800 N Country Club Rd, Tucson, AZ 85716
Event details
La Rosa Anniversary Party
Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. Doors 6 p.m.
La Rosa, 800 N. Country Club Road, Tucson
General admission: $10 donation to the La Rosa Foundation. Reserved high-top tables for four: $152.08
Standing room only. Ages 16+; under 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Sisters Restaurant & Bar opens at 5 p.m.
Tickets: larosatucson.org
A year ago, David Slutes, Charlie Levy [and Tucker Woodbury] opened a concert venue in a 1939 Benedictine chapel. They were betting that a locally owned room could compete in an industry increasingly run by national conglomerates, in an economy few thought was friendly to new arts organizations. More than 100,000 tickets later, La Rosa is throwing a party to thank the city that proved them right.
The La Rosa Anniversary Party takes place Friday, Oct. 9, starting at 6 p.m. Mayor Regina Romero will give remarks, and the night features sets from some of Tucson’s favorite local acts, a Latronica afterparty, live screen printing, raffles and giveaways, free birthday cake, and tours of parts of the building the public rarely sees. Admission is a $10 donation, with every dollar going to the La Rosa Foundation.
The venue’s first year is worth celebrating. Most new music venues in American cities now open with national corporate money behind them. La Rosa is locally owned and run, and it has held its own against much larger competitors. It has presented sold-out shows by Interpol, Jeff Tweedy, The Mars Volta, Pat Metheny and Todd Rundgren, booked everything from jazz and comedy to choirs and an opera, and been named “Best Venue” by several publications (including Phoenix Magazine!) It now employs nearly 100 Tucsonans.
“This is a hard business, and it’s gotten harder for independents. We wanted to show that a venue could be built here, by people from here, that could land the biggest tours in the country and still nurture the local creative community that raised us,” said David Slutes, La Rosa’s lead programmer and co-owner. “A year in, we’ve sold 100,000 tickets and put almost a hundred people to work, and we’re just getting started. The party is our thank-you, so we filled the stage with some of our favorite Tucson musicians.