Tucson, Arizona
Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...
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
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Mariachi
Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music dating 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, two ...
– 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
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Arizona Opera
Arizona Opera is an opera company which operates in both Phoenix, Arizona, 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 i ...
– baroque, bel canto and verismo works, turn-of-the-century masterpieces, operettas and American operas
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Tucson Jazz Institute - Tucson's Award winning high school jazz ensemble
*Century Room Jazz Orchestra - a classic jazz big band home to the Century Room at
Hotel Congress
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Mexican Institute of Sound – electronic music project created by Mexico City-based DJ and producer Camilo Lara
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Tucson Junior Strings
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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 Altern ...
magazine.
Recurring musical festivals and fairs
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Tucson Film & Music Festival 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.
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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
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Black Sun Ensemble – psychedelic rock
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Calexico – musical style is influenced by traditional Latin sounds of mariachi and Tejano music; blends "jazzy-rock with traditional Mexican music"
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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 ...
– instrumental rock/post-rock band, Americana tunes with influences from electronica, ambient, lounge.
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Sergio Mendoza y la Orkesta – psychedelic, indie, mambo, cumbia and jazz
Tucson: Southern Arizona's Music Sanctuary
Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau, News Release, December 16, 2010.
Notable venues
* Tucson Music Hall
* Centennial Hall
* Fox Tucson Theatre
* The Rialto Theatre
* Club Congress
References
{{Reflist
External links
* ReverbNation Charts: Pop
Tucson, Arizona
eMinor Inc. Retrieved: September 5, 2011.
Tucson Rock Alliance