Tucson’s biggest music festival is taking over downtown’s Jácome Plaza this weekend, and across town at Kennedy Park, a Canadian-born Texas blues guitarist is headlining the daylong Blues Heritage Festival.
We’re not sure how we got so lucky to have two music festivals in one weekend, but we’ll take it.
Dusk: 40-plus acts on three stages
Dusk Music Festival returns for its ninth year to downtown Tucson on Nov. 15 and 16, bringing national EDM, hip-hop and indie artists to the stage alongside local bands.
G‑Eazy, the Oakland rapper known for his slicked-back hair and James Dean vibe, headlines alongside EDM DJs Deorro, INZO, Loud Luxury, Whipped Cream and Acraze; Grammy-winning rapper Lupe Fiasco; and the Boston indie rock band Vundabar.
Local acts include Bush League, Cherry!, Daytrails and Desert Music Project.
Forty-two artists applied to participate in this year’s visual installations for the 2025 Dusk Festival Nov. 15-16.
“For many of the (local) artists, Dusk is the first time they’re getting paid for their work, and when you get paid, that makes you a professional,” said Page Repp, one of the event’s cofounders.
Some local acts earned a spot on the stage through DUSK’s Battle of the Bands competition, which took place this year at Tucson’s newest concert venue, La Rosa. Garret James and the Wanderers will play the main stage after winning the competition; Tucson garage rockers All Yours will play the Discovery Stage as the runner-up.
“It’s like that quote from Gladiator — ‘Win the crowd and you win your freedom,’” Repp said.
Also on this year’s lineup is Bush League, a Tucson-based funk-rock group known for its improvisational style. The band earned its slot through last year’s competition.
The first Dusk festival was held in 2016, and, except for pausing 2020’s event due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event has returned annually. The event has grown from a music festival to a full-scale art and cultural experience.
Dusk 2025 returns Nov. 15-16 with a bigger footprint at Jácome Plaza in downtown Tucson.
Forty-two artists applied to participate in this year’s visual installations, led by Art Director Anahi Berrellez, a 2022 University of Arizona graduate who began with the festival as an intern in 2021.
“I focus on the immersive installations; they are something people can walk into or interact with,” Berrellez said. “The bigger and more experiential the better.”
Berrellez also partners with UA art faculty to bring in student work, including a new virtual reality project debuting at this year’s festival.
“You don’t often get the space or opportunity to create big art and Dusk makes that possible,” she said.
More than 40 national DJs and EDM artists are on the lineup for the 2025 Dusk Festival Nov. 15-16.
Rapp said the festival also has some new partnerships and a bigger festival footprint.
“We have some new sponsors … new things to expect that you’d see on site,” he said.
Among them is a new partnership with Dave & Buster’s.
“We’re doing [a] music event down at their space later this month, and then they’re coming to Dusk itself, and they’re going to bring out some games and some other (activities) and they’re doing some food and beverage in the VIP and Platinum area,” Repp said.
Repp emphasized that local involvement remains central to the festival’s identity.
“We’ve built something with deep community roots,” he said. “Our food vendors, artists and even our staff are all local.”
As Dusk looks ahead to its 10th anniversary in 2026, plans are already in motion. Rapp said they are looking at “something really special with bigger artists and announcements.”
“At the end of the day, Dusk was created to give Tucson something special, an event that helps keep young people in town, and brings culture here instead of having to drive to Phoenix for everything,” he said.
The top stories from the Arizona Daily Star’s Caliente section for this week.
