music Festival this weekend
Say I do to HoCo
By Kevin W. Smith
KSMITH@AZSTARNET.COM
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 08.28.2008
Get ready to toast a host of rock 'n' roll marriages all weekend long.
Let the champagne corks pop for the annual HoCo Festival, which takes over Hotel Congress Friday through Sunday.
Festivalgoers will bear witness to all sorts of genres coming together in holy rockrimony: pop, country, hip-hop, funk, dance, folk, surf, bluegrass and blues.
To bring it all home, while underlining the metaphoric union of musical styles, there will be an actual marriage performed Saturday evening on the outdoor stage.
Anastasia Palmer and Robin Johnson will get hitched at 6 p.m. Everyone at the festival is invited, and formal wear is not required.
The ceremony will be officiated by Al Perry, the unofficial mayor of Tucson music, who will also perform during the festival.
The only certificate you'll need to make the HoCo Festival official is a free weekend pass, which you can find on Page 24. See box for more ticket info.
You'll hear cow-punk from the visiting Meat Puppets, along with Tucson originals like the erosion rock of Howe Gelb and the folk sound of Golden Boots. There will be DJs spinning the freshest electro rock just hours after a performance by Gentlemen Afterdark, a legendary local synth-rock band from the '80s that will reunite for the night.
Other events include a massive record fair on Saturday and a recycled-fashion show by Buffalo Exchange on Sunday. HoCo is also going green this year, as well, utilizing solar power for its outdoor stage and holding an eco-fair on Saturday.
We can't say there won't be some drunken, rambling moments at this weekend of wedded bliss.
But at least the only gift you'll need to buy will be a commemerative T-shirt in your size.
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