XOXO...

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The Atomic Punks @ The Rialto June 16

Mark Your Calendars...

Thursday, June 14

Country singer Brantley Gilbert pulls the Ones That Like Me Tour into the AVA Amphitheater... Northern California doom clashes with Tucson death when CHRCH (Sacramento), Body Void (Bay Area), Hist (Tucson) and Bird Violence (Tucson) blacken the air at Cans Deli... Amo Chip Dabney's The AmoSphere is at Noble Hops... Blending the traditions of kirtan and American folk music, Chaparral Kirtan celebrate the summer solstice at Tucson Yoga...

Friday, June 15

Chicago post-jazz/indie rockers The Sea And Cake have taken to the open road following the release of Any Day (Thrill Jockey Records), the trio's 11th album, to serve up something salty and something sweet at 191 Toole, with L.A. Takedown and Forrest Fallows... A screening and discussion of Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes, a documentary film that challenges hip-hop's role in contributing to sexism, homophobia and toxic masculinity, at Studio ONE: A Space for Art & Activism... For guitar fanatics, this endorsement should suffice. "A very exciting and intense blues guitarist," says Jeff Beck. See for yourself when Texas blues/rock guitarist Lance Lopez shreds at House of Bards... Country/blues/honky-tonker Hank Topless will rouse the rabble at Sierra Bonita Vineyards Tasting Room... Sing Like a Girl celebrates the accomplishments of women in music—in particular, those who have stepped up front to take the lead. Black Medicine's Erin Henderson weighs in: "It's been a long time coming. Fans often comment on how excited they are to see mostly females on stage. 'Wow you ladies are bad ass' or 'love the all-girl band.'" This event features Miss Olivia and the Interlopers (led by Olivia Reardon), Phoenix's Kiss the Sun (led by Cindy Dickenson) and Black Medicine. Hear their voices roar at Club Congress... Prog rockers Still Life Telescope with assist from Finite Fiction expand minds at Saint Charles Tavern... Sophisticated Latin American acoustic sounds abound at Exo Roast Co., via Tradiciones Entre Peruanos... With a penchant for celebrating the dark side of rock 'n' roll, Pygmy Death-Ray join forces with Santo Diablo for unadulterated mayhem at Surly Wench Pub... In 2001, a collaboration between Rich Hopkins and Billy Sedlmayr resulted in The Fifty Percenter, a confessional album of gritty Americana/rock. Owls Club is the place to take in these heart-wrenching songs—about addiction, heartache and bad decisions—performed for the first time ever...

Saturday, June 16

Lola Torch had this to say about her troupe's latest extravaganza: "Tucson Libertine League's genre-defying performers celebrate their one year anniversary with an adventurous, first ever DJ Battle Burlesque show featuring two of Tucson's favorite DJs, B-Rad and Herm." Tucson Libertine League Presents: DJ Battle Burlesque at 191 Toole... Remember when dinosaurs walked the Earth? Here's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the verisimilitude of Van Halen, Rush and Def Leppard: The Atomic Punks, Moving Pictures and Pyrosteria at The Rialto Theatre... Pop songstress Belinda Esquer will perform in the courtyard at Mercado San Agustin... Connie Brannock's Little House of Funk promises a dance party at Monterey Court... Phoenix's Soft Deadlines (danceable art punk) make their Tucson debut. With Juju Fontaine and Biblefights at Sky Bar... DJ Plastic Disease and MIJITO spin. Ritual: Industrial + Darkwave + Techno at Surly Wench Pub... Singer-songwriter Oliver Ray tells tales at Exo Roast Co... It's that time of year: Tucson's summertime DIY punk and hardcore festival, inFEST, will dominate The Rock with two stages. Headlining the fest: Radolescents. With Scattered Guts, Scar Eater, Bleach Party, USA and a shit-ton more. Check rocktucson.com for full details...

Sunday, June 17

Gldn Artist Group is throwing a hip-hop party. From NYC: Deca and DJ Marvl. With Jae Tilt, REY, Simplistic and $MELLS. Ripdee hosts at Club Congress... Fronted by husband/wife duo David Climaco and Nikelle Garcia, whose folk/country gives a nod to the sounds that emanated from Laurel Canyon in the 1970s: Beloved at The Flycatcher... This songwriter/guitarist entwines impassioned vocals, earnest lyrics and firebrand slide guitar work reminiscent of a young Bonnie Raitt. Blues and R&B shall charge the night air when Kara Grainger plays House of Bards...

Monday, June 18

In 1977, this English punk rock/new wave singer scored a hit with "Whole Wide World." Today, "He won't recreate 1978 for you, he'll blow your mind instead." Wreckless Eric performs songs from his new album Construction Time & Demolition and a few gems from his Stiff Records days at Club Congress...

