Bob Dylan was wrong when he sang “Take care of all your memories; you cannot relive them.”
Proof: This summer is chock full of tribute bands bent on having us relive the good old days. The Beatles, John Denver, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Eagles, Rod Stewart, Bob Seger, Van Morrison. And that’s just a sampling of the musicians whose music will be front and center over the next several months.
But there are more than tribute bands going on in Tucson’s arts world over the next quarter.
Sure, the offerings are slim during our hot months. But they do not disappear.
There is still plenty to keep us entertained, thinking, feeling and, yes, remembering.
Tribute concerts
- Rock ’n’ roll reigns at The Gaslight Music Hall this summer. Among the greats that’ll be represented at the July 8 “Good Rockin’ Live — A Salute to Sun Records” concert: Elvis, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins. That’s some heavy-hitting rock ’n’ roll there. And it continues July 9 with “Whole Lotta Shakin’!” with the music of Jerry Lee Lewis going front and center.
Things will mellow out a bit at the Gaslight Music Hall with “Take it Easy — A Salute to the Eagles,” on July 16.
- The nostalgia continues at DesertView Performing Arts Center. Gregory Wolfe’s Rod Stewart Tribute is slated for July 22; the Sam Morrison Band recreates a Bob Seger concert with “Turn the Page” July 27; Eric Brown & the L Street Band play homage to Bruce Springsteen with its “Born to Run in the USA” concert Aug. 5, and Terry Davies croons Neil Sedaka tunes Sept. 9.
Wait, there’s more:
- The Fox Tucson Theatre is taking a walk down memory lane, too. John Denver — onetime member of the Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus — gets a tribute from Chris Collins and Boulder Canyon on July 8; a musical biography of the Fab Four comes courtesy of the traveling show “In My Life: A Musical Tribute to the Beatles,” slated for July 28; and Greg Hester and Keith Jenkins bring their tribute to the great bluesman Van Morrison Aug. 20.
- Invisible Theatre’s Sizzling Summer Cabaret series also revisits music by some of the greats. See a separate story in this section.
More music
- These groups are the real deal: The Monkees’ (with original members Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork) 50th Anniversary Tour comes to town Sept. 14; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Gregg Allman brings the blues on Sept. 21, and ’80s band Big Head Todd and The Monsters rock into town Sept. 30. Those concerts are at the Fox.
- Chris Isaak’s “First Comes the Night” tour stops at the Fox July 27. His shows not only come with his impressive voice, but with a surprising humor.
- Old Crow Medicine Show and Brandi Carlile light up the stage Aug. 17, and Alice Cooper welcomes us to his nightmare Aug. 26. Both are at AVA.
- If you are hankering for worldly experiences, we challenge you to try to sit still through the Latin rhythms of the Gipsy Kings, who play the Fox on Aug. 17.
- The gorgeous sounds of traditional Celtic music will fill St. Francis in the Foothills United Methodist Church July 16 when the Irish quintet Runa performs. You’ll hear that haunting genre again at the Berger Performing Arts Center Sept. 16 with Tannahill Weavers, who hail from Scotland, and The Outside Track, which calls Ireland home. In Concert! Tucson is responsible for bringing the lush sounds here.
Theater
- While stages aren’t hopping with plays, we are by no means left wanting.
- Live Theatre Workshop has something to offer nearly every weekend. Lesley Abrams stars in the one-woman show “The Lady With All the Answers,” about advice columnist Ann Landers. Abrams is one of Tucson’s most riveting actors. It runs July 14-Aug. 20. Maryann Green is one of Tucson’s more dedicated theater performers, writers and organizers. Her play, “The Audubon Field Guide to ------- I’ve Dated,” is the late-night offering at LTW on July 23 and 30. And closing out August for us: “[sic],” about a trio of neighbors trying to navigate the world and their lives, at LTW Aug. 25-Oct. 1.
- The Rogue Theatre normally takes the summers off, but not this year. Co-founder Cynthia Meier has adapted F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Tales of the Jazz Age.” It’s a co-production with Artifact
- Dance Project, which pro
- vides the choreography for the story of life in the Roaring Twenties. It’s July 14-24 at the Rogue.
- You may remember Sister, the nun who terrified us in “Late Nite Catechism.” She’s back, this time with “Sister’s Summer School Catechism.” We suspect the ruler will be out ready to rap the knuckles of offending students, made up of audience members. It’s at the Fox Aug. 5.
- As September rolls around, theaters start their seasons in earnest. Invisible Theatre launches its 2016-17 season with the Fred Carmichael comedy “Coming Apart,” about a couple who declare they want a divorce — well, they say it, but don’t mean it. But each is too stubborn to back down. It’s Sept. 6-18.
- The Rogue Theatre starts with a massive and important piece: “Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches,” Tony Kushner’s mesmerizing play about the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. It’s Sept. 8-25 at the Rogue.
- Opening Arizona Theatre Company’s new season is “King Charles III,” Mike Bartlett’s imagining of England’s royal family after the queen has died and Prince Charles has ascended to the throne. It’s Sept. 9-30 at the Temple of Music and Art.
- Borderlands Theater begins its season with “Nogales,” Richard Montoya’s tragicomedy tracing bullets beyond the headlines. Based on true stories. It’s Sept. 7-24 at the Cabaret Theatre at the Temple.
- Also coming up: The Community Players stage the tender coming-of-age story “Real Women Have Curves,” by Josefina Lopez Sept. 9-25 at the Community Playhouse; Arizona Repertory Theatre opens with “Epic Proportions” by Larry Coen and David Crane, Sept. 18-Oct. 8 at the Marroney Theatre; Broadway in Tucson brings the Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall production of the musical “Cabaret” to Centennial Hall Sept. 22-25, and Something Something Theatre produces Annie Baker’s “Body Awareness” at the Temple of Music and Art’s Cabaret Theatr
- e Sept. 30-Oct. 16.
Visual arts
- Every summer, glass artist Tom Philabaum asks a few friends to join him for a show. This year, works by West Hunting and Jason Marstall join him for “Philabaum & Phriends,” which runs through Sept. 24. The gallery shows glass art in all its glory — and sometimes you can catch glass artists creating that glory.
- While you are checking out the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum during Cool Summer Nights (or anytime, for that
- matter), be sure to cruise into the gallery and feast your eyes on Glenn Thompson’s photographic works of rare marine life. It continues through Aug. 26.
- When you’re hanging at the Tucson International Airport waiting to get out of town, mosey on up to the Upper Link Gallery and feast your eyes on Susan Rider’s “Tablet Series Meditations.” It continues through July 30.
- If you long for a respite from the heat, slip into the Joel D. Valdez Main Library and feast your eyes on “Summer Blockbuster,” quilts and works on paper by Lisa Jensen. You’ll find them there through July 31.
