3 music festivals, 1 rockin' weekend

Southern Arizona is getting its groove on this weekend with three music festivals covering everything from blues to pounding punk rock to an emerging pop newbie with one of the biggest songs of 2015.

That would be Rachel Platten, singer-songwriter of “Fight Song,” the defiant little, platinum-selling, chart-topping anthem that’s been featured on TV including on “Pretty Little Liars” and in Ford car commercials. She’s on the lineup of the inaugural My 92.9 Oro Valley Music Festival on Sunday, Sept. 13 that also features Matt Nathanson and Plain White T’s.

There also are two music festivals on Saturday, Sept. 12: Bisbee’s 11th annual Blues Festival and KFMA’s annual Fall Ball at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Here’s the 411 on all things music festival this weekend.

Take a road trip to Bisbee

The 11th Annual Bisbee Blues Festival runs Friday, Sept. 11, through Sunday, Sept. 13, but the main concert is from noon to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, at Bisbee City Park in Old Town Bisbee.

The lineup: Gary Farmer and the Troublemakers kick off things at 1, followed by Giant Blue, Buzz and the Soul Senders, Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band and Train Wreck. Selwyn Birchwood is in the headlining slot at 8:30 p.m.

The soundtrack: The intersection of soul-searching and scorching blues with every shade in between represented.

Acts not to miss: Headliner Birchwood is being touted as the next big thing in contemporary blues, but Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band could bring the most energy and personality to the stage.

Famliar faces: Bisbee’s Buzz and the Soul Senders, which regularly plays Bisbee venues.

Tickets for Saturday are $20 at bisbeebluesfoundation.com, where you also can learn more about the festival.

Rock ‘n’ roll into fall

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You can’t really judge the changing of seasons in Tucson by the colors of the leaves on the trees; our desert fauna is pretty anemic in the leaf department. But we can always count on the modern-rock-mayhem monitors at KFMA 102.1 FM to let us know it’s fall with their annual KFMA Fall Ball festival.

It’s from 1 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium, 2500 E. Ajo Way, with two stages.

The lineup: The Offspring, Awolnation, Chevelle. Pop Evil. Nothing More, All That Remains, Night Terrors of 1927, Stands With Fists, Alien Atmosphere and Raw Fabrics.

The soundtrack: Awolnation brings more pop rock with its new single “I Am” while The Offspring have a little sharper edge on their early 2015 album “Days Go By.” Expect radio darlings Pop Evil to deliver “Footsteps” while Tucson’s own Stands with Fists, with its guitar-driven gut-punching rock could prove to be one of the more interesting smaller acts of the day.

Tickets are $39 at Tucson area Pizza Hut restaurants. For the nearest Tucson location, visit pizzahut.com

Punky, poppy
on the golf course

My 92.9 FM is hosting the biggest pop-rock concert to ever hit Oro Valley and the northwest side.

The My 92.9 Oro Valley Music Festival is from 3:30 to 10 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13.

The lineup: Platten, Nathanson, American Authors, Needtobreathe, Parachute, Plain White T’s and Tucson’s own Latin-flamenco rock band Tesoro.

The soundtrack: Some of pop music’s biggest hits including Platten’s breakaway anthem “Fight Song,” Natahanson’s “Come on Get Higher” (and possibly his new single “Gold In the Summertime”), American Authors’ “Go Big Or Go Home” and “Pause” from Plain White T’s.

Doors at The Golf Club At Vistoso, 955 W. Vistoso Highlands Drive in Oro Valley, open at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 to $250 at Bookman’s or online at ticketfly.com Kids 12 and younger are free.