Tuba City Metalfests attracting nationwide attention

While Tuba City may not be the first place people think of when it comes to big-city entertainment, that may be changing.

The Brazilian band Sepultura, currently on their nationwide tour, will be in town Friday night at the Tuba City Community Center to participate in yet another Tuba City Metalfest, sponsored by the Tuba City Police Department. And Sepultura will not be the sole attraction at this all metal event. Support acts include Hate Breed, Puya and Endo.

According to Fred Davis, event organizer, the proceeds of Friday’s performance will benefit Toys for Tots. Over the last two years, the police department has put on around nine Metalfest concerts, bringing in around $10,000 used to buy approximately 30,000 toys, delivered to the area’s needy kids at key time of the year, like Christmas.

While other Metalfests have attracted good bands, Sepultura is a little different. Although the band was scheduled to play Phoenix at America West, they canceled that appearance in order to put Tuba City on their list. Now, Tuba is in rare company, taking its place on the tour schedule right after Albuquerque and right before Las Vegas, Los Angeles and London.

The band is known in part for its support of Native tribes, says Davis. “We just made them an offer, and they jumped on it.”

If Friday’s concert goes well, Davis believes that the town can continue to attract heavy hitters, and not only in heavy metal: Nickelodeon’s Blues Clues tour, Disney on Ice, Soul Fly and Megadeth are only a few of the acts that may on their way to Tuba.

“This is testing the water,” said Davis, pointing out that he would also like to bring in other rock and hip-hop groups. “This is just a starting point, a way to open the door to a lot of different stuff.”

Davis thinks that 600-700 people need to come to Friday’s concert to convince the Las Vegas-based agency,” AJ Presents, that Tuba can attract the kind of crowds needed to book larger acts. The agency heard about Tuba City’s Metalfests by word of mouth, said Davis, and came out to see for itself what Tuba was all about.

And, as Davis points out, Tuba has a lot going for it as a tourist attraction—Monument Valley and Kayenta to the east, Lake Powell and Page to the north, the Grand Canyon to the west, Flagstaff to the south. Events in Tuba can also bring in people from the Hopi mesas, he says.

“The agency is still a little skeptical because Tuba is so small, but the surrounding communities can really help,” said Davis. It is a great opportunity for parents who can’t always afford to take their kids to Phoenix, paying for gas, food and lodging on top of paying for tickets, says Davis. This way, the opportunities come to Tuba.

Davis hopes to build off the success of the previous Metalfests. “We started off really small, but we really have had a good response and a lot of positive comments. Even the elderlies are coming to the concerts now, although we make sure they have ear plugs,” Davis joked. “But people like that this is police-oriented, in a safe environment.”

And while the concerts have mostly benefited Toys for Tots, Davis says that should the town be able to attract more, larger acts, the police department would like to branch out, and use the money for other community projects.

This Friday’s concert will start at 6 p.m. (MST) and will end around midnight. Davis thanks KZGL, KUPD, KGHR and Hollywood Video for their support of the event.