Marana Festival

The Marana Bluegrass Festival for 2012 was canceled due to Easter Sunday falling on the festival weekend.

Starting in 2013 and future years, the festival will be held on the first full weekend in April, i.e. for 2013 it will be on Sat & Sun April 6th & 7th.

Backup plans are being developed for the future festivals when Easter Sunday is on festival weekend.

Events Festivals

Tucson’s 12th Annual Desert Bluegrass Festival
Presented by the Desert Bluegrass Association

Hi folks,

Mark your calendar.  Our 12th festival will be October 28, 29 and 30, 2011 at the beautiful AVA Amphitheater.  The festival planning committee has been hard at work on the festival for a couple of months now and it is shaping up as a great event.  For starters, we will again be at the AVA Amphitheater!   Those who attended last year know that AVA is a wonderful venue and we appreciate Sol Casinos’ hosting the event again.

This year, our headline band will be Blue Highway!!!  At their 16-year mark, Blue Highway is one of the most esteemed and influential groups in bluegrass. The band's nine exceptional albums and compelling live performances give proof to the stellar reviews, Grammy nominations, and numerous awards earned by the band since it first took the stage on December 31, 1994, with the same musicians that comprise Blue Highway today.  Find more at their website www.bluehighwayband.com.

The Kickin Grass Band is coming from Raleigh N.C.  Their songs, mostly written and performed by Lynda Dawson, reflect the depth and breadth of the human experience. Learn more about this exciting band at kickingrass.com.

Steve Smith and Hard Road will join us. Steve Smith from Las Cruces N.M.  has been performing for nearly thirty years in about as many types of musical situations as one can imagine – solo artist, band leader, sideman, session player and producer.  Vocalist Chris Sanders and banjo master Bill Evans joins him in Hard Road.  Check them out at www.desertnight.com.

We are still booking additional bands and working on plans to make this the best festival yet.  So watch for updates in Grass Clippings or on facebook (Tucson’s Annual Desert Bluegrass Festival).  But, as I said, mark your calendar now.

Mike Headrick

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