Tuesday, June 19

It is prophesied that the noise of thunder shall be heard when the first of the Seven Seals is broken. Prepare yourselves when

UN (Seattle funeral doom) unleash their fury on the Club Congress stage. With Bädr Vogu (Oakland death/sludge), Brass Tax and The Bloodline Cadence...

Wednesday, June 20

This raspy-voiced Americana singer grew tired of borrowing drums from friends, so he found a solution in a modified suitcase that functions as both kick drum and tambourine that he stomps while singing and playing guitar. This one-man-band approach led to him being asked to be the official busker for the Edward Sharpe/Mumford & Sons tour (2011), playing for concertgoers entering each venue. Austin's Shakey Graves "Rolls The Bones" at The Rialto Theatre. With Lauren Ruth Ward—former hairdresser turned vulnerable and volatile '60s-nuanced singer-songwriter—opening the show... They're back. Formed in Seattle in the late 1980s, they gained notoriety before losing a member to Built To Spill, subsequently disbanding in 1994. Treepeople rain down sludgy '90s alt rock at 191 Toole. With Lenguas Largas and Prism Bitch... Equal parts country and rock 'n' roll, Mark Insley and The Broken Angels (with special guests Strange Vacation) search for redemption and a place to call home at The Flycatcher... Russian-American rock 'n' rollers Igor & The Red Elvises shake-up the status quo at Club Congress... Chanteuse Katie Haverly & Ben Nisbet chase the muse at Tap & Bottle North...

Thursday, June 21

Like the sound of incessantly buzzing insects most active during the hottest months, "Cicada"—the first single off of Floating Features—is a paean to summer. Surf/doo-woppers La Luz with Summer Twins at Club Congress... Miss Olivia and the Interlopers radiate soulful, funky grooves at Tap & Bottle Downtown...

SHOUT OUT...

• Influenced by the heady sounds of the 1960s, dreamy, dark psychedelic travelers, The Elegant Rabies are releasing their self-titled debut on Wednesday, June 20, at Cans Deli. With Desert Beats and Liquid Summer.

• Former members of The Provocative Whites and Horse Black debut their new project: a mashing of Tool and "Cow-Goth." "We are a genre hopping gender-bending authority questioning queer rock group." The Paris Accord play their first gig at The Flycatcher on Saturday, June 16. Check them out: theparisaccord.bandcamp.com/releases

HOT WAX...

Prolific, she is. Gabi Montoya strikes again.

Juju Fontaine delivers a fresh batch of their neo-soul/blues/folk rock with a new recording: Juju Fontaine: Live Session at Waterworks Studio.

An unforeseen mishap with a local radio station resulted in a magical impromptu recording session for drummer John Matzek, bassist John Read and Montoya. "This release is 4-track, live-in-studio demo recording [recorded and mixed by Jim Waters] of three new, never before recorded Juju Fontaine tracks and one re-arranged track previously released on the Juju Fontaine EP," says Montoya.

Listen: jujufontaine.bandcamp.com

• Thirty-three years after their 1985 Enigma Records debut, Giant Sand is re-releasing their watershed album, Valley of Rain. The new recording features the original line up—Scott Garber, Winston Watson, Tommy Larkins—plus the addition of Thøger Lund, Gabriel Sullivan and Annie Dolan.

Giant Sand – Returns To The Valley of Rain will be released on Aug. 18 on Fire Records. Pre-order at: firerecords.com

This writer asked Howe Gelb one question. In a world where time is elastic, what wisdom would Howe Gelb today impart to his younger self? "Stick with that first band. Make it sound the way this new record sounds. And avoid the Calexico debacle. Pretty much," replied Gelb.

Check out "Tumble and Tear" the first video from the forthcoming album: youtu.be/jR4PqTCRw04

ON THE HORIZON...

This R&B/pop vocalist has been fawned over by The Huffington Post and EDM Magazine. He's recorded in Berlin, New York and LA, working with various producers crafting his sound, while calling Tucson home. Wooden Tooth Records presents Seanloui on Friday, June 22, at Club Congress. With Jaca Zulu and Taco Sauce... Provocative Bay-area singer-songwriter Xavier Dphrepaulezz rebooted his career after "Lost in the Crowd" won NPR Tiny Desk Contest in 2015. His band, Fantastic Negrito at Club Congress on Tuesday, June 26... Also on June 26. Formed in 2002 by ex-Dropkick Murphys' singer Mike McColgan. If it's "punk rock 'n' roll" that you carve, Street Dogs will deliver at 191 Toole...

Until next week, XOXO...