Hotel Congress creates new Tucson tradition with Club Congress Weekend

Hotel Congress for 18 years hosted its annual Labor Day weekend HOCO Fest.

It was sort of the unofficial end-of-summer bash that featured a slew of local bands, new and old, on Congress’s three stages — Club Congress, Plaza Stage and the Century Room — a record fair and other fun events.

HOCO Fest’s architect, the longtime Hotel Congress entertainment director David Slutes, announced that last year’s event was the finale.

Slutes left Congress in April and many had quietly wondered if the historic downtown hotel at 311 E. Congress would find another way to fill the Labor Day weekend.

They have.

From Friday, Aug. 30, through Monday, Sept. 2, Hotel Congress will host Club Congress Weekend, four days of concerts and events on all three of its stages, from rock and pop shows, to jazz and Latin.

“Club Congress Weekend is our love letter to Tucson,” Quinn Scully, who replaced Slutes as entertainment director, said in a written release. “We’re excited to bring together the diverse communities that have made our venue their home over the years.”

Ticket prices vary and are available through hotelcongress.com. Unless noted, all events are 21-and-older.

Here’s the lineup:

Friday, Aug. 30

• Jazzman Arthur Vint, the Century Room’s director, and his Associates — Brice Winston on sax, Nick Coventry on violin, Matt Mitchell playing guitar, Chris Peña on organ, Angelo Versace on piano, Colin McIlrath playing bass, Carlos Solis on percussion and Vint on drums — will perform an album release show for Vint’s new country/jazz album “Copper State.” The album, which he recorded in New York City in 2019 and delayed releasing courtesy the pandemic, is a love letter to his home state. They perform at 7 and 9 p.m. in the Century Room; $20-$30.
• Goldstar and m00m are headlining the all-ages Tucson Comic-Con afterparty with DJ Rhyme at 7 p.m. on the Plaza; $15.

ucson’s nationally-feted country music mix-master

DJ Du

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(Duhamel Cassell) hosts the Club Country Kickoff Party at 9 p.m. in Club Congress; free.

Saturday, Aug. 31

• Hundreds of audiophiles will pack into Club Congress from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to browse through tens of thousands of vinyl records, from vintage rock records to local bands. Admission is free and it’s an all-ages event.
• Desert Haze Market, the monthly vintage marketplace featuring dozens of rotating vendors, celebrates its one-year anniversary from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free for the event on the Plaza and it’s open to everyone.
• Imagine you’re a musician and you get together one morning with a band randomly picked by lottery. You then have a matter of hours to write and learn three original songs and perform them before a live all-ages audience. That’s the plan for “Tucson Rock Lottery” to benefit the legendary KXCI community radio station. This is the first time KXCI has done the Rock Lottery in nearly a decade. Twenty-five Tucson musicians are expected to participate beginning at 9 a.m.; performances start at 6:30 p.m. on the Plaza, $15.
• Tucson Pride 2024 Pageant for the People preview party hosted by Chatty Kathee and Swish Manley starts at 8 p.m. in Club Congress. The lineup includes Lady-Ashley, Randy Wild, Energy Queen and DJ Lunaaflukk; $15.

Sunday, Sept. 1

Tucson singer-songwriter Brian Lopez kicks off his “Soledad” European tour with two shows — 6 (soldout) and 8:30 p.m. — for his hometown at Club Congress. Reserved seat tickets are limited for this intimate show that Lopez, on Facebook, called “the most ambitious sonic solo presentation I’ve ever summoned.” Lopez also joins Los Lobos for a show at Gila River Resorts & Casinos (Wild Horse Pass), 5040 Wild Horse Pass Blvd., off Interstate 10 in Chandler, on Sept. 6 before heading to Europe for dates in France, Germany, Belgium and It

• aly.
• David Slutes returns to Hotel Congress with his 1990s band Sidewinders for a 7 p.m. show on the Plaza. The Senators and Tucson Libertine League Burlesque are part of the show. Admission is $15 or free for Lopez ticketholders.

Monday, Sept. 2

• Sometimes you just need to immerse yourself in ambient sound. Steve Roach Presents is giving you just the outlet for that with the “Ambient Summit,” a four-hour sonic immersion featuring innovators from the ambient and experimental community. It starts at 3 p.m. in Club Congress; $40.
• Wrap up the weekend with the Labor Day Blues Bash featuring Bad News Blues and Johnny Rawls at 6:30 p.m. on the Plaza; $10 in advance, $15 day of show.