Ghostface Killah gave praise to some unexpected icons in a recent interview with The New York Times.
"I like Billy Joel," the 39-year-old hip-hop artist said. "Remember 'Uptown Girl?' I loved that."
Turns out, Killah has a wide range of musical tastes. Which would explain the R&B feel on his latest release, Def Jam's "Ghostdini: The Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City."
The album, Killah's eighth, pairs the Wu-Tang Clan alumnus with some hefty R&B names, including John Legend and Raheem "Radio" DeVaughn.
Expect to hear some of the new stuff on Tuesday when Ghostface plays The Rock, 136 N. Park Ave.
The show, presented by the Rialto, starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance and $22 the day of the show through the Rialto box office, 740-1000.
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Tejano fest brings sound of Texas to Tucson & AVA
Texas comes to Tucson as Casino del Sol presents its Viva Tucson Tejano Music Showcase at the AVA on Friday and Saturday.
The festival will feature performances from La Familia Tucupicio, Tierra, Jay Perez and David Lee Garza y Los Musicales on Friday night.
Passion, Aviso, Johnny Hernandez, Liberty Band and Grupo Vida will play Saturday.
The showcase starts at 7 p.m. on both nights, and tickets are $25 per night or $40 for a two-day pass through tickets.solcasinos.com.
Tito Puente Jr. performing at Centennial Hall Saturday
Tito Puente Jr., long considered the prince of Latin percussion, will be at Centennial Hall for a UApresents performance at 8 p.m. Saturday.
He plays music in the same vein as his famous father, the late, great Tito "El Rey" Puente Sr., and has carried on the family legacy to venues around the world.
Tickets $24-$44. 621-3341.
Migliazza, Walbank have CD release at Old Town Artisans
Local piano ace Arthur Migliazza and Tucson bluesman Tom Walbank will hold a CD release party at Old Town Artisans, 201 N. Court Ave., Friday as part of Rhythm & Root's Courtyard Concert series.
The duo's performance follows in the footsteps of their win two weeks ago at the Southern Arizona Blues Heritage Foundation's Blues Challenge.
Migliazza and Walbank will represent the foundation and the city at the International Blues Festival in Memphis in January.
Their debut album, "Burn Your Bridges," will be available at their Old Town Artisans show. The evening begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $12 in advance through Enchanted Earthworks, Antigone Books and Plaza Liquors and $15 at the door.
Toubab Krewe brings unique sound to Tucson Wednesday
North Carolina's answer to festive West African rhythms returns to Tucson for a Wednesday night show at Plush, 340 E. Sixth St.
Toubab Krewe, a band from Asheville, N.C., blends African and American instrumentation in a fusion of sound that you don't hear in town that often.
The group regularly plays at big festivals such as Bonnaroo and MerleFest and never fails to attract a crowd in Tucson. Doors open at 9 p.m. Tickets are $12.
It's reggae at The Rock
Washington D.C.'s Soldiers of Jah Army are set to invade Tucson with a show at The Rock on Sunday.
The reggae band comes with material from its latest album, "Born in Babylon," an experimental follow-up to its popular 2006 release, "Get Wiser."
The band has shared the stage with the likes of Ben Harper, Damian Marley, Matisyahu and Steel Pulse.
Sunday's show starts at 9 p.m. Tickets are $10. Visit rock tucson.com for more info.
Atreyu co-headlines at Rialto
California metalcore outfit Atreyu will co-headline a show Tuesday with Escape the Fate, Endless Hallway at the Rialto.
The show comes a couple weeks ahead of the release of Atreyu's new album, "Congregation of the Damned," which the band promises will be darker and heavier than its four previous albums.
If you've heard the quintet's music, that's saying a lot. Their sound is perhaps best summarized on the Rialto Theatre's Web site: "Their warped, detuned guitars are matched by pounding drums and acidic vocals, which give the material an edge otherwise absent from their sludge metal."
Tuesday's all-ages show starts at 7:30. Tickets: $21 in advance at rialtotheatre.com; $26 day of show.
Kittie at Rialto Wednesday
The head-banging babes of Kittie blast into the Rialto Wednesday to prove that women can be just as metalcore-crazed as their male counterparts.
The foursome dishes out driving guitar licks, vicious bass line and fierce drum rants against vocals that alternate between soprano sweetness and devilish growls. Their music stays somewhere in the middle of glam rock and death metal.
They take the Rialto stage at 7 p.m. with a supporting cast of Soil, Arkaea and Straight Line Stitch. Tickets: $19 in advance at rialtotheatre.com; $21 day of show.
Day to Remember touring with new guitarist Skaff
A Day to Remember, that pop-punk quintet from Ocala, Fla., is still adjusting to the loss of one of its key members.
Guitarist Tom Denney, who helped form the rockgroup in 2003, quit over the summer to focus on his marriage and family.
The group replaced Denney with Kevin Skaff from the Minneapolis band Four Letter Lie.
Expect to hear the new lineup perform tracks from the band's latest release, "Homesick," when it plays the Rialto on Monday.
The show starts (early) at 4 p.m. Tickets are $17.50 in advance and $20 at the door. 740-1000.
Rock N' Java brings indie Christain rocker to town
Indie Christian rocker JJ Heller will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday at Rock N' Java in Continental Ranch.
Rock N' Java, 7555 W. Twin Peaks Road, opened last weekend with a blues concert.
The front half is your typical coffee shop. The back half has a small stage and seating for 125.
Rock N' Java, owned by a non-profit foundation of Alive Church, will host a concert every weekend this month, providing a venue primarily for local singer-songwriters of various genres.
"The coffee shop is completely separate from what we do with the church. We use the space on the weekend to hold our service," said Alive's Mike Gray. "It's a coffeehouse for the community."
Alive Church, which has its main campus just outside Oro Valley on La Cholla Boulevard, has been in Tucson for 20 years. It moved to the northwest side from its Prince Road location about eight years ago, Gray said.
Admission for Heller's show is $8 in advance at the coffee shop, $10 at the door. 572-5238.
