Major announcements were made on Tucson’s music festival front recently. One longtime fest is on hiatus until 2015. Another, set to launch in January, is expected to generate national attention.
Tucson Jazz Festival set
to impress in January
Preparations are already underway for the inaugural Tucson Jazz Festival, slated to take place at venues across the city, Jan. 16-28.
The festival will feature local and national acts, including at least seven big-name artists, according to festival director Yvonne Ervin.
Ervin was hesitant to release the lineup just yet, but promised a “well thought out, balanced program” of crossover, straight-ahead and cutting edge artists.
Vocalist Dianne Reeves and the Hot Sardines jazz ensemble from New York City, already scheduled as part of UApresents’ 2014-15 concert season, will be promoted as part of the activities.
Musicians will perform at venues such as the Fox Tucson Theatre, The Rialto Theatre and Club Congress.
Ervin said secondary venues are encouraged to book jazz acts during the festival’s time frame. Those shows would then be promoted as part of the festivities.
The festival will showcase the University of Arizona’s jazz program, as well as the students involved with the Tucson Jazz Institute’s award-winning performance groups.
Organizers raised more than $100,000 over six months to help make the event happen.
“I’ve been raising money for the arts for over 30 years and I’ve never had a project that has been so universally well received,” Ervin said.
The overall goal is to bring jazz enthusiasts to Tucson. “It was so cold this last January all throughout the country,” Ervin said. “We want people to come to Tucson, listen to some good jazz, play some golf and enjoy the city.”
Desert Bluegrass Festival canceled for 2014
Plans for the 15th annual Desert Bluegrass Festival were quashed in April, when coordinators were told by Casino Del Sol officials that the resort would not host this year’s event.
The weekend-long acoustic concert has been held at the AVA, the amphitheater on the casino grounds, in October for the last four years.
The relatively late notice for such a large-scale gathering left organizers with little choice but to cancel this year’s festivities.
Lead coordinator Mike Headrick said no official explanation was given by the casino as to why they opted out.
“It is their prerogative and we are grateful that they did host it for five years,” Headrick said. “But the communication could have been a little bit better.”
The Desert Bluegrass Association is looking for a new home for 2015, and has a list of 13 possible venues.
A big stipulation is recreational vehicle parking. About half of the bluegrass festival’s audience travel more than 50 miles to attend.
Many of those out-of-towners come to the two-day concert in their RVs.
“They are coming to town, eating out, buying gasoline,” Headrick said. “There is a lot of benefit for the community overall in having an event like this.”
Among the possibilities is the Rillito Park Race Track, 4502 N. First Ave., which took on the Tucson Blues Festival for the first time last year, and the town of Marana, which hosts the association’s smaller, spring bluegrass fest.
Headrick said the goal is to secure a long-term venue.
“You take a little hit when you move it around,” Headrick said. “You don’t want to shuffle things up too much.”
