Runaway Fire ignited the season with May 1 show

Strike up the band — the Red Dirt Concert Series is celebrating its 10th anniversary with free concerts every Friday in May from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Posse Grounds Pavilion, 525 Posse Ground Road. The series, which draws about 500 attendees a show, kicked off May 1 with headliners Runaway Fire and opening act Satellite Eclipse.

“The progression of the event as a whole is what I’m most proud of,” Sedona Special Events Coordinator Jason Vargo said. “The fact that every year we’ve been able to have more shows, the eventual feedback from the community that resulted in us being able to extend the length of the shows, and even further, the number of shows that we do, leading to this 10th year celebration, which includes nine total — regular concert dates which is every Friday in May and September.”

There will also be a full festival day on Saturday, May 30, from 1 to 8 p.m., featuring Doyle Figueroa, Cameron Jameson, JAM NOW, Santa Pachita and Low Poly Cactus, complete with food trucks and a beer garden. An additional free full-day festival is planned for the fall as well.

“We’re also better equipped to put on shows since the Public Works department just completed stadium-style seating in the upper level of the pavilion, which looks amazing,” Vargo said. “It’s going to suit the space beautifully.”

The Red Dirt Concert Series will have a Riders Raffle to encourage public transit use. Attendees who arrive by shuttle, Transit Connect or bike will receive a free raffle ticket for a chance to win branded prizes including chairs, coolers and blankets.

Runaway Fire, a four-piece original rock band from Southern Utah, jumped the state line to ignite the season on Friday, May 1.

“Mike Wilson, he’s the lead, and he has played music and performed music, his whole life. In 2022 he’s like, ‘what am I doing having a job? I need to just start a rock band and go for it.’ So he found Ian Shaw, our drummer, and Runaway Fire started as a three piece. I went to one of their first shows and said, you guys need a keyboard player, and I want to be that keyboard player. I was eight months pregnant, and I’m like, ‘this is nuts, but here we go.’ And so I joined the band and got hooked to performing, and we’ve just been rocking out ever since,” said Marci Allen, the band’s keyboardist.

Runaway Fire performs exclusively original material across two albums. Allen recommends first-timers check out “Wool Socks” and “Drummer Girl” from their debut “Frozen in Time,” along with “Electricity” and “Beings in Space” from their latest release, “Day Dream.”

“Their opening act is Satellite Eclipse, and they are a group of teenagers from Prescott who are also rocking super hard, and they’re going to open the show,” Vargo said.

Upcoming Concerts

Friday, May 8. Scandalous Hands and Somebody’s Weirdo

“Our second week is a pair of cover bands,” Vargo said. “Somebody’s Weirdo is opening up, who are all local and formed in the past couple years and have been performing around, and the headliner for that show is Scandalous Hands, who focuses on ’60s and ’70s rock.”

“Collectively, [Scandalous Hands] encompasses nearly a century of experience as full-time working musicians,” the parks and recreation website reads. “The band’s repertoire draws inspiration from the precision of the best studio bands of the ’60s and ’70s, as well as the explosiveness of the best live-touring bands of the same era. Frequently covered bands include The Beatles … Led Zeppelin and The Band.”

The Friday, May 15, concert is reggae-themed with headliners The Irie and Nubian Fyah.

“Nubian Fyah plays a versatile Rabbadon Reggae style music that features spoken word lyrication all nestled in rich beats,” the parks and rec website reads. “Bigdajul and his business partner Shanikeys are the visionaries of the group. Bigdajul, originally from Guinea, West Africa brings to the group his smooth lyrical contributions in English, French and several African languages. Shanikeys provides the musical composition for the group with her contributions of Keyboards, Guitar and Drums. On the drum kit, Nate provides a high-quality drum set beats, with a bottom provided by Micah laying down a steady bassline. Brian’s sweet melodies tickling those guitar strings and Jonathan sharing his expertise with some Congas and full percussion instrumentation.”

Friday, May 22, The Kyle Benedict Band, Carol Pacey & The Honey Shakers

Starting as the house band at The Museum Club, The Kyle Benedict band has taken their honky-tonk sound across the highways and byways.

“The Kyle Benedict Band delivers a mix of classic country tunes with some rock influence,” the parks and recreation website reads. “Audiences can expect a blend of timeless favorites and newer tracks that capture that traditional country feel. The sound brings generations together and keeps the dance floor moving.”

Carol Pacey & the Honey Shakers, a Phoenix band formed in 2011, play an upbeat mix of Americana, rock, pop and punk they call “Americana-thrash-pop,” pairing catchy songwriting with strong vocals from frontwoman Carol.

Friday, May 29, The Jemini Band with D.L. Harrison

The Jemini Band is a five-piece cover act pulling from five decades of material ranging from classic rock and soul to current pop. The lineup includes veterans of Mogollon, the Arizona Arts and Entertainment Hall of Fame band. D.L. Harrison, of The Fey, opens.

Saturday, May 30, from 1 to 8 p.m. Showcase featuring Doyle Figueroa, Cameron Jameson, JAM NOW, Santa Pachita and Low Poly Cactus

Low Poly Cactus is a Los Angeles jazz-funk outfit built around infectious grooves, improvisational instincts and a performing philosophy they said centered on give-and-take with the audience.

“We’re somewhere between the out-there, boundary-pushing jazz fusion of the Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea era and Vulfpeck, who claim this specific genre they call low-volume funk — just trying to keep it groovy and keep it somewhat simple for the sake of really leaning into the danceability of it,” Adam Rochelle said.

The group also pulls in Brazilian bossa nova and salsa alongside its funk and jazz foundations, much of it driven by trumpeter Ruth Nichols, who sings in multiple languages.

“We come to shows not just to perform and show off the stuff we want to share, but to engage with the wider community and have it be a give and take,” Nichols said. “Our favorite concerts are the ones where we feel like we’ve got a collective energy going back and forth with the audience.”

“Pumped to meet y’all out in Sedona and play all the notes our high school jazz director said we shouldn’t!” Rochelle wrote.

The Red Dirt Concert Series will return in September, and for more information visit the Parks and Recreation website at sedonaaz.gov/concerts.