January 17th, 2012
Mr. Jonathan Holden Passed Away Today.
Shows for now will go on because as Jonathan would say . . .
“Music is Medicine”
CLICK HERE for more information (updated 1/26/12) and see the photo album.
Fred Eaglesmith
Saturday, Feb. 4, 7:30pm
FRED EAGLESMITH BAND with THE FABULOUS GINN SISTERS
@ Suite 147 in Plaza Palomino
$22 advance, $25 door
“Bakersfield-tinged roots rock and bluegrass.” Nashville Scene
We’re thrilled to welcome back the fantastic Canadian alt-country singer/songwriter Fred Eaglesmith. Like Deadheads and Parrotheads, “Fredheads” dig his tales of tried-but-true blue-collar guys, tired cowboys, bare-knuckled farmers, heartbreakingly good women, beautifully bad women, lonesome good guys, bravura bad guys and Friday-night criminals.
A Fred Eaglesmith gig is more than a concert, it’s a show, a stand up comedy routine, a travelling carnival and a good old fashion honky tonk all rolled into one! He’s Willie Nelson meets Warren Zevon, Mark Twain meets Hunter S. Thompson and the warm humor of John Prine marinated in Neil Young.
Sons of the Pioneers
Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012 – 7:30pm
SONS OF THE PIONEERS
@ Berger Performing Arts Center, ASDB
1200 W. Speedway (1/2 mile west of I-10)
$32 advance, $35 door
The Sons of the Pioneers arrived on the Western music scene in 1934 – and made a star of Roy Rogers. More than 75 years later, the legendary ensemble remains the world’s premiere cowboy singing group. Many of their original songs have become standards that link to the very fabric of the West, such as Tumbling Tumbleweed, Cool Water and Ghost Riders in the Sky.
No other group in American music history can boast membership in the Country Music Hall of Fame, Western Music Hall of Fame, National Cowboy Hall of Fame, Grammy Hall of Fame, Texas Western Swing Hall of Fame and Smithsonian Institute’s “National Treasure” Designation. Their shows sell out across the country so be sure to get your tickets early.
Ruthie Foster and Paul Thorn
Sunday, Feb. 12, 7pm
SOUL SALVATION – Ruthie Foster Band with Paul Thorn
Berger Performing Arts Center, ASDB
@ 1200 W. Speedway, ½ mile west of I-10
$27 advance, $30 door.
“Everybody ought to have a stone love.” So says Ruthie Foster on the opening cut of The Truth According to Ruthie Foster. And when Ruthie lays it down, you’d be well advised to listen. Her uplifting lyrics and electrifying vocals, backed by a band of world-class players bristles with soul and proves impossible to resist. There’s Southern blues in her groove, rock in her rhythm, a blend of gospel redemption, country poetry and jazz elegance in her singing.
Born in Tupelo, Mississippi, Paul Thorn was raised among the same spirits (and some of the actual people) who nurtured a young Elvis generations before. As the son of a Pentecostal preacher, Paul Thorn knows how to capture the gospel spirit in his music. While performing his rootsy style of gospel infused rock in his hometown of Tupelo MS, he was discovered by a representative of legendary manager Miles Copeland (The Police, Sting). He has toured extensively and performed with Mark Knopfler, Jeff Beck, John Hiatt, Richard Thompson, and many more.
Sticks n Fingers Carnival
Friday, Feb. 17, 7:30pm
CARIBBEAN DANCE PARTY with Sticks N’ Fingers
Featuring Richard Noel
Suite 147 in Plaza Palomino
$15 advance, $18 door. $10 student ticket – current student ID required for each ticket – limit 1 per ID.
Just in time for Carnival season, Sticks and Fingers brings dynamic percussion and dance for a joyful Afro-Caribbean dance party. Founded by Richard Noel, from Trinidad, their music ranges from Calypso, Soca and Reggae to African Beat.
Jonathan Holden "Music is Medicine"
Sunday, Feb. 19, 2:00pm to 6:00pm
MUSIC IS MEDICINE – Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Jonathan Holden
@ Plaza Palomino – Swan/Ft. Lowell
Suggested minimum donation (at the door) to help defray costs: $5.00
Jonathan Holden, 12/29/51 – 1/17/12
Many people have felt the loss of Jonathan Holden, who was taken from us so suddenly on January 17, 2012. A long-time Tucsonan, he first came to town in 1970 to attend the University of Arizona and continued to make his musical mark in Tucson by helping launch community radio station KXCI. He proceeded on the path he loved as he formed the Rhythm & Roots Concert Series in the mid-nineties, which continues as his legacy.
On Sunday, February 19, 2012, a celebration of his life will be held at Plaza Palomino courtyard, at the Southeast corner of Swan and Ft. Lowell roads. Local musicians honoring Jonathan’s friendship and love of music include John Coinman, Sabra Faulk, Steve Grams, Danny Krieger, Gary Mackender, and Peter McLaughlin, with schedule and additional musicians to be announced. Please check the web at www.rhythmandroots.org for updates.
The motto of Rhythm and Roots has always been “Music is Medicine,” and there will be a large dose of healing served up at Plaza Palomino on February 19 to honor an irreplaceable friend of the Tucson music community.
Western Swing Dance with Carolyn Martin
Friday, Feb. 24, 7:30pm
Western Swing Dance with Carolyn Martin from Nashville and Way Out West
@ Suite 147 in Plaza Palomino
$15 advance, $18 door, $10 student ticket – current student ID required for each ticket – limit 1 per ID.
