Blues diva Magness plays Rhythm & Roots
Award-winning soul and blues vocalist Janiva Magness on Friday will perform songs from her latest release, "The Devil Is an Angel, Too," as part of Tucson's Rhythm & Roots concert series at the Plaza Palomino.
Magness won the 2009 Blues Music Awards' B.B. King Entertainer of the Year honor and has been named Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year three times since 2006.
Magness is also a national spokeswoman for the Casey Family Programs and is an ambassador for Foster Care Alumni of America. After both of her parents committed suicide, Magness fluctuated between homelessness and foster care before discovering the blues and forging a career as a musician.
She plans to release a new album in the spring.
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The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Plaza Palomino, 2970 N. Swan Road. Tickets are $20 in advance and $23 at the door. Students pay $10. Visit www.rhythmandroots.org for reservation information or call 319-9966.
Patty Machelor
We've heard his songs - time to see him
As far as we can tell, Don McLean has never performed in Tucson, and if he did, it was back in the 1980s or '70s, long before our archives went digital.
But McLean's spirit has haunted more shows than we have space to mention. Oh what the heck, let's mention a few:
• One of the highlights of country singer Chet Atkins' 1993 show at Tucson Music Hall was a beautiful cover of McLean's "Vincent (Starry Starry Night)."
• Nashville superstar Garth Brooks rocked McLean's "American Pie," leading the sold-out McKale Center audience in 1996 in a surprisingly soulful singalong.
• We got in on the beginning of Josh Groban's love affair with "Vincent," which has become a signature song for the man with the heavenly baritone. He sang it at Casino del Sol's AVA in spring 2004.
On Friday, we get to see the man himself when McLean plays a show at 7:30 p.m. at Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress St. Tickets are $25-$55 at www.foxtucsontheatre.com
Cathalena E. Burch
UApresents adds 2nd holiday show
The last time Mannheim Steamroller brought its popular holiday show to Tucson, they had to add a second show to accommodate demand.
That was two years ago, and while their Dec. 4 show is nearly seven weeks off, ticket sales are going so well that UApresents decided to add a second performance.
Mannheim Steamroller will perform at 4 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4 at Centennial Hall.
Tickets for the 4 p.m. show are already on sale; tickets for the later performance go on sale Sunday for $39 to $104 through www.uapresents.org.
Cathalena E. Burch
'Nashville Star' winner returns
Five reasons why you should check out rising country star Chris Young at Desert Diamond Casino on Saturday:
1. "Tomorrow": KIIM 99.5 FM program director and rush-hour DJ Buzz Jackson wagered eating his shoe last summer if the ballad didn't make it to No. 1. After weeks and weeks of crawling up the charts, it made it, and Young tweeted that Jackson didn't have to eat his shoe.
2. His music is honest country: "('Tomorrow') was just a great country song. Musically it was country, the lyrics were country - he's a country guy. It had all you wanted in a country song - a little heartbreak, a little regret," Jackson said.
3. A true "Nashville Star": Since he took the title in the 2006 installment of the country music talent contest, Young has released three albums, each one better than the last.
4. The black dress song: His first Top 10 hit was the smoldering invitation of "Gettin' You Home (The Black Dress Song)." When he plays it live, the ladies melt.
5. A growing list of great songs: "The Man I Want to Be," "It Takes a Man," "Neon," "Voices," "Beer or Gasoline," "Save Water, Drink Beer," "The Dashboard" and an achingly beautiful turn at "Rainy Night in Georgia."
Young takes the stage at 8 p.m. Saturday at Desert Diamond Casino, 1100 W. Pima Mine Road, off Interstate 19. Tickets are $20-$35 through www.ticketmaster.com or at the casino.
This is Young's first Tucson show since he played Desert Diamond in 2009.
Cathalena E. Burch
Get out your paint: Dayglow fest returns
DJs blast electronica music as a sea of bopping twentysomethings creates a wave of choreographed motion.
Every 30 seconds or so, a blast of paint spurts from large cannons, spraying onto the audience.
Welcome to Dayglow, billed as the world's largest paint party. Advice to the uninitiated: Leave your dress clothes at home. In fact, organizers who will bring the second Dayglow to Tucson on Saturday suggest you wear white to show off the paint.
DJ Porter Robinson hosts Dayglow from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday at Tucson Arena, 260 S. Church Ave. Tickets are $30-$60 through www.ticketmaster.com
Dayglow tours the country, hitting about 50 cities a year. Locally, it is presented by Tucson Music Fest LLC and Adam Richman.
Cathalena E. Burch
