The Maverick Live Country Club on East Tanque Verde Road is celebrating its 55th anniversary on Sunday with a homecoming.
The party on Sunday, Nov. 5, will reunite a handful of singers who fronted the country music nightclub’s house band over the years. Invites have been extended to Troy Olsen, who was behind the mic from 1997 through 1998, when he moved to Nashville. Others include Jadi Norris and Vince Moreno.
The Maverick was established in 1962 on East 22nd Street in midtown as a live honky-tonk with local bands performing and patrons line-dancing and boot-scootin’. In 1972, Mo Farhang took over and expanded the club’s reach to Nashville, bringing in big-name stars of the day, from George Jones to Tammy Wynette and Willie Nelson. The club today continues that trend with the occasional Nashville or Texas country act. It also has maintained the live music, with a rotating schedule of house bands.
The club arguably is Tucson’s longest running live music venue. With the exception of the year it closed after a February 2002 fire destroyed its 22nd Street home, the Maverick has been open five nights a week, serving up cold beer, hot tunes and country line dance lessons. That 2002 fire prompted the club’s move to 6622 E. Tanque Verde Road in early 2003.
Other Tucson artists invited to jump on stage Sunday night: Chuck & Terry Back, Jack Bishop, John Chastain, Drew Cooper, Jay Faircloth, Scotty Frel, Mickey G., John E. Mann, Rick Mendoza, Robert Moreno, Beau Renfro and Garry Rust.
