Tonight
JAN 9, 2025 | The Rialto Theatre
Presented together with the Rialto Theatre
Garrison Keillor returns for an evening of stand-up, storytelling, audience song, and poetry. One man, one microphone. There are sung sonnets, limericks and musical jokes, and the thread that runs through it is the beauty of growing old. There is the News from Lake Wobegon and an a cappella sing-along with the audience singing from memory an odd medley of patriotic songs, pop standards, hymns.
Paquito D’Rivera
JAN 17, 2025 | The Rialto Theatre
Presented together with the Tucson Jazz Festival and the Rialto Theatre
Celebrate the musical genius of this 16-time Grammy and Latin Grammy winner known for his mastery of Latin jazz and classical music. A founding member of the iconic Irakere, he helped blend jazz, rock, and traditional Cuban music, earning international acclaim. He has recorded over 30 solo albums, collaborated with prestigious orchestras like the London Philharmonic, and composed works performed by world-renowned ensembles.
Endea Owens and the Cookout
JAN 18, 2025 | The Rialto Theatre
Presented together with the Tucson Jazz Festival and the Rialto Theatre
Detroit-raised and Juilliard-educated, Endea Owens has performed with legends like Wynton Marsalis, Diana Ross, and Jon Batiste, and is a member of the Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s house band, Stay Human. Her accolades include an Emmy, a Grammy, and a Peabody Award, featuring her work on projects like Judas and the Black Messiah and H.E.R’s Super Bowl performance.
Emmet Cohen Trio
JAN 18, 2025 | The Rialto Theatre
Presented together with the Tucson Jazz Festival and the Rialto Theatre
Multifaceted jazz pianist Emmet Cohen and winner of the 2019 American Pianists Awards and the Cole Porter Fellow of the American Pianists Association returns to Tucson for the 2025 Tucson Jazz Festival. He has appeared at major international jazz festivals, Lincoln Center’s Rose Hall, Washington’s Kennedy Center, and headlined the Village Vanguard in addition to other major New York jazz clubs.
Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra
JAN 19, 2025 | The Rialto Theatre
Presented together with the Tucson Jazz Festival and the Rialto Theatre
Experience the vibrant legacy of New Orleans jazz with GRAMMY-winning trombonist and bandleader, Delfeayo Marsalis. Founded by Marsalis, the Uptown Jazz Orchestra is a premier ensemble emphasizing riff-playing, spontaneous group improvisations, and New Orleans polyphony. Marsalis also founded the “Swinging with the Cool School” program, which brings jazz to students and offers music therapy at the New Orleans Children’s Hospital.
Indian Ink Theatre: Mrs. Krishnan’s Party
FEB 28-MAR 8, 2025 | Maya Tea Warehouse
Mrs. Krishnan is renting an apartment to the overzealous wannabe DJ, James. James invited a few friends to celebrate Onam and her son’s return home. But when 100 strangers turn up, the audience, Mrs. Krishnan has no choice but to throw the party of her life! An immersive experience like no other, featuring music, dancing, and vegetarian dhal prepared live.
Martha Graham Dance Company
MAR 19, 2025 | Centennial Hall
Since 1926, Martha Graham’s groundbreaking and uniquely American dance style has influenced generations of artists, dancers, and audiences worldwide. In celebration of its upcoming centennial, the Company has organized GRAHAM100. This three-season program explores Graham’s artistic legacy through performances, new productions, exhibitions, film screenings, publications, discussions, and educational activities.
Silkroad Ensemble: Uplifted Voices
APR 6, 2025 | Centennial Hall
Conceived by Yo-Yo Ma in 1988, the Silkroad Ensemble brings together musicians globally to inspire collaboration and add more equity and justice to the world. In Uplifted Voices, and under the leadership of visionary Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens, they champion women and non-binary members of the ensemble alongside special guest Tuscarora/Taíno musician Pura Fé in a musical journey connecting the music of indigenous North America to the World.
Circa: OPUS
APR 12, 2025 | Centennial Hall
Australian cirque company Circa returns with a bold piece of physical poetry. Beginning with a solo performer suspended on a rope, Opus moves powerfully through rapidly alternating scenes of dislocated stillness and violent explosions of extreme physicality. Alongside acrobats flying, balancing, and landing, France’s Debussy String Quartet performs three quartets by 20th-century composer Dmitri Shostakovich live and from memory.
Brooklyn Rider:
The String Quartets of Philip Glass
APR 25, 2025 | Tucson, AZ
Brooklyn Rider returns for a 20th-anniversary, dual concert experience celebrating the works of Philip Glass in a first-of-its-kind program. First, enjoy a special multi-part retrospective of Philip Glass’s complete music for string quartet. Next, experience a single-concert program featuring a representative selection of Glass’s most beloved scores for the medium.
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Media Contact
Andrew Escoto | aescoto@arizona.edu
Nestled in the heart of the Sonoran Desert, Arizona Arts Live curates extraordinary live events and arts experiences. A member of the Arizona Arts division at the University of Arizona, Arizona Arts Live brings the world’s greatest artists to Southern Arizona with programming that invites you to think. To feel. To discover thoughtful art and explore the unexpected.