The Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase wraps up its second week with some “rock” music out at the Pima County Fairgrounds for the Gem and Jam Music Festival.
The festival has grown from its downtown roots when it was held at the Slaughter House, into a local and national musical showcase spread out over three days.
“It’s been going for a long time, and it’s kind of a stalwart in the Arizona festival community and greater festival community as well,” said Josh Pollack, whose been involved booking and planning the festival since 2013.
Of course, it’s hard work to run and book a music festival. You can’t just show up and hope bands do, too.
“As one festival ends, we’re starting to work on the next year already, it’s like this consistent cycle,” he said. “We start thinking about where to improve, what artists we want to target for next year.”
One band Pollack and other organizers managed to book for this year’s festival is Spafford, which is headlining Friday night’s lineup.
Known for their eclectic sets that span musical genres, drummer and Tucson native Nick Tkachyk describes Spafford’s live sets as “80% original stuff, 20% covers.”