Arts & Entertainment

20May

By Ambur WilkersonNo Comments

Bernal Gallery, Pima Arts

PCC Student Art Celebrated at Annual Juried Student Exhibit’s Reception

By Lucia Grijalva Photo from Pima Arts’ website On April 16, students from across all five of Pima Community College’s campuses gathered together for the Annual Juried Student Exhibit’s Reception. Awards took place at 4 p.m. This annual exhibition ran from April 7 to May 9 and was featured in the Louis Carlos Bernal Gallery of the West Campus. According to the Pima Arts website, “Each student was allowed to enter up to three works in any category. This year, jurors accepted 71 entries by 51 students from a total of 198 entries by 92 students.” “The jurors also designated 24 awards for works ranging from painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, photography and digital arts. More than $6,000 in certificates, gifts and financial donations were given to the Bernal Gallery for...

19May

By Ambur WilkersonNo Comments

Arts & Entertainment

Review: MIKE & Tony Seltzer Release Pinball II

By Cristian Padilla The cover of “Pinball II” by MIKE & Tony Seltzer. Photo from MIKE & Tony Seltzer’s Bandcamp. “Pinball II” is the successor to “Pinball” by MIKE & Tony Seltzer. With a runtime of 33 minutes and a tracklist of 17 songs, we can only hope the duo ran it back with even more great music. MIKE, a somewhat underground artist, has been garnering a lot of attention recently. His alternative style, flow and overall consistency have been launching him into stardom. With his new release “Pinball II” with Tony Seltzer, he’s proving himself to be one of the best out right now. “Pinball II”, released May 7, uses heavy 808s, pitch changes and the artists’ charisma to establish itself as one of the best albums to come out of 2025. While MIKE is impressive, bot...

19May

By Ambur WilkersonNo Comments

Arts & Entertainment

Review: Beabadoobee Comes to Arizona

By Cristian Padilla Beatrice Kristi Laus, better known as Beabadoobee, showed off her performance skills to Arizona at the Arizona Financial Theatre in Phoenix on April 22. She came right after Coachella Weekend 2. Her openers were Pretty Sick and Keni Titus. I was lucky enough to snatch a ticket before they sold out and was able to enjoy the experience for myself (along with my sister) in person. Doors were supposed to open at 5:30 p.m. according to an Instagram story post made by Beabadoobee that same day, but they didn’t actually open until quite a while later. Concession lines were long and merch lines were longer. She had “This Is How Tomorrow Moves” vinyl records and tons of tees available. The first opener was Pretty Sick, who had a fun 30-minute set, followed by Keni Titus...

19May

By Ambur WilkersonNo Comments

Arts & Entertainment

Inside the Taco Fest

By Jackson Melin Tucson was recently host to the Taco Fest, the first of the three stops for the event, which describes itself as “1000’s of tacos, 101 tequila brands, and one big party.” The festival was held at Rillito Park on Saturday, April 26 from noon to 9:30 p.m. The main attractions included Lucha Libre wrestling, vintage low-ride cars and the main concert itself. Headlining the event was T.I., followed by Lil Jon, Fat Joe, Chingy and Trick Daddy. Local food trucks filled the festival grounds, lines wrapping around booths and tents. Waiting for the concert to begin, I sampled the three-taco platter from Phoenix-based Nali De Aqui Ni De Alla. The soft tortilla shell combined with the al pastor-flavored meat made the dish quite delectable. The venue had many bars loc...

13May

By Ambur WilkersonNo Comments

Arts & Entertainment

Just An Ordinary Joe: Episode 3

Check out the third episode of "Just An Ordinary Joe", a show that fuses reporting and commentary, hosted by Joe Cunningham. In this episode, Joe reviews video game "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33". https://youtu.be/8OaU4NT-GwI

