Soaring temps aren't keeping these acts from Tucson stages

Word got out to national touring artists a long time ago that performing in Tucson in the summer months is a big ask. Artists usually route around our punishing pueblo in the height of the hot season.

But that doesn't mean we're in a live music drought.

There are a number of big concerts heading our way now through summer's end. We've compiled a list of some shows that have us excited.

Kickin' country

• Elijah Brown brings his hybrid country-Americana-urban R&B sound to Club Congress, 411 E. Congress St., for a 7:30 p.m. show Thursday, July 23. The stop is part of the California singer-songwriter's "In A Bar Somewhere Tour." Tickets ($35) available at hotelcongress.com.
• Kane Brown ("Miles On It," "Thank God," "Bury Me In Georgia") will play his first-ever Tucson show at the AVA at Casino del Sol on Aug. 13. We're not sure how in his dozen-year career he has managed to bypass Tucson, but judging from ticket sales as of early this month, he's sure to be greeted by a sold-out crowd when he and opener Caylee Hammack take the AVA  stage, 5655 W. Valencia Road, at 8 p.m. There's room on the lawn ($77.40 through casinodelsol.com), but there were only a few reserved seats left. Brown is acclaimed for his high-energy live shows that mix a little hip-hop with his twang.
• You might not recognize singer-songwriter Charles Wesley Godwin by name, but when he takes the stage at the Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St., on Aug. 13, you might find yourself agreeing with the critical acclaim the West Virginia country-leaning artist has garnered in his decade-long career. Godwin, who has toured with Zach Bryan, Eric Church and the Avett Brothers, is celebrating the release of "Christian Name," his fourth studio album due out July 24. Tickets are $42-$92.80 through rialtotheatre.com.
• The Lubbock, Texas-based Pecos and the Rooftops must have really loved Tucson when they played a show here last October. Scarcely nine months later, the band that blends classic rock with soulful country is back for a show Aug. 20 at the Rialto Theatre. Tickets are $32-$41.26 through rialtotheatre.com.
• Tracy Lawrence ("Time Marches On," "Paint Me A Birmingham," "Sticks and Stones," "Alibis") brings his 1990s neo-trad country vibe — cowboy hat, the moan of a fiddle and steel guitar and a deliciously twangy baritone — to Linda Ronstadt Music Hall, 260 S. Church Ave., on Aug. 23. Lawrence performs in Tucson fairly regularly, bringing his extensive catalog of ballads and two-stepping honky-tonk tunes that have defined his 30-plus-year career. Tickets start at $58.95 at ticketmaster.com.

Rock and blues

• Gary Mullen & the Works bring their critically-acclaimed "One Night of Queen" tribute show to Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress St., on Aug. 2. Glasgow native Mullen has been critically praised for his spot-on channeling of the late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury. Tickets ($20-$84 through foxtucson.com) are in short supply.
• Florida rockers Shinedown ("Second Chance," "Sound of Madness," "Bully") bring their "Dance, Kid, Dance Act II" to Tucson Arena on Aug. 4. The band, which has been around since 2000, released its eighth studio album "Ei8ht" in May and last month dropped its first-ever country song "Searchlight." The song debuted at 54 on the Billboard country charts. Tickets start at $36.50 through ticketmaster.com.
• The rockabilly blues band The Paladins played their first show at El Casino Ballroom in the 1980s and their most recent in 2018. They are back with founders Dave Gonzalez on guitar and upright bass player Thomas Yearsley to headline KXCI's 13th annual House Rockin' Blues Review Aug. 7. Tucson's own rising blues band The Xcelerators open the show at El Casino, 437 E. 26th St. Tickets are $30, $25 for KXCI members in advance at kxci.org or Bookmans locations; it's $35 at the door. Proceeds benefit the community radio station. 
• Blues guitar phenom Tab Benoit's "Soul of the Swamp Tour" stops at Fox Tucson Aug. 21 with opener Zac Schulze Gang. This is Benoit's encore to his show at the Fox last summer. Tickets are $56-$67 through foxtucson.com.
• La Rosa is hosting a three-day music festival featuring Steve Roach, Pallbearer, Blood Incantation, Paul Riedl, Cat Child, Serena Gabriel and others Aug. 28-30 at the former Benedictine Monastery chapel, 800 N. Country Club Road. A three-day festival pass starts at $118.95; daily admission starts at $19.74; nighttime concerts start at $29.09 through larosatucson.org, where you can find the complete lineup and schedule.   

Hip-hop and pop

• The seminal Latin hip-hop outfit Cypress Hill ("Insane in the Brain," "Hits from the Bong," "Tequila Sunrise") swings into the AVA with its "Once Upon A Time in the Summer" tour on Saturday, July 25. Cypress Hill was one of the first Latin American hip-hop groups to gain mainstream success after forming in California in 1988. The band, with its distinctive stoned aesthetic, bass-heavy rhythms and oddly spooky-sounding loops, has gone on to release 10 studio albums and sell more than 20 million copies. Tickets ($47.40-$157.40) are available through casinodelsol.com.
• Two powerhouse modern indie bands are bringing their magnetic live show to Rialto Theatre on Aug. 1. "The Beths + Beach Bunny: US Tour 2026" launches in Colorado three days before it pulls into the Rialto. Tickets are $43.50-$75.80 through rialtotheatre.com.
• Indie singer-songwriter Trish Toledo is inspired by 1960s-70s soul and pop, but when she brings her show to La Rosa on Aug. 1, the contemporary edge she brings to her music will have you on the floor dancing. Not that you have a choice, mind you; there were a limited number of reserved seats, and they're all gone. General admission is $36.88 through larosatucson.org.
• L.A.'s experimental hip-hop trio Clipping is compared to a whole host of hip-hop artists, but we kinda like The Guardian's take, describing the music as "the work of a young band intent on twisting industrial metal into brutal new shapes." Then there's Rolling Stone, which called them nimble-tongued, "beat-fractured L.A. hip-hop spilled over the abrasive crunches, squeals, clangs, slurps and static of experimental musique concrète." Makes us want to get there early when Clipping plays the Rialto Theatre Aug. 5. Tickets are $31.50-$38.15 through rialtotheatre.com.
• Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Fantastic Negrito headlines La Rosa Aug. 22 with Tucson's own Carlos Arzate & the Ghost Notes opening. We can't be positive, but we think this might be Fantastic Negrito's first Tucson show. Tickets are $39.48 through larosatucson.org.
• L.A. hip-hop artist Fenix Flexin was no stranger to Tucson when he did his first solo show here at 191 Toole in 2022; he had been a regular with his L.A. hip-hop crew Shoreline Mafia. Fast-forward four years, the artist is now headlining 191 Toole's big sister venue Rialto Theatre on Aug. 26. Tickets are $36.50-$46.40 through rialtotheatre.com.   
• The 1980s new wave band Flock of Seagulls leads a lineup of fellow '80s one-hit-wonders for the "I Love the 80s" at Fox Tucson Aug. 29. The billing includes Bow Wow Wow featuring Annabella and the original lineup of Animotion. Tickets are $50-$81 through foxtucson.com.