After an impossibly hot summer when evaporative coolers were working at full-tilt and it was often to toasty outside to do much of anything before 7 p.m. — and with nighttime temperatures not dropping to below 85° until nearly midnight, we could use the break from the high desert heat.
The town of Clarkdale got an early start with its outdoor concerts at the Clarkdale Town Park but other local communities are now adding to the mix of evening entertainment for all ages.
Fortunately for residents looking to do something in the Sedona area other than go to a bar or chill out at home, the Sedona International Film Festival has been running films throughout at summer at Sedona Beer Company’s Basecamp and the Wilde Resort & Spa, both in West Sedona, and at the Village of Oakcreek Association Park in the Village of Oak Creek, which we have highlighted throughout The Scene, our Friday arts and culture section.
The city of Sedona is restarting its biannual Red Dirt Concert Series, which has been held in the fall and late spring for the last 10 years from 5 to 8 p.m. As reporter Joseph K. Giddens highlighted in our Wednesday, Sept. 2, edition, this fall series promises to be among the most eclectic in the concerts’ decade long run.
The concerts begin Sept. 4 with Garrett James and the Wanderers, a Tucson-based blues rock band and headlined by The Sea Monks, a rock, rockabilly and honkytonk Nashville-based trio — composed of brothers Noah and Jonah Kapchinske and bassist Alaina Fidanzo — at the end of their monthlong tour.
The next day, Saturday, Sept. 5, from 1 to 8 p.m. the series includes five acts, Musicmamaa aka Holly Kirsten; then folk-rooted California duo Salinas Road; the Playful Banter duo with a mix of originals and covers; bluegrass band La La Bones; followed by Grateful Dead cover and jam band Flagship of Fools from Flagstaff.
The following week, on Friday, Sept. 11, brings Phoenix-based folk and Americana singer Nolan McKelvey and Kingman-born Spencer McKelvey playing dark folk and world music.
On Friday, Sept. 18, Celtic rock band Kilted Spirit plays with Conjunto and Tejano and Elijah Ezequiel y Los Conjunto AddictZ, fronted by the 15-year old accordionist.
The last concert of the series is on Friday, Sept. 25, with Swigfoot, a ska-adjacent punk band from Tucson and The Skavelinas, a high-energy ska band from Cottonwood.
The Skavelinas are coincidentally hosting a vinyl release party for their album “Dry Heat” Sunday, Sept. 6, at Copper Jackalope in Old Town Cottonwood, starting at 6 p.m., with DJ Reggie opening the show, followed by Chandler indie folk-punk singer-songwriter Rad Pinckard and Phoenix ska band Mr. Incommunicado before The Skavelinas hit the stage at 7 p.m.
A big part of the Red Dirt Concert Series is city of Sedona’s Special Events Coordinator Jason Vargo.
Vargo moved to Sedona around the same time I did in the early 2000s. I met him when he began playing as guitarist for the band Goldmund along with bassist Dylan Jung, drummer Lou Moretti and lead singer P.J. Robbins. Vargo coincidentally lived in a guest house on Willow Way on a property I later moved onto in the main house shortly after he moved two houses down.
I worked with Vargo fairly closely when Jung founded the free GumptionFest music and arts festival in 2005, whose other organizers included Danielle Gervasio, who handled the festivals’ logistics and volunteers, Jung’s father Mike Jung, who handled the bands and performers’ technical needs and painter Timmy Kehoe, who ran the GumptionFest art gallery.
Vargo ran GumptionFest in its last years before it ended around 2014 and he played for Goldmund’s spiritual successor bands Yin Yang & Zen Some and The Naughty Bits, alongside Moretti and the Jungs through their various incarnations and lineups.
While no longer with the bands, he still brings music to Sedona and Verde Valley residents. Vargo started with the city of Sedona’s Parks and Recreation Department as an independent contractor in 2015, running public events mainly at Posse Grounds Park before joining city staff in September 2021 as a rental technician and was designated as special events coordinator in June 2023. Since then, Vargo has been the voice and face of both Red Dirt and other arts events, under Parks & Recreation Director Josh Frewin.
Make it out to one of the Red Dirt Concerts this September, enjoy the music, cooler weather and fellow music lovers at Posse Grounds Park, who have the best view for a concert in all of Northern Arizona.
