Downtown Tucson goes folk: 400 artists and 150 performances over three days

The Tucson Folk Festival is bringing back some familiar names and reintroducing us to musicians we haven’t seen in far too long as it celebrates the 40th event this weekend.

It’s also introducing the audience, which is expected to average 7,000 to 8,000 a day from Friday, April 4 through Sunday, April 6, to artists who’ve played shows in Tucson but never on the folk festival stage and a few artists who we’ve never seen here.

“We wanted to put together a lineup that spoke to the history of the festival, the sort of heart of the festival, but also speaks to what the festival has evolved into today and where it is going in the future,” said Matt Rolland, president of the festival’s umbrella nonprofit Tucson Kitchen Musicians Association.

Four hundred local, regional and national acoustic artists whose music dips into folk, country, blues, Celtic, Indigenous and Latin will perform 150 shows on six stages in downtown’s Jácome Plaza, 101 N. Stone Ave., and surrounding El Presidio neighborhood.

The festival kicks off Friday with the annual Stefan George Memorial Songwriting Competition showcase on the Jácome Plaza Stage from 6 to 9 p.m. Last year’s winner, the award-winning South Carolina husband-and-wife duo of Admiral Radio, will open the show.

More than 80 artists entered the 2025 competition, which was whittled down to eight finalists — from Tucson, Annie Anna, Gabrielle Pietrangelo, Jon Frailey and Lara Ruggles; from Arizona, Ryan David Orr of Lakeside and Francis Larson of Scottsdale; The Brothers Reed from Medford, Oregon; and Arielle Silver from Toluca Lake, California — who will compete from 6:30-8:30 p.m. The 2023 winners Fox and Bones from Portland, Oregon, take the stage afterwards to allow the judges time to decide the first- through third-place winners.

The first- and second-place winners get to play the festival’s Plaza main stage Saturday night.

Stefan George, a Tucson Musicians Hall of Fame and Arizona Blues Hall of Fame member, was a legendary Tucson songwriter and regular on the folk festival stage. His 40-year career included prolific recording, touring internationally and appearances in a number of high-profile folk and blues festivals. He died in 2015 at the age of 62.

Here’s everything you need to know about the 40th annual Tucson Folk Festival.

When and where

The 2025 40th annual Tucson Folk Festival runs from Friday, April 4 through Sunday, April 6, with performances Friday from 6-9:30 p.m., Saturday from noon to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 6:45 p.m.

• Plaza Stage at Jácome Plaza, 101 N. Stone Ave.
• North Church Stage, 200 N. Church Ave.
• Presidio Museum Stage, 196 N. Court Ave.
• Court Stage, 200 N Court Ave.
• Telles Stage, 201 N. Court Ave., near Telles Street
• Wildflower Stage in Jácome Plaza

The cost

The Tucson Foik Festival, one of the country’s longest-running, doesn’t charge admission, although it accepts donations. Instead, its parent, the Tucson Kitchen Musicians Association, hosts fundraising events year-round and has community partners, sponsors and members. To learn more about donating or becoming a Tucson Kitchen Musicians Association member, visit tucsonfolkfest.org/donate.

The headliners

Saturday

Orkesta Mendoza, Tucson's genre-bending indie rock/Latin band, has its musical hands in a number of melting pots, from the mambo, cumbia and ranchera nodding to the vibrant soundscape of the Arizona-Sonoran borderlands to the big band energy of Tito Puente.

Mendoza has "the cumbia and mamba in his DNA," but can be "as punk as the Sex Pistols and as violent as Perez Prado," gushed Camilo Lara of Mexican Institute of Sound. Joey Burns of Calexico calls them among "the best live bands out there. Their music delves into a myriad of directions, rhythms and moods, big band orchestrations mixed with lo fi electronica, vocals en Español together with moving instrumentals."

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They play the Plaza Stage at 8 p.m, featuring the powerhouse vocals and percussion skills of Ozzy Acosta. 

Other notable acts on the Plaza main stage Saturday:

• Tucson's all-woman mariachi Las Azaleas puts a lot of soul into its interpretations of traditional boleros, tropical rhythms and classic songs popularized by Latina music pioneers. Their performances pay homage to pioneers from Selena to Maria Grever with their signature sound and impressive musicianship. See them at noon.
• The multigenerational Tohono O'odham folk band D Faktion Nyne performs the traditional and infectious waila music as a means to bring together people of different cultures under one unifying pursuit of fun. They are set to go on at 1 p.m.
• Canadian roots balladeer Scott Cook used to teach kindergarten. Today he's tooling around the globe spreading the gospel of plainspoken simple truths "that resonate like well-worn folk tales passed through generations." He goes on stage at 4 p.m.
• The Denver duo Heavy Diamond Ring (Sarah Anderson and Paul DeHaven) show off their harmony-driven folk rock that has "a bitta twang and a whole lotta beef" at 5 p.m.
• The East Coast duo of dobro player Abbie Gardner and singer-songwriter Marc Douglas included Tucson in their Arizona tour that hits all parts of the state. They take the stage at 7 p.m.

