Fox, Rialto, Congress and AVA pencil in live shows as pandemic threat wanes

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Fox, Rialto, Congress and AVA pencil in live shows as pandemic threat wanes

Cathalena E. Burch
Jun 2, 2021
Jun 2, 2021 Updated Jun 23, 2023

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Midland is scheduled to hit the stage at the AVA at Casino del Sol in October.

Zion & Zion

Altan was supposed to play a show in March 2020, but the pandemic doused those plans. The Celtic band is coming back for a Nov. 21 show at Fox 蜜柚直播 Theatre.

Richard McKenna

Modest Mouse is playing the Rialto on Sept. 20, one of more than a dozen shows the downtown venue announced last week.

James Joiner

Cathalena E. Burch

蜜柚直播鈥檚 entertainment scene is going into overdrive in the next couple of months with several key venues announcing live shows after being shuttered for over a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

And more shows are on the horizon, organizers say.

has 10 shows on the schedule, starting with The Mavericks 鈥淓n Enspa帽ol鈥� World Tour stop on Aug. 19, which the Fox announced on Monday, May 24. The other shows on their lineup are rescheduled from 2020, when the Fox and all other live music venues were forced to close because of the coronavirus.

Bonnie Schock, the Fox鈥檚 executive director, said she would announce in June as many as 50 more events that will be at the downtown venue, 17 W. Congress St., through next spring.

Schock said the Fox will be at full capacity 鈥� about 1,100 鈥� when they reopen, but they will follow CDC and Pima County COVID-19 protocols. As of now, those include requiring people to wear a mask if you are at an indoor event with hundreds of people, Schock said.

Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St., will have its first live event in nearly 18 months when it hosts Rise of the Prospect, an amateur 15+ kickboxing event, on July 31. It has events penciled in through December, including one show 鈥攂lues guitar great Kenny Wayne Shepherd 鈥� who will be here March 6.

鈥淚鈥檓 excited. I miss seeing live music,鈥� said longtime Rialto talent buyer Kris Kery. 鈥淲ith Broadway reopening and the CDC (relaxing COVID protocols), I鈥檓 getting as many shows as I can.鈥�

Kery said he expects to announce more shows in the coming weeks for the Rialto and its sister venue, 191 Toole at 191 E. Toole Ave. That smaller venue has a handful of shows on the books, beginning with Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears on Aug. 20.

蜜柚直播 Music Hall has put back on the books several of the events it was forced to cancel last year and Glenn Grabski, executive director of the 蜜柚直播 Convention Center, said he he expects to make more announcements in the coming weeks for shows at the 蜜柚直播 Arena and Music Hall, 260 S. Church Ave.

鈥淚 expect we are going to have a very busy fall,鈥� he said on Monday, May 24.

Other venues that have announced a return to live events include Club Congress, 310 E. Congress St., which has been holding its concerts on the Hotel Congress patio for months; 蜜柚直播 Arena, 260 S. Church Ave.; and the AVA at Casino del Sol, 5655 W. Valencia Road. As of this week, Desert Diamond Casino still has nothing planned for its entertainment center at 1100 W. Pima Mine Road.

Here are the shows the venues have announced. Of course everything is subject to change, performances continue to be added and tickets are on sale for most events through the venues鈥� websites.

Fox 蜜柚直播

The Mavericks, Aug. 19

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Sept. 11

Amy Grant, Oct. 24

Paula Poundstone, Oct. 28

Atlanta Rhythm Section, Nov. 5

Altan, Nov. 21

The Oak Ridge Boys, Feb. 19

Taj Mahal Quartet, March 15

The Music of Cream, Disraeli Gears & Clapton Classics, April 19

Chris Perondi鈥檚 Stunt Dog Experience, May 29, 2022