In pioneer Arizona, among the best places to experience the performing arts were in the mining towns. Striking it rich meant having disposable income and miners, like the well-heeled of the Gilded Age, wanted to demonstrate their sophistication with culture. From the early popular music of ragtime and minstrelsy during the forming of these communities […]

We have used music to aid healing but only recently have we understood how it works. Music has always been intricately involved in cultures, from lullabies to dirges, work songs to war songs, entertainment to music’s profound role in spiritual expression. There is no culture without it. Thought to have the power to heal the […]

The 1930s and 1940s were the era of Western singing cowboys like Rex Allen, Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. Herb Jefferies was the African-American singing cowboy, appearing in movies and on stage for African-American audiences. He could ride, rope and sing with the best of them and his story has largely been forgotten. This presentation […]

With the exception of the most ardent collectors and older generation, the influence and legacy of the big bands is largely forgotten despite their overwhelming popularity and significant role in early radio. Join Larson as he revisits the sounds America listened and danced to for more than three decades. Learn how iconic artists like Glenn […]

Featuring a documentary that tells the stories of early African American cotton pickers in El Mirage and in other regions of Arizona, this presentation explores the lives of African Americans who came to the cotton fields from Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma during the 1940s through the 1960s. These individuals made significant cultural, historical, and […]

When America entered the Second World War, Arizona’s sparse population and mild weather made it an ideal location for training facilities and prisoner of war camps. By war’s end, Arizona had trained more pilots than any other state, hosted the country’s largest POW camp, and was part of the largest military training grounds in history. […]