Born in Texas, Carolyn Martin grew up listening to Bob Wills and dreaming of singing in a Western Swing band.. Today she is a 2011 Texas Western Swing Hall Of Fame inductee and was named Western Swing Female Vocalist of the Year in 2008 and 2010. Her CD, Swing, was nominated for the Western Music Association Western Swing Album of the Year. Carolyn’s latest project, Cookin’ With Carolyn, was nominated by the WMA as both the Western Swing Album of the Year and Outstanding Female Vocalist of the Year. She is joined by Arizona favorites Way Out West for an evening of boot scootin’ Western Swing.
Incendio
Saturday, Feb. 25, 8:00pm
INCENDIO – Flamenco and Rumba Fusion
@ Suite 147 in Plaza Palomino
$15 advance, $18 door. $10 student ticket – current student ID required for each ticket – limit 1 per ID.
“Incendio is a firestorm of exotic grooves.” – Music Connection Magazine, LA
The Los Angeles quartet Incendio play blazing flamenco rumba fusion. Their name, which translates as “fire” in both Spanish and Italian, reflects the quartet’s ensemble energy and passion. Jazziz magazine writes, “Incendio is driven to levels of exotica and energetic excitement by the dual guitar interaction…with astounding, lightening quick passages.” Over the last six years, Incendio has brought an alchemy of composition, technique and performance to seven critically acclaimed CD releases and a full length DVD. Lovers of Flamenco and World music will find plenty of heat in their performance.
Janiva Magness
Saturday, March 10, 8:00pm
JANIVA MAGNESS
“Stronger For It” CD Release Party
@ Suite 147 in Plaza Palomino
SW corner of Swan & Ft. Lowell Roads.
$20 advance, $23 door
“A superb, powerhouse R&B singer who delivers blues and soul with show-stopping authority” – Los Angeles Daily News
Award-winning vocalist Janiva Magness is among the premier blues and R&B singers in the world today. Her voice possesses an earthy, raw honesty and beauty born from her life experience. A charismatic performer known for her electrifying live shows, Magness is a gutsy and dynamic musical powerhouse. She received the coveted 2009 Blues Music Awards for B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year (she is only the second woman to ever win this award, Koko Taylor being the first) and for Contemporary Blues Female Artist Of The Year, an honor she also received in 2006 and 2007. She has received eleven previous Blues Music Award nominations. USA Today declared, “Magness is a blues star,” and The Philadelphia Inquirer said, “Magness sings superb, potent soul-blues with a scorching intensity.”
Johnny Rawls
Friday, March 23, 7:30pm
JOHNNY RAWLS from Mississippi
@ Suite 147 in Plaza Palomino
Soul and Blues from the Chitlin’ Circuit
$15 advance, $18 door. $10 student ticket – current student ID required for each ticket – limit 1 per ID.
“He’s a master bluesman and a master soulman.” - Tallahassee Democrat
This kind of Soul and Blues is rarely heard outside of Chicago or the deep south. Now it comes to Tucson when Johnny Rawls brings the sound of the juke joints and blues clubs of the Chitlin’ Circuit to Rhythm & Roots’ Suite 147 in Plaza Palomino. His roots are Gospel and Soul in the tradition of Joe Tex and Otis Redding. Born in Columbia, Mississippi, Johnny Rawls took up the guitar at age 12 and by the time he was in his teens was backing singers like Joe Tex and Z.Z. Hill. He went on to play with Little Milton and BB King. He has recorded 13 albums. His 2007 release entitled Heart and Soul won “Best Soul Blues Album of the Year” from the Blues Foundation. Come hear why The Charlotte Observer called Rawls a “Mississippi soul-blues man who wows crowds with his smoldering vocals and guitar style.”
Jessica Fichot
Friday, March 30, 8pm
JESSICA FICHOT from Paris
French Chanson and Gypsy Jazz
@ Suite 147 in Plaza Palomino
$18 advance, $20 door. $10 student ticket – current student ID required for each ticket – limit 1 per ID.
“Her sound is cosmic cabaret, a delicious blend of acoustic styles.” - San Francisco Chronicle
L.A.-based chanteuse, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jessica Fichot is a lot like her hometown of Paris: French at heart, but with a soul that’s truly international. Drawing from her multi-ethnic French / Chinese / American upbringing, her music fuses styles and languages, taking the listener on a journey out of the French chanson tradition, into the lands of gypsy jazz, Chinese folk music and into the wilderness of her imagination.
Armed with four languages and an array of instruments (including the trumpet, clarinet, sax, guitar, bass and toy accordion), Jessica’s music bridges past and present styles, evoking an ageless quality accentuated by her soft, pure vocals.
Taj Mahal
Thursday, May 24, 2012 – 7:30pm
Rhythm & Roots and the Fox Tucson Theatre welcome
TAJ MAHAL
@ Fox Tucson Theatre - 17 W. Congress
Tickets $28 – $58
Tickets go on sale Wednesday December 14th here:
Tickets at Fox Box Office or call 547-3040.
Composer, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Taj Mahal is one of the most prominent and influential figures in late 20th century blues and roots music. Though his career began more than four decades ago with American blues, he has broadened his artistic scope over the years to include music representing virtually every corner of the world – west Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, the Hawaiian islands and so much more. What ties it all together is his insatiable interest in musical discovery. Over the years, his passion and curiosity have led him around the world, and the resulting global perspective is reflected in his music.
Taj’s prolific career includes 50 records, including two Grammy winners, Señor Blues (1997) and Shoutin’ in Key (2000)
“I didn’t want to fall into the trap of complacency. I wanted to keep pushing the musical ideas I had about jazz, music from Africa and the Caribbean. I wanted to explore the connections between different kinds of music.” – Taj Mahal
