Turkey’s been pecked.
Pie’s reduced to crumbs.
No one’s in the mood to battle shoppers.
Sounds like a recipe for a night of live music.
Time to hide your inner Grinch and get in the spirit.
We found a weekend’s worth of concerts that will put you in the ho-ho-ho mood that you will need to survive the month of holiday happenings.
- Kick it off with Tucson’s own acoustic duo Ryanhood on Friday, Nov. 24, to celebrate the pair’s first ever holiday album. Fronted by Cameron Hood’s folky lead vocals and Ryan Green’s enviable mandolin/guitar riffs, the acoustic pair just celebrated their best folk win in Tucson Weekly’s Best of Tucson 2017 contest, the latest in a string of fan-driven and critics awards that date back to their beginnings in the early 2000s. “A Winter’s Evening with Ryanhood” kicks off at 7:30 p.m. at Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St.; $15 in advance at ticketfly.com, $20 at the door.
- Seriously, there’s nothing even remotely holiday-esque about Metal Fest XI, but who doesn’t need a little heavy metal to get you off the couch? And we love the promoters, Local Love Presents, which brings together talented Tucson acts onto one stage. On Saturday, Nov. 25, Fire Glass, Never Say Never, Last Crime, Mr. Wiley, Fire By Rank and Amoras Bane will share the Rialto stage beginning at 7 p.m. for an all-ages show. $5 in advance at ticketfly.com, $8 at the door.
- OK, back to ho-ho-ho. Oisín Mac Diarmada of award-winning lrish group Téada is bringing his “Irish Christmas in America” show to the Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress St., on Saturday, Nov. 26. Among the special guests on the lineup of truly terrific Irish musicians: singers Niamh Farrell and Séamus Begley; Irish piper Sean Gavin; Irish harp player Grainne Hambly; Samantha Harvey on keyboards; and members of Tucson’s Celtic Steps Irish Dance Academy. The show starts at 7 p.m. and tickets are $20 to $30 at foxtucsontheatre.ticketforce.com
