Club Congress will host the Tucson premiere of Howe Gelb's "Tucson: A Rock Opera" on Saturday as the cornerstone of a fundraiser to help a Tucson artist who is undergoing cancer treatments.
"It's a very great Tucson-style artists-helping-artists event," said organizer David Slutes, the entertainment director at Hotel Congress.
Slutes is also on the board of Tucson Artists and Musicians Healthcare Alliance, an organization that provides financial help for Tucson artists in medical crises.
The nonprofit is organizing Saturday's concert to help pay living expenses for Pan Left Executive Director Mary Charlotte Thurtle, who was diagnosed with cancer in May.
The group already has given Thurtle $1,000 to help with medical expenses.
"But we felt we could do some more," Slutes said. "We're very grateful that Howe Gelb and his new band (Giant Giant Sand) and Salvador Duran are willing to help in this." Organizers are asking for donations of $5 to $10 at the door.
"Here's the lovely thing about Howe Gelb: This will be the third concert he's done at Club Congress and not gotten paid for," Slutes added. "If he hears of a good cause and it's a good local thing, he'll jump in."
The evening also is a chance for Gelb and the latest incarnation of his 1980s Americana/rock/alt-country/neo-punk band Giant Sand to run through "Tucson" before they take it to Europe in August.
The album was recorded mostly in Tucson last November and December with a cast of about a dozen musicians, including Arizona singer-songwriter Lonna Kelley and Tucsonans Brian Lopez and Gabriel Sullivan. It was released in June.
"Tucson," with its mix of strings and brass, neo-country and Spanish accents, is an opera in title only. There is a murky story line that comes through in its 19 songs, which clocks in about 70 minutes.
The narrative follows a guy in end-times Tucson trying to escape only to be held up at the border, where he falls in love with a barmaid and lands in an Occupy Tucson encampment.
Allmusic.com says "Tucson" is "an absorbing and engaging album that shows Howe Gelb's vision to its best advantage." Alarm Magazine said "Tucson, for as grandiose as it sounds on paper, is actually a sunny breeze as a long player."
Saturday's fundraising event also includes films and a silent auction.
Thurtle has devoted 14 years to Tucson's nonprofit arts and cultural scene as Pan Left's executive director. The media arts group's mission is to support and nurture progressive media artists, activists and their supporters representing a diverse cross-section of Tucson. Under Thurtle's leadership, Pan Left also has developed a strong focus on working with young people, according to a news release.
If you go
• What: Giant Giant Sand benefit concert for Mary Charlotte Thurtle.
• Featuring: Howe Gelb and Salvador Duran.
• When: 7 p.m. Saturday.
• Where: Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St.
• Cost: Suggested donation of $5 to $10 at the door. Proceeds to help Tucson filmmaker Thurtle cover living and medical expenses as she undergoes cancer treatments.
• Details: www.hotelcongress.com