Sunday

It's been more than a decade since funny folk singer/poet Cheryl Wheeler played a Tucson show.

She makes up for lost time when she teams up with pianist/singer-songwriter Kenny White, who's also known to crack wise a time or two. His clever lyrics and impressive skills on the keyboard should be a terrific complement to Wheeler's gorgeously poetic lyrics and witty observations. 

"She has so many fans in Tucson and that's been great to hear," said festival organizer Matt Rolland. "That's going to be a great way to close out the festival Sunday night; a nice, easy landing."

Wheeler and White take the stage at 7 p.m. 

Also on Sunday's main stage:

• Tucson's preeminent flamenco rockers Tesoro plays the kind of music that gets your toes tapping, your heart soaring and your mind racing as you watch some pretty skilled musicianship. The band just dropped their new album "Ascension," which they describe as blending "the fire of rumba flamenca with cinematic depth and rock-infused energy ... Ascension is a sonic journey through passion, rhythm and soul." The band goes on at 3 p.m.
• Missy Andersen & Her One Man Band (the New Mexico wife-husband duo of blues vocalist Missy Andersen and Heine Andersen) blend souls, blues, gospel, country, jazz and R&B in their reimagined American roots music. Catch them at 5 p.m.
• Arizona Blues Hall of Famer Heather Lil' Mama Hardy wields a mean violin. Fans of the Tucson blueswoman have seen her delve into blues, get a little jazzy and step just as seamlessly into folk and country. You can see her at 6 p.m.   

Well-traveled troubadours

Many of the 400 musicians set to play this weekend's Tucson Folk Festival will be collecting a lot of airline miles getting here. The festival includes artists traveling from the East Coast including closing night headliner Cheryl Wheeler, who hails from Massachusetts; and from the Northwest including Seattle, Washington-based Abby K and Oregon's Chris Baron, not to be confused with Chris Barron with two Rs of Spin Doctors fame. South Carolina-based duo Admiral Radio is making the nearly 2,000-mile trip while the Couldn't Be Happiers are taking a similar route from neighboring North Carolina. 

Carmina Robles is making the trek from just outside Mexico City while Tucson's own Chalako will have you thinking Mexico City when they play their genre-bending rock-blues-pop-jazz-Tejano-cumbia-salsa-bolero blend with a rocking Latin rhythm. 

Festival food

The festival's food lineup reflects the cultural diversity of Tucson. Fifteen food vendors will be serving everything from Asian and Korean-style ramen to Mexican tacos, barbecue sandwiches, New York-style hot dogs and Greek gyros. Food vendors will be set up throughout the festival grounds. 

• La Bufadora specializes in Baja-style fish and shrimp tacos.
• Eatgypt dishes up healthy and gluten-free Egyptian fare, including Egyptian falafel, sweet goulash and traditional hibiscus lemonade.
• Tucson's beloved vegetarian and vegan-friendly Lovin’ Spoonfuls Vegan Restaurant has a menu of guilt-free comfort food, including BBQ "beef" sandwiches, walking tacos, gluten-free chili with cornbread, falafel wraps, hummus appetizers and delectable vegan desserts.
• Col Mustard’s Hot Dogs / Mr. Ice Guy Italian Ice serves New York-style hot dogs, bratwurst, polish sausages and Italian ice around town from a cart.
• Pupuseria Rositas brings Salvadorian specialties including pupusas, tacos and quesadillas.
• Yum Yum Pocha Korean Cuisine serves up spicy Asian flavors with Korean-style ramyeon noodles, stir-fry, fried rice and dumplings.
• Fiesta Filipina serves up Filipino rice and noodle bowls and plates, lumpia, empanadas and shrimp tempura.
• Fresh Fruit Raspados features authentic Mexican raspados, street corn, churros and an array of cool, sweet and savory treats.
• Gus’s Gyros is bringing the classic Greek sandwich alongside its Philly cheesesteaks, hamburgers, hot dogs, corn dogs, pretzels funnel cakes and fresh lemonade.
• 3 Margarita’s Kitchen is bringing its authentic carne asada tacos, birria burritos, Sonoran hot dogs and fiesta fries.
• BlackJack Citrus Infusions operates under the mantra that this isn't your grandma's lemonade. They start with lemons and infuse all sorts of interesting fruit flavors from strawberry and raspberry to jalapeño or basil.
• Hot Pops Kettle Corn will be the one vendor you can smell from blocks away, with that sweet, salty, savory fragrance of freshly popped kettle corn coated with caramel or cheddar cheese.
• Hungary Express is bringing freshly made Hungarian-style funnel cakes with a variety of toppings.
• JoJo’s Restaurant Taco Truck has street tacos, burritos and other bold-flavored Mexican favorites.

Adult beverages

The festival will have three beer gardens offering mixed cocktails and beer by the gardens' sponsor Dragoon Brewing Co. 

Full lineup and etc.

There are 400 musicians on this year's lineup, which is far too many to include here. For their bios and showtimes and the complete Tucson Folk Festival schedule, visit tucsonfolkfest.org.

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