Tucson's dog days of summer takes a break with week's worth of concerts

It's not a newsflash that Tucson slows down in the summertime, but apparently not in mid-July.

We had no problem this week filling our calendar with a week's worth of concerts, from comedy to country, roots rock to hard rock with a mariachi twist.

There's even a wrestling match with musical intermissions.

Our week of live performances kicks off on Thursday, July 13, with comedian Joe Dombrowski, who turned an April Fool's joke on his fourth-grade Michigan public school class into viral gold that landed him on the "Ellen DeGeneres Show" in 2017 and has since vaulted him into the ha-ha stratosphere.

Dombrowski opens his fall tour — yeah, we know, fall is months away, and there's nothing fall-like about our triple-digit heat, but we digress — with an 8 p.m. show at the Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St. Tickets for the all-ages show are $25-$35 through rialtotheatre.com. 

We're kind of torn on how to spend Friday, July 14:

• We can head over to the AVA at Casino del Sol, 5655 W. Valencia Road, to catch norteño legend Ramon Ayala with Mario Quintero Lara's pioneering Tijuana norteño band Los Tucanes de Tijuana. That 8 p.m. show promises to be a party, with Ayala, 77, still commanding a stage like he did when he was starting out as a teenager; and Tucanes de Tijuana's all-in musicality and aggressive approach to regional Mexican music that landed the band on the Coachella stage a few years back, the first regional Mexican band to perform at the multi-genre California arts and music festival. Tickets are $40-$95 through casinodelsol.com.
• Or we could head over to Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St., and catch Heartless Bastards — Erika Wennerstrom's rock 'n roll amalgam of psychedelia, folk, alt-rock and blues — on the Plaza stage at 7 p.m. ($25 in advance through hotelcongress.com, $30 day of show); or head indoors to Club Congress and see what all the fuss is about with LA's Outlaw Mariachi. OK, honestly, this show sounds amazing — the fusion of hard-driving rock with the traditional sounds of mariachi just resonates with Tucson's vibe. It starts at 8:30 ($20 in advance, $25 day of show), so in theory, we could try to catch both. 

On Saturday, July 15, we're heading to the Rialto, 318 E. Congress St., to catch Rockstar Wrestling Alliance's "Dia de las Luchas" wrestling. This is lucha libre-style, complete with the colorful masks and rapid-fire moves that have the competitors flipping and bouncing and slinging all over the ring. Between bouts, Tucson's own Chalako the Band will perform its high-flying fusion of rock, jazz, cumbia, blues, pop and tejano. Tickets are $15, and it's an all-ages show; rialtotheatre.com.

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We're back at Club Congress on Sunday, July 16, for Tucson's all-star Latinx band Los Esplifs with ThankYouMaxo. Los Esplifs' lineup is comprised of some of the state's most inventive musicians influenced by funk, punk, reggae, cumbia, jazz and other genres. Doors open at 7 p.m., and it's 21 and older; $17.51 at hotelcongress.com.

On Monday, July 17, San Antonio honky-tonk gonzo Garrett T. Capps shares the stage with Austin's alt-rockers Heavy Meddo and singer-songwriter Austin Leonard Jones at Club Congress. Doors open at 7 p.m. and tickets are $11.33 through hotelcongress.com.

Lady Haha, the open mic night for women, LGBTQ+ and allies, returns to its new home stage at Club Congress for a 6 p.m. show on Tuesday, July 18. Admission to the show, which sheds light on often overlooked women and LGBTQ+ comedians, is free. Details at hotelcongress.com.

The Minneapolis, Minnesota, hip-hop duo Atmosphere shares the Rialto stage with HEBL and ZooDeVille on Tuesday, July 18, for an 8 p.m. show. Tickets are $27.50 and $37.50 through rialtotheatre.com.

On Wednesday, July 19, Old Crow Medicine Show returns to Tucson for the first time since they played a show with Brandi Carlisle at the AVA at Casino del Sol in 2016.  They are bringing along Pillbox Patti for their 7:30 p.m. show at Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress St., that comes weeks ahead of the release of their new album "Jubilee," due out Aug. 25. Tickets are $20-$70 through foxtucson.com.

Also on Wednesday, James McMurtry is bringing his band to play an 8 p.m. show with guest BettySoo at Club Congress. The Americana singer-songwriter and son of famed author and sometime Tucsonan Larry McMurtry was here in 2021 for a Rhythm & Roots show at Congress. Tickets are $27.30 through hotelcongress.com.