Why spend $300 when you can spend $5 to see “”the longest running festival to celebrate absurdity””? Defying the norm and having a fun, cheap time is what “”The Real Coachella,”” an event started by Ryan Avery seven years ago, is all about.
This year, The Real Coachella is coming to Tucson on April 29 at 6 p.m. at the notoriously hip HangArt, located at 512 N. Echols Ave. The HangArt is a music/creative space made out of an old aircraft hangar. This year, eight bands from Tucson and Phoenix will play, as well as couple from California.
The bands include Tucson’s own Monster Pussy and Ultramaroon, Phoenix bands Man-Cat, Treasure MammaL, Female Trouble, JJCnV, Plague Party and Fathers Day, and California bands Mark Matos, The Ovals and Captain Ahab.
That’s a lot of bands that you might not know about. But the great thing about The Real Coachella is discovering how close good music is to home, said M.P. Mullarkey, who has effectively become the event’s one-man Tucson street team.
Avery said he is excited as ever for Tucson, which has a reputation for producing great audiences.
“”The Tucson date is coming together really well,”” Avery said. “”There’s a lot of excitement behind the Tucson date this year. Each year we’re making it better and more fun.””
“”The lineup is truly rad,”” added Mullarkey, whose band, Monster Pussy, is playing the event for the first time this year. “”It’s something that is happening in our own backyard.””
Alex Benson, who plays in Man-Cat, also stressed that the event will be an opportunity to see unique local talent really close to home.
“”There is really awesome local music that not a lot of people are aware of,”” Benson said.
Abelardo Gil, who plays in Treasure MammaL, said he is also excited to play in Tucson. His band recently played at Dry River Radical Resource Center and the concert’s attendees went out the hall onto the steps of a church. He said he hopes this event is even better.
“”I hope people take it to the limit and get crazy,”” Gil said.
There’s more in store, like a piñata and a full-suited Cookie Monster who will give away cookies and buttons, along with a grab bag of free music. But overall, it’s supposed to be a bitchin’ time, organizers say.
“”It’s just going to be a lot of fun,”” Avery said.
