Howe Gelb’s turning 70 with concert, party at La Rosa

The top stories from the Arizona Daily Star’s Caliente section for this week.

Tucson’s desert rock royalty, Howe Gelb, one of the area’s most lauded enigmatic artists, turns 70 on Thursday, Oct. 22, which means one thing:

Tucson concert promoter David Slutes is planning a big ol’ party for Howe Gelb at Slutes’ La Rosa venue.

Gelb will reunite with his old desert rock band Giant Sand for his “70th Sun Cycle,” a concert/bash that will feature performances by Gelb and a handful of friends he’s collected over the years.

La Rosa is celebrating Tucson music legend Howe Gelb’s 70th birthday with a bash befitting his tenure and imprint on Tucson’s music scene.

Gelb has spent most of his 50-year music career in Tucson, where he landed after leaving Pennsylvania in the 1970s. He formed Giant Sandworms with the late Rainer Ptacek in 1980; the name change came just before the band released its debut album “Valley of Rain” around 1983.

Since then, Gelb has released more than 40 albums, both solo efforts and collaborations, and earned a devoted following in Europe for his “desert-bred” fusion of rock, country, jazz “and noise,” Slutes said.

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“Besides Linda Ronstadt, no other Tucson artist has had such a lengthy career, filled with uncompromising, critically acclaimed records,” Slutes said. “And he continues to create music to this day.”

At the Oct. 22 birthday bash/concert, Gelb is expected to perform a 70-minute set with the classic Danish lineup of Giant Sand that includes Thøger Lund on bass, drummer Peter Dombernowsk and Anders Pedersen on slide and electric guitar.

He’s also invited a number of friends to perform short sets, including Jason Lytle of Grandaddy, Patsy's Rats, Gabrielle Pietrangelo with a mini choir, Brian Lopez and Gabriel Sullivan, Lonna Kelley and Gelb’s daughter, Talula.

Gelb said there also will be "other lovely guests he can't remember yet," according to Slutes’ news release.

Howe Gelb is bringing Giant Giant Sand — the expanded version of his well-known Tucson band Giant Sand — to his 70th birthday party/concert at La Rosa. Giant Giant Sand, shown here in the 2012 Club Congress show premiering Howe Gelb's "Tucson: A Rock Opera."

The seated concert starts at 7:30 p.m. at La Rosa, 800 N. Country Club Road. Tickets ($22-$55) are available through larosatucson.org .

Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com . On Bluesky @Starburch

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