Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

has a strong, growing independent music culture that focuses on locally grown and locally derived musical genres. The city is home to musical organizations that seek to nurture artists from the local music scene as well as introduce the community to other musical styles from beyond Southern Arizona.

Regional musical genres

Tucson is home to both home-grown and imported musical styles and influences, including: * Desert Funk / Desert Groove / Roots Music – influenced by Sly and the Family Stone, Miles Davis, Stevie Wonder, Willie Nelson and Billie Holiday * Desert Noir * Desert Rock *

Mariachi Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music that dates back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, t ...

– an integration of stringed instruments highly influenced by the cultural impacts of the historical development of Western Mexico * Native American Jazz – blends Native American and non-Native musical traditions * Sonoran Dirty Rock * Tohono O'odham waila * Western Cowboy

Notable musical organizations

Arizona Opera Arizona Opera is an opera company which operates in both Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona. History Arizona Opera was established in 1971 as the Tucson Opera Company, under founding general director James P. Sullivan, and presented its first productio ...

– baroque, bel canto and verismo works, turn-of-the-century masterpieces, operettas and American operas *

Mexican Institute of Sound Mexican Institute of Sound (MIS; es, Instituto Mexicano del Sonido — ''IMS'') is an electronic music project created by Mexico City-based DJ and producer Camilo Lara. Along with groups like Nortec Collective and Kinky (band), Kinky, M.I.S. is ...

– electronic music project created by Mexico City-based DJ and producer Camilo Lara * Tucson Junior Strings * Tucson Symphony Orchestra – the oldest symphony orchestra in the American Southwest

Tucson Area Music Awards (TAMMIES)

The annual public-choice music awards – nicknamed the TAMMIES – seeks to recognize local talent by highlighting Tucson's best musical performers. The awards are held in the fall and are sponsored by

Tucson Weekly The ''Tucson Weekly'' is an alternative newsweekly that was founded in 1984 by Douglas Biggers and Mark Goehring, and serves the Tucson, Arizona, metropolitan area of about 1,000,000 residents. The paper is a member of the Association of Alter ...

magazine.

Recurring musical festivals and fairs

Tucson Film & Music Festival Tucson Film & Music Festival celebrates the past, present and future of the Tucson, Arizona music and filmmaking scene. TFMF’s focus is on music-related content, as well as films and filmmakers with a connection to Arizona or the Southwest. Th ...

celebrates the past, present and future of the Tucson, Arizona music and filmmaking scene

Notable musicians, bands, and groups

The following Tucson-based artists have been featured in a variety of local and national media. *

Alter Der Ruine Alter Der Ruine (German for: Age of the Ruin—as in: years of existence of a derelict building) is an internationally touring electronic act based out of Tucson, Arizona that began in 2005. They are known for their creative diversity and intense ...

– power noise / electronic music / industrial music * Black Sun Ensemble – psychedelic rock *

Calexico Calexico () is a city in southern Imperial County, California. Situated on the Mexican border, it is linked economically with the much larger city of Mexicali, the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California. It is about east of San Diego ...

– musical style is influenced by traditional Latin sounds of mariachi and Tejano music; blends "jazzy-rock with traditional Mexican music" *

Friends of Dean Martinez Friends of Dean Martinez is an American instrumental rock/post-rock band featuring members of Giant Sand, Calexico, and Naked Prey. The band combines Americana with electronica, ambient, lounge, psychedelia and dub and intertwines surf rock- ...

– instrumental rock/post-rock band, Americana tunes with influences from electronica, ambient, lounge. * Sergio Mendoza y la Orkesta – psychedelic, indie, mambo, cumbia and jazzTucson: Southern Arizona's Music Sanctuary
Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau, News Release, December 16, 2010. *

Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus The Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus is a boys' choir based in Tucson, Arizona, which performs locally, nationally, and internationally. Founded in 1939 and incorporated as a non-profit educational organization in 1945, its mission is to facilitate mus ...

* Tucson Desert Harmony Chorus *

Tucson Girls Chorus The Tucson Girls Chorus is a girls' choir based in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1984, the non-profit organization accommodates girls aged 6 to 18 in six main choirs and numerous satellite choirs in low-income communities. Chorus members perform loc ...

Notable venues

* Tucson Music Hall * Centennial Hall *

Fox Tucson Theatre The Fox Tucson Theatre is located in downtown Tucson, Arizona, United States. The theater opened on April 11, 1930 as a performance space in downtown Tucson. It hosts a wide spectrum of events and concerts featuring a variety of performing tale ...

* The Rialto Theatre * Club Congress

References

{{Reflist

External links

* ReverbNation Charts: Pop
Tucson, Arizona
eMinor Inc. Retrieved: September 5, 2011.
Tucson Rock Alliance