We’re not gonna lie: When it comes to concerts, it’s kinda slim pickings this weekend.
Things won’t truly get cranking until next week, when everyone has put the 2024 holiday season in the rearview.
That’s not to say Tucson’s live music scene has gone dark this weekend. There are a few shows worth the price of admission.
We’re especially excited for the Tucson metal band Stands With Fists‘ headlining gig at the Rialto Theatre on Friday, Jan. 3.
The band has been around since 2006 and used to have a pretty big presence in the area’s metal scene. But in recent years, life started happening, and the band’s local appearances dwindled to six or eight shows a year.
That’s why we’re heading out for their Local Love Presents “release party,” which is a bit misleading: release party usually indicates a band is releasing a new album.
Stands With Fists is releasing their latest single, “Time At A Standstill.”
“We were hoping to release a whole album, but we just had some problems with the mixing and we ran out of time,” said founding guitarist Omar Hernandez. “We just decided to release the one song and then release a new song every few months.”
The plan is to release all of the songs on the album throughout 2025, then release the full project at the end of the year, Hernandez said.
Stands With Fists has released three albums and two EPs in its 18 years.
The band borrows influences from modern rock and melodic metal to create what frontman Jonathan “Jonny 2 Mics” Russell describes as “cinematic metal.” In addition to the usual metal arsenal of drums and guitars, Stands With Fists features a violin “that gives it a whole different vibe,” Hernandez said.
Friday’s Local Love Presents lineup includes Tucson metal bands Tides, Immovable Fate, Witch Milk, Headrust and For the Departed. The all-ages concert begins at 7 p.m. at the Rialto, 318 E. Congress St. Tickets are $5-$8 through rialtotheatre.com.
Also on Friday, we’re flirting with the idea of hitting Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St., to catch the Tucson power trio Insound (singer/guitarist Justin Martinez, Devin Davis on drums and Ryan Zamora on bass). The three have all been a part of the Tucson music scene in various bands over the last 20 years, but together, they’ve created a sound that has been described as leaning to prog rock with “heavy, passionate lyrics and an emotional pulse that hits the soul,” according to the folks at Club Congress.
They headline a show beginning at 7 p.m. with Tucson indie rockers Spiders Can Fly, which recently reunited after a 10-year split, and DJ Flow. Tickets are $18.54 and $19.06 in advance through hotelcongress.com.
But on Saturday, Jan. 4, we’re definitely heading back to the Rialto to see Mariachi Nuevo Azteca, the 3-year-old mariachi comprised of alumni from the award-winning Mariachi Aztlán de Pueblo High School.
The ensemble of former Pueblo players is celebrating its anniversary and its recent trip to Guadalajara, Mexico. They will share the stage with Mariachi Aztlán de Pueblo High School, Mariachi Estrella Juvenil and Compañia de Danza Folklorica Arizona.
Saturday’s show starts at 8 p.m. and tickets are $24-$40 through rialtotheatre.com.
