Thanksgiving is next week, but Tucson Kitchen Musicians Association is giving music fans something to be thankful for this weekend when they host a fundraising concert featuring a few of Tucsonβs most prominent artists.
The concert on Saturday, Nov. 20, at the Club Congress Plaza downtown will feature Eric Schaffer & The Other Troublemakers with special guest Heather Hardy); John Coinman; and The Tirebiters, the trio of veteran Tucson musicians Lex Browning, Gray Mackender and Steve Grams.
Proceeds from the concert will support the TKMAβs 2022 Tucson Folk Festival April 9-11 at downtownβs El Presidio Historic District.
This will be the first Tucson show for folk rock/Americana band Eric Schaffer & The Other Troublemakers after their recent road trip that included headlining stops at The Musical Instrument Museum & Performance Center in Phoenix and shows in Colorado, Utah and New Mexico.
Schaffer, an award-winning songwriter, shares the spotlight with Arizona Blues Hall of Fame drummer Bruce Halper, ex-Gila Bend frontman Loren Dircks playing lead guitar and βTempe Soundβ veteran Johnny Zapp on bass.
They will get a lift from Arizona Blues Hall of Famer Heather βLilβ Mamaβ Hardy, who plays a mean fiddle and has a bluesy soulful growl that has won over fans for decades.
The Tirebiters is led by ex-Poco guitarist/fiddler Browning, whose storied career includes playing fiddle for some big-name country artists including Tanya Tucker, Pam Tillis and Trace Adkins. Tucson music icon Grams adds bass to the mix and Mackender of The Carnivaleros fame plays drums and accordion to flesh out their guitar-driven, energetic sound.
Coinman comes to the stage just weeks after he played the AVA at Casino del Sol with Kevin Costner & Modern West, the national country band that the actor formed with Coinman 15 years ago.
Coinman is a principal songwriter for Modern West, which tours all over the country and internationally when Costner is not filming his popular TV show βYellowstoneβ or a film project.
