Tucson couple to open for Macy Gray; classical music fills the parks

You’ll see a couple familiar faces on stage before Macy Gray headlines Fox Tucson Theatre on Monday, Sept. 24.

Tucson’s music-power couple, singer-songwriter Katie Haverly and multi-instrumentalist Ben Nisbet, have been tapped to open for Gray, whose music transcends soul music, R&B, pop, alternative rock, jazz, retro-disco and hip-hop. It is one of several upcoming shows that Nisbet and Haverly will open, including the Oct. 11 10,000 Maniacs concert at the Rialto Theatre.

Gray also has tapped Haverly to open her show Sunday, Sept. 23, at the Chandler Center for the Arts. Nisbet, who works for the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, had to pass because the date conflicted with the TSO’s concert.

Gray, who also acts, comes here with her just-released 10th studio album “Ruby.” Monday’s show, presented with Southwest Soul Circuit, starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Fox, 17 W. Congress St. Tickets are $24 to $69 through foxtucsontheatre.ticketforce.com

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Other concerts this weekend that we think are worth the price of admission:

The AVA at Casino del Sol is expected to be loud — really loud — as soon as Ramon Ayala and Grupo Control take the stage on Friday, Sept. 21. These guys bring in a crowd and they deliver a pretty energetic, dance-inducing, dynamic tejano show. They go on at 8 p.m. at the AVA, 5655 W. Valencia Road. Tickets are $40 through tickets.casinodelsol.com

• If free is more your pace when it comes to entertainment, here are two ideas: Catch conductor László Veres at the podium of the volunteer Arizona Symphonic Winds on Saturday, Sept. 22, or the Tucson Pops on Sunday, Sept. 23. The Winds welcome well-traveled clarinetist John de la Paz, who makes his Winds debut. That concert starts at 7 p.m. Saturday at Veres’ namesake amphitheater at Udall Park, 7200 E. Tanque Verde Road. The Winds wrap up the fall parks series on Sept. 29 with vocalist Elena Galbraich singing works by Cole Porter, George Gershwin and others.
• Sunday’s Pops concert starts at 7 p.m. at Reid Park’s DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center, East 22nd Street and South Country Club Road. It’s the professional ensemble’s fall parks series finale, and popular Tucson vocalist Jack Neubeck will perform Broadway show tunes from “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Carousel” and “La Cage Aux Folles.”

Admission to each concert is free, but donations are accepted.