“In the heart of the Southwest resides a dusty old pueblo full of musicians, filmmakers and bars.“

John Dillinger, Lalo Guerrero, Pete Martinez, Linda Ronstadt , the Dusty Chaps, Ettore "Ted" DeGrazia, Green On Red, R. Carlos Nakai, Al Perry, Max Cannon, Howe Gelb. Recognize any of these names? That’s because for the past 100 years, these actors and musicians have used Tucson, Arizona as their canvas for coveted artwork. And to pay homage to these creators and talented Tucsonans, Upstairs Film hosts a festival that celebrates the great independent film and music in the Southwest.

The Tucson Film and Music festival launched in 2005, with a screening of the Tucson music documentary High and Dry, and the 20th anniversary of the Club Congress, the long running nightclub west of the Mississippi. 40+ local bands, many of whom were reuniting for the first time in years played the Labor Day weekend festivities and a new festival was born.

And so it began – a weekend in the heart of sunny downtown "Where film and music gets a suntan,” the Tucson Film and Music Festival invites filmmakers, musicians and their audience to connect to Arizona and the Southwest in the old Pueblo of Tucson.