Pink Sweat$ Brings “Welcome Home” Tour to Tucson with Opening Act Aqyila

13May

By Ambur WilkersonNo Comments

Arts & Entertainment, Business

Pink Sweat$ Brings “Welcome Home” Tour to Tucson with Opening Act Aqyila

By Lucia Grijalva Photo by Lucia GrijalvaPhoto by Lucia GrijalvaPhoto by Lucia GrijalvaPhoto by Lucia GrijalvaPhoto by Lucia GrijalvaPhoto by Lucia GrijalvaPhoto by Lucia Grijalva Photos by Lucia Grijalva On Feb. 28, artist Pink Sweat$ performed at Tucson’s Rialto Theatre. His “Welcome Home” tour brought a set full of dreamy pink lights and indie/R&B ballads. Pink Sweat$ garners an average of 5,332,913 listeners monthly on digital music streaming service, Spotify, and has amassed a total of 963,443,269 views on online video platform, YouTube. Fellow R&B singer, Aqyila, opened for the show. She pulls in 979,077 monthly listeners on Spotify and has gathered 44,784,243 views on YouTube. Before her appearance, audience members sat awaiting and unaware of the pure roma...

29Apr

By Ambur WilkersonNo Comments

Arts & Entertainment

Lauryn Hill Cosigns Fellow Rapper Doechii During Breathtaking Performance

By Cristian Padilla Photo from Doechii’s NPR Tiny Desk Grammy-award winning artist Doechii was invited on stage by Ms. Lauryn Hill to rap her Billboard No. 1 hit song during her headliner set at the Jazz in the Gardens music festival March 8. An exhilarating set that fans definitely enjoyed. Lauryn Hill performing with Doechii. Photo by JLN Photography/Shutterstock Doechii thanked her idol on X, saying "Thank you Miss Lauryn Hill. Thank you. My heart is so full. She is my hero. This is the greatest honor hip hop could give me. Praise God." She continued with "my entire body is vibrating with joy right now. I'll never forget this day! EVER!", showing her appreciation to Hill for the opportunity. Coming off of her Grammy winning mixtape "Alligator Bites Never He...

29Apr

By Ambur WilkersonNo Comments

Pima Arts

2025 Pima Spring Music Showcase Review

By Jaymes Grace The Pima Community College Orchestra On March 30 Pima Music presented its Spring Music Showcase at The Center for Performing Arts located at Pima Community College West Campus. Performing in order were the concert band, followed by the orchestra, chorale & college singers, guitar ensemble, jazz combo and the Mariachi ensemble. Held in the Proscenium Theatre concert hall were both the concert band and the orchestra. To open, the concert band first performed a piece entitled “Keeper of the House”. It was a perfect opening for the showcase—gentle, soft and soothing. It had a renaissance sound with its use of fluted instruments and accompanying drums. The Pima Community College Concert Band The second piece called “Rippling Watercolors” was orig...

Review of Drake & PARTYNEXTDOOR’s “$ome $exy $ongs 4 U”

28Apr

By Ambur WilkersonNo Comments

Arts & Entertainment

Review of Drake & PARTYNEXTDOOR’s “$ome $exy $ongs 4 U”

By Cristian Padilla Photo by Getty Images “$ome $exy $ongs 4 U” is Drake's newest album in collaboration with PARTYNEXTDOOR. This is his first release since the mind-blowing Kendrick Lamar Super Bowl performance. With 21 tracks and a runtime of 74 minutes, is it even worth listening to? Drake has been known for releasing subpar projects as of late. With a new collaborator in the mix, it could’ve been different this time and exceeded everyone's expectations. Along with having a questionable title, neither artist delivered the way fans hoped. While many were waiting for a classic R&B sound, they were met with another sound more similar to Drake's more recent projects. As the album begins, we're hit with Drake being basic and trying to return to his roots...

A Look Back at PCC’s Production of “Dracula”

13Mar

By Ambur WilkersonNo Comments

Arts & Entertainment, Pima Arts, Pima Theatre, Top Stories

A Look Back at PCC’s Production of “Dracula”

By Victoria Gross A scene from Pima Community College’s production of “Dracula”. Photo from Pima Arts’ Instagram Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” is a hallmark of Halloween and an inspiration to goths everywhere. Naturally, the Pima Community College theatre department’s opening night of the stage adaptation was sold out. Meg O’Connor’s adaptation, directed by Maryann Green, took place from Oct. 17-27 at the Black Box Theatre at Pima’s Center for the Arts. The production ran as smooth as a well-oiled machine without a single faulty part. The crew created a bewitching atmosphere. The room was dark except for a few candles which lit the simple, yet eye-catching set. Eerie music set the mood. The lights went out, and the play began. The rhythm and harmony created by the ensemble actors...