Back in 2005, David Slutes had this crazy idea: Let’s get the band back together.
Over that last weekend in August, dozens of bands that had played at Hotel Congress’s Club Congress in its first 20 years returned to launch the beginning of what became a Tucson Labor Day tradition: HoCo Fest.
This weekend, Slutes, the longtime Hotel Congress entertainment director, and his crew are getting the bands back together one last time for “HoCo Homecoming.”
Fans cheer during a performance by Cracker at HoCo Fest on Sept. 8, 2009.
The final HoCo Fest, Friday, Sept. 1, to Monday, Sept. 4, at Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St., will bring in 60-plus acts — many of them either from Tucson or with strong Tucson ties — over four days to perform on Hotel Congress’s three stages: Club Congress, Century Room and the outdoor Plaza stage.
“Let’s end where it makes sense to end,” Slutes said. “This is the end of the mission, the iteration; let’s look at the whole thing and how incredible the music is from every genre, every era.”
This year’s event, which kicks off with a free homecoming welcome party on Thursday, Aug. 31, celebrates the breadth and scope of Tucson’s music community with three concerts a night, each exploring a different version of the city’s rich musical history and heritage.
On opening night Sept. 1, for example, old school desert rockers including Giant Sand, Sidewinders and Gentleman Afterdark play the outdoor Plaza stage with relative newcomers The Senators, while a lineup of metal bands including Phoenix’s GateCreeper and Tucson’s North tear it up on the Club stage inside.
Associated Press Singer Linda Ronstadt performs at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island, on Aug. 8, 1978.
Each night also will celebrate Linda Ronstadt, who put her native Tucson and our music scene on an international map. Artists will draw from Ronstadt’s immense catalogue of country, pop, rock and Latin music over a career that spanned the mid-1960s to 2011, when she retired from performing.
In the Century Room on opening night, Tucson vocalist Katherine Byrne and keyboardist Jeff Haskell will visit Ronstadt’s Nelson Riddle trilogy, a collection of albums she recorded from 1983-86 of the famous arranger’s Great American Songbook hits.
Tucson’s legendary Dusty Chaps country band joins the singer’s nephew Pete Ronstadt and his musical partner Liz Cerepanya for “Linda Ronstadt’s Songs and Stories” on the Plaza Stage on Sept. 2.
Fans watch as People & Merchants perform during HoCo Fest on September 1, 2022.
A highlight of the Ronstadt tributes will come on the Plaza stage Sept. 3, during “Orkesta Mendoza and Friends.” That’s when Los Cenzontles, the California cross-cultural youth ensemble that traveled with Ronstadt to her grandfather’s Sonora, Mexico, hometown in 2019, will perform cuts off Ronstadt’s seminal Spanish-language album “Canciones de mi Padre.” Iconic Artists Group is re-releasing the album on vinyl on Sept. 8 to celebrate its 35th anniversary.
“We’re super excited,” Mendoza said from a Connecticut tour stop with Calexico and Brian Lopez last week. “The whole night is based around the idea of friends who have collaborated together or recorded a song or been on tour. It’s a big excuse to hang out and play music together.”
Orkesta Mendoza will be the backup band for Mireya Ramos, Flor de Toloache and members of DeVotchKa, which has been playing Tucson since they recorded their first three albums at WaveLab Recording Studio in the early 2000s. The lineup also includes Gerardo Garza — better known as Chetes — from the Mexican grunge/alt-rock band Zurdok.
Lopez, who in July released his first solo album since his 2018 release “Prelude,” will open the show, his first solo turn at the festival. Lopez said he will include a couple of songs from “Tidal” during his set.
“I think we’ve got such a great lineup of really great artists,” Slutes said.
The crowd applauds after a song by Las Chollas Peligrosas at the Plaza stage during the HOCO Fest at Hotel Congress, Tucson, Ariz., August 31, 2019.
In addition to the performances, several of Ronstadt’s films, including her 2019 documentary “Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice” and her 2020 short film/documentary “Linda and the Mockingbirds” will be part of the HoCo Fest film festival at The Screening Room downtown and The Loft Cinema.
Slutes said that while HoCo Fest has run its course, there’s still room to hold some sort of musical event over Labor Day weekend going forward.
“We have exciting plans for the future for this weekend, but the HoCo Fest and its beautiful mission, this is the way to end it,” he said. “I’m very proud of what the (Hotel Congress) owners and everyone here has done to give back to the music community, but it’s the music community that also lifted us up. We’ve built something that will be sustainable.”
“It won’t be the end,” Mendoza predicted. “David will figure out a new thing. ... I can’t wait to see what the new festival will be like. But I’m sure David will come up with something. He always has ideas.”
If you go
When: Friday-Monday, Sept. 1-4; Hola Hoco welcoming party 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 31.
Where: Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St.
Cost: $100 for four-day festival pass, $10-$25 for day passes through hocofest.com; Thursday's event is free.
What to expect: More than 60 bands performing on Hotel Congress's three stages (Club Congress, Century Room and Plaza), with a film festival at the Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway; and the Screening Room, 127 E. Congress, and nightly tributes to Tucson legend Linda Ronstadt. For a complete schedule and lineup, visit hocofest.com.
Other highlights:
- HoCo Art Show: Featuring poster art from Club Congress shows and other memorabilia, a curated photographic and historic Linda Ronstadt Exhibit.
- HoCo Record Fair: Considered by many to be one of the best record fairs in the Southwest, this is where you find interesting and rare records including by Arizona and Tucson artists; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 2.
- HoCo Metal Mass: Some of Tucson’s most famous metal and hard rock acts are coming back including Möltön Leather, Mastodonna, Blackwülf, Thunderossa, Demon Weed and Baby Dog, with Congress alum and metal veteran Father Larry; noon-6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 3.
- Ambient Lounge: Tucsonan and Grammy nominee Steve Roach, a pioneer in ambient electronic music, headlines an artful and atmospheric lineup with critically acclaimed Karima Walker; 1-5 p.m. Sunday.
- HoCo Swim: Dive in and cool off with live music poolside at Hotel McCoy, 720 W. Silverlake Road off Interstate 10, from 3-6 pm. Sunday; free pool pass with your festival wristband.
- HoCo Film Festival: Tucson's music scene takes the spotlight in this two-day film festival that includes the premiere at 2 p.m. Saturday of Christopher Carlon's documentary "Tale of Two Houses," a look at the 1980s Tucson DIY music community that revolved around two neighboring houses near the University of Arizona that were the genesis and heartbeat of an entire era of Tucson music; and the bio-documentary "Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice" at 2 p.m. Sunday. Both will be screened at The Loft. The Screening Room will present Linda Ronstadt's documentary "Linda and The Mockingbirds" at 1:30 p.m. Saturday followed by her 1983 comedy/musical "The Pirates of Penzance." On Sunday, Screening Room will present "Fuzz: The Sound that Revolutionized the World," "The Whole Enchilada" and "High and Dry" beginning at 12:30 p.m.; at 5:30 p.m., it will screen "A Tale of Two Houses."
