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Club Crawl brings out the best in Tucson music

More than 80 bands will showcase their talents at 20 different venues

Local musical acts will come out in full force Saturday night at the seventh annual TAMMIES Club Crawl, filling downtown Tucson and Fourth Avenue venues with live entertainment and music-hungry fans.

"It's the one time when people are just ravenous about live music," said Club Crawl organizer Jeb Schoonover. "People really come out for it, and they come out to support the bands and the clubs."

Club Crawl, sponsored by the Tucson Weekly, has been an ongoing event in Tucson since 1993, when Schoonover proposed the idea of a live music festival to city directors.

Schoonover, also co-owner of the Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St., said the event has seen increased attendance every year, as well as increased participation from bands and venues.

"Well, every year, the event has grown," he said. "It's probably (live music's) biggest night of the year. It wasn't just the clubs - it was the clubs and the bands. Both feel it's their best show of the year."

Schoonover said there will be changes in this year's stage setup to accommodate the increased attendance.

O'Malley's on Fourth, 247 N. Fourth Ave., will feature an outdoor stage. Schoonover said this, in addition to the three other stages and 16 venues, will give audiences plenty of chances to enjoy the event.

"That's going to allow people to get in and not have to wait in line - and that is the way the event is going to have to go every year," he said.

While new venues have been added throughout the event's seven-year history, Schoonover said one of the most important changes has been how bands and venues are chosen.

"The first events, we actually picked bands to perform by category," he said. "That didn't work as well because most of the clubs are just alternative or rock, and we found some of the club owners were upset because they had a totally unrelated music genre in their club.

"Plus, people were upset that we picked (the bands). We would say, 'These are the best four rock bands.' We did away with that - we said 'Look, let's just have a big music festival and let's go to the clubs and let them have a say in who they want to play - let's just mix it up.'"

Schoonover said that blending multiple genres has added a new flavor to the event.

"At one stage, you may have a ska band playing next to a blues band playing next to an acoustic rock band - with a punk band headlining. There are no rules," he said.

Schoonover said he hopes the musical event will inspire others in the community to take a larger part in the business aspect.

"The goal of the event is to really increase the awareness of live music in Tucson and to help on the business side. We hope that more people come downtown and maybe open up a club."