New La Rosa Venue Takes Tucson Music Scene To Church

When longtime Phoenix promoter/venue owner Charlie Levy sold The Van Buren and Stateside Presents to Live Nation, he thought he closed his music industry chapter.

Then a friend in Tucson, Hotel Congress’ former booker, David Slutes, came knocking. In hand was an offer Levy could not ignore.

“I thought it was over. I had no plans to do anything else — ever,” said Levy, who still owns Crescent Ballroom, Valley Bar and Gracie’s in Phoenix.

Slutes left Hotel Congress after 25 years and sought a partner for a new Tucson venue. Levy was at the top of Slutes’ dream team.

“I was living in Tucson, but I was happy to help him look around and see what was out there,” Levy said.

Two years ago, they found the Benedictine Monastery, an architectural wonder.

“We walked in, went upstairs to the head nun’s office, and the living quarters,” Levy said. “I said, ‘Man, this is the perfect green room and dressing rooms.’ There was a little nook that looked over the altar where the stage is now. I went to David and said, ‘Oh, we have to do this. I don’t want to, but we have to. This is too good. This has the bones, the vibe and everything.’”

Now dubbed La Rosa, the 750-person capacity venue opened its doors in mid-October after a $6 million renovation at 800 N. Country Club Road, Tucson.

The Tucson-based mambo band, Orkesta Mendoza, welcomed music lovers as the doors opened.

“I think Tucson hasn’t had a new performance space — not a club — in a long time,” Levy said. “I consider La Rosa to be more like a theater/performance space.”

Levy said Slutes created an “exciting calendar” with “some great artists from all genres.” Upcoming shows include Todd Rundgren, Trampled by Turtles, Sudan Archives and XIXA.

Levy said the hard work pays off when he sees the artists and crowd “do their thing.” A little competition doesn’t hurt, either.

“Tucson has grown, and to have another venue is a good thing for the whole live music and art scenes in Tucson.”

For example, he cited Downtown Phoenix, which sees his venues Crescent Ballroom, Valley Bar, and Gracie’s all within walking distance of the Orpheum Theater, The Van Buren and Arizona Federal Theatre.

“Walter Studios opened recently and that’s within walking distance, too. That’s always good. The more places people can indulge in art, music, and events, the better it is for a city.”

With La Rosa, Slutes and Levy paid the utmost respect to the building’s history.

“The difference between La Rosa and the Van Buren was (the Van Buren) was an old car dealership that got stuccoed and was basically storage. All we did was take off the stucco,” he said.

Benedictine Monastery was built in the 1930s by the well-known architect Roy Place. The team had to consider adding a soundstage, lights, bathrooms and power — without “messing it up.”

“So, it was a little bit different mindset than the Crescent Ballroom, the Van Buren and Gracie’s. They were more of a blank canvas and we added to it.”  

“With La Rosa, we had to do a lot of sound treatments because, historically, churches don’t have the best acoustics. It’s meant for one person, not a million-dollar sound system with gazillion watts to power music. It’s meant for someone to speak without amplification.

“To keep the integrity, the look, the feel of the church was a huge challenge, but we also wanted to make it sound really, really good.”

Levy explained the room is so well preserved that, “If you walk in, you’re not going to be like, ‘Oh, someone added a bunch of stuff to make this a concert.’”

Others can say, “You could have a Mass here tomorrow; it looks like a church.” 

Still, La Rosa is memorable on several levels. 

“The whole team matters,” he said. “Like, if security doesn’t treat someone well coming in, they’re not going to have the right mindset to be open to a great show. The crowd is all one kind of organism, and it has to work together to have those special experiences; those special moments that only live music can provide.”

La Rosa shares a courtyard with another building, and Slutes and Levy will soon open the 2,000-square-foot restaurant Sisters. The two entities will share a liquor license. Fans will be allowed to have drinks at Sisters and bring them into La Rosa.

“In Tucson, the weather is really nice at night,” said Levy, a New Orleans area native who moved to the Grand Canyon State in 1988 to attend Arizona State University.

“It’s weather-controlled,” Levy said. “People in Tucson love being outside, so we have a big covered and uncovered patio that was the orchard for the monastery.”

A pizza slice window is also in the works. 

Levy said, for him, one of La Rosa’s opening concerts will be nostalgic. Blind Pilot was Levy’s first show at the Crescent Ballroom in 2011.

“We have Blind Pilot tonight at La Rosa. It is a good feeling to be involved in something where hundreds of people are coming to a show and their week is going to be better.”

Besides classic rock, jazz and alt-rock, La Rosa can fill the hallowed walls with EDM. 

“Then we’re going to have a swing show next week, and then a singer-songwriter. That’s what makes our business fun. It’s not like a regular bar where it’s the same people every day. Every day, we have a whole different audience, a whole different genre. That’s what makes it fun.”

That’s what has kept him passionate about the industry.

“It’s the reaction you see when people go see and be it — any of the arts, dance or spoken word,” Levy said.

“It’s just so special, and it’s a special connection. And sometimes it’s just pure joy. Sometimes you see people cry, sometimes it’s a little more emotional. Sometimes it’s just like, I need to relax. It’s so fortunate to be a small part of that.”