'She’s our shining light': How Linda Ronstadt's hometown will honor her at 4-day festival

David Slutes was envisioning what a final HOCO Fest would even be when he decided it was time to finally address an oversight he feels has “always been this elephant in the room” at a festival launched in 2005 to celebrate the Tucson music scene.

“We’ve never had our greatest export to the musical world, which is Linda,” he says.

And by Linda, Slutes of course means Linda Ronstadt, one the most successful singers of her generation, who sold out arenas on the strength of hits as huge as "When Will I Be Loved" and "Blue Bayou" before using the leverage that success provided to follow her muse in a series of intriguing detours.

The star was born and raised in Tucson, whose impact on her life and music recently inspired her to write a second memoir, “My Sonoran Desert.”

Diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2012, she no longer performs.

HOCO Homecoming will feature a daily Linda Ronstadt celebration

Once Slutes had decided that this Labor Day weekend would be the end for HOCO Fest, renamed HOCO Homecoming for the occasion, he recalls, “I said, ‘How can we do it without just having somebody sing some Linda songs.’ We know she can’t perform right now. How can we do it?”

What Slutes came up with was a daily celebration of the singer’s legacy exploring different parts of her career, from the ‘70s pop hits to the big band albums she recorded with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra and the Mexican folk songs of “Canciones de mi Padre,” an album honoring that side of Ronstadt’s heritage.

The singer’s nephew, Pete Ronstadt, will handle the hit years, while the “Canciones” celebration will feature performances by one of Ronstadt’s go-to mariachi acts, Los Cenzontles.

A HOCO Film Festival is screening two great Ronstadt documentaries, “The Sound of My Voice” and “Linda and The Mockingbirds” as well as “The Pirates of Penzance,” a 1983 film of the Gilbert and Sullivan opera in which Ronstadt starred.

They even rounded up some Ronstadt photos for the art show in the Hotel Congress lobby.

“I wanted to really just sort of do a nice survey of her career,” Slutes says.

'Canciones de mi Padre' will be re-released at HOCO Fest

Ronstadt says, “I’m very pleased that the Hotel Congress fully supports local music in Tucson, and I send my very best wishes for a successful HOCO Festival.”

When Ronstadt’s management team at Iconic Artists Group mentioned in passing that they planned on re-releasing “Canciones de mi Padre” at the end of September, Slutes said, ‘Well, does it have to be? Can’t we release it here at HOCO, in her hometown?’”

Iconic checked with Ronstadt, who agreed to change the date.

"Linda has been very vocal about her love of Tucson," Iconic president Jimmy Edwards says.

"We thought it would be fitting to release 'Canciones de mi Padre,' an album very close to her heart, in her hometown as the HOCO Festival is celebrating her and her music. This album reflects Linda’s family’s musical traditions — songs played in her Tucson home while growing up."

In addition to being created for sentimental reasons, Edwards adds, the album resonates on many levels. It’s critically acclaimed, has won several awards and was certified double-platinum.

Iconic is offering HOCO Fest attendees the first opportunity to purchase the vinyl reissue of the album.

“All these little pieces came together and it became the nice sort of underpinning to the whole festival,” Slutes says. "She couldn’t do it but this is the next best thing. You can really dig into the Tucson vibe and every day has this one little piece of Linda Ronstadt’s career that you could enjoy."

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Linda Ronstadt celebration is one aspect of a festival with 60 acts

The Ronstadt celebration is just one aspect of a weekend-long extravaganza set to kick off Friday, Sept. 1, with 60 acts in four days meant to celebrate the rich diversity of Tucson music past and present.

“I think it’s nicely played,” Slutes says. “It’s not overwhelming the festival, but obviously it’s a rich, important piece of it. And it’s a daily thing.”

Slutes did his best to make the Ronstadt celebration feel like an organic part of the festival at large.

“Friday, because we have this great jazz room, we can do the big band thing, which is just ideal,” he says.

“We have Dusty Chaps at this big sort of country-rock thing on Saturday and we thought, ‘Well, that’s perfect. We’ll have that version of Linda, all those great ‘70s hits, with Pete Ronstadt, who has a ton of stories he can tell about Linda and all the songs.

"And then, of course, the Mendoza Orkestra is really the anchor of our plaza stage on Sunday with the great Latin stage and we thought ‘Canciones de mi Padre’ would be perfect.”

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Ronstadt is 'emblematic of what Tucson can present to the world'

Ronstadt has occupied a special place in Tucson’s heart since her career exploded in the ‘70s.

Last year, the Tucson Music Hall was renamed in her honor.

“The thing about Tucson is we don’t have a lot of well-known musical experts,” Slutes says. “We have a lot of interesting undercards.

"But she’s a big star, so well-respected in the industry. She’s just a very Tucson-centric person. She’s always been proud of her roots. She doesn’t live here anymore, granted. But the Ronstadt family is a musical family going back 150 years.”

Her grandfather, Fred Ronstadt, created and led what is believed to be Tucson's first orchestra, the Club Filarmonico Tucsonense.

“This family is part of Tucson’s musical fabric and they still are,” Slutes says. “And Linda was the icing on the cake. It’s emblematic of what Tucson can present to the world. She is it. She’s our shining light."

Linda Ronstadt celebration at HOCO Fest 2023

These are the live performances celebrating Linda Ronstadt:

Friday: "The Songs of Linda Ronstadt" and the Nelson Riddle Orchestra featuring Katherine Byrnes and Jeff Haskell at the Century Room.

Saturday: "Linda Ronstadt Songs & Stories" featuring Liz Cerepanya and Pete Ronstadt at Congress Plaza.

Sunday: "Canciones de mi Padre" re-release party featuring Los Cenzontles at Congress Plaza.

Here are the screening times for the Ronstadt entries in the HOCO Film Fest:

Saturday: "Linda and the Mockingbirds" at 1 p.m.; "The Pirates of Penzance" at 3 p.m. at The Screening Room.

Sunday: "Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice" at 2 p.m. at The Loft Cinema.

Details: HOCO Fest runs Friday-Monday, Sept. 1-4, in downtown Tucson. Full festival passes are $100. Day passes are $10-$25. Both are on sale at hocofest.com.

Reach the reporter at ed.masley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4495. Follow him on Twitter @EdMasley.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Linda Ronstadt's hometown celebrates her at Tucson music festival