Rialto Theatre. Night time. Electric beats fill in the spaces between conversations and laughter. White tents billow into the black, housing canvases upon canvases of art. Vendors dapple the grounds, tables are covered in raw rocks, in glimmering quartz placed in settings.

While the music slips out and a new band sets up, a brigade of models rushes the stage. They flaunt the new and upcoming fashions from Swindler’s on 4th Avenue, which are draped across their arms and middles. Food vendors line the way, giving off pleasant overlaps of aroma and offering the chance for refreshment among the ever-changing scenes ahead.

This is Gem and Jam 2009. From Feb. 6-8, lights will flash and people will crowd the streets of downtown Tucson until the early hours of the morning.

Live music will blare as artists paint alongside. Minerals sit waiting to be purchased, ranging from common to rare, adding luster to the already glimmering prospective of the event.

“”Events like this happen in major cities,”” said the organizer of Gem and Jam 2009, Keith Lewinter. “”Tucson hasn’t really seen this style of event. It’s much more than seeing a concert.””

Lewinter compares the event to a summer music festival, every bit as engaging and obliging to the individual’s particular wants. “”There’s going to be something there for everyone,”” said Lewinter.

It’s the first time for the event to be all-ages Saturday and Sunday at Rialto. Friday’s events at Plush, however, will remain 21 and up. Members from the band The String Cheese Incident will fill the club to bursting point with beats. “”It’s a more intimate feel with a larger-name musician,”” said Lewinter.

It will also be the first time Rialto Theatre has a stage outside as well as indoors. “”It’s cool for any city to be OK with a full stage and sound system and people checking out the music and art till midnight,”” Lewinter said. And according to the schedule, tunes will be wafting along the airwaves close to 2 a.m.

“”Tucson being the world’s largest gem and mineral show,”” as Lewinter mentioned, means the loot involved is going to be large and in charge. It ranges from specimens of raw or crystal forms, to stones set in hand-crafted jewelry, to stock gems tempting the jewelry makers themselves.

And the art! “”The art there would probably fill 3 to 4 galleries,”” said Lewinter. Along with Juxtapoz Art & Culture Magazine, ArtNowSF will be shipping down a large amount of original artwork for the event, most of which will fall under the category of modern, urban, street art. “”It’s not going to be a fine arts gallery,”” said Lewinter.

Phoenix’s Alpha Monster Art Click graffiti artists will be performing live alongside 16 bands – and they don’t plan on stopping until they run out of paint.

“”Fashion is every bit as much art as painting,”” said Lewinter, and Saturday night Swindler’s will prove it in a quarter of an hour, between bands. If you can’t wait till the end of the event, a booth will be available for immediate must-have purchases as well.

“”Artists want to come back and play,”” said Lewinter, and “”people not even from Tucson come and say it’s their favorite event, and they’ll never miss another one.””

Gem and Jam
Music Schedule

Friday at Plush:

9 – 10:15 p.m. – MntlE

10:15 – 11:30 p.m. – Lynx & Janover

11:30 p.m. – Close – Eoto (Michael Travis
& Jason Hann of SCI)

Saturday at Rialto:

Indoor Stage:

8 – 9:30 p.m. – Underground Orchestra

9:50 – 11:05 p.m. – Lipp Service

11:15 – 12:15 a.m. – Prefuse 73

12:30 – 2 a.m. – Ghostland Observatory

Outdoor Stage:

7 – 8 p.m. – Corbin Dooley

8 – 9:15 p.m. – The Flying Skulls

9:15 – 10:30 p.m. – Mochipet

10:30 p.m. – midnight – Ana Sia

Sunday at Rialto:

Indoor Stage:

8 – 9:15 p.m. – Music Video

9:30 – 10:45 p.m. – Mad Professor

11 – 12:30 a.m. – Greyboy Allstars

12:45 – 2 a.m. – Pnuma Live PA

Outdoor Stage:

7:30 – 9 p.m. – Corbin Dooley

9 p.m. – midnight – Orchard Lounge DJ’s