Live music can bring together people to have a shared experience and meet their neighbors.

In Tolleson, the new Mini Concert Series will feature local bands from the West Valley each month on third Fridays. The series opened on Oct. 20, with music from Soul Persuasion.

The entertainment lineup will also include Uptown on Nov. 17, Soulitify on Jan. 19, Power Drive on Feb. 16 and the JLP Band on March 15. 

The concert series is part of the Tolleson Initiative for the Arts (TIA), which was designed to bring more arts into Tolleson. 

The arts initiative has been led by Tolleson Councilmember Jimmy Davis, who is also a musician, DJ and karaoke host and owns a performing arts studio in Tolleson. He is a third-generation Tolleson native. 

The concert series is held at the P.L.A.C.E., the new Paseo de Luces Arts Center for Entertainment, nearly every month with the exception of December. 

“We have our beautiful Van Buren district,” Davis said. “I wanted to utilize the investment that our community has put into revamping our Van Buren district. … It came into my brain that we could do something like they do in Downtown Phoenix, where they have their First Friday event.” 

The event will start with live music, but Davis hopes to grow it to include other elements, such as visual arts. 

“I envision music and art up and down the street, vendors, all kinds of stuff, just to really bring the community together and showcase not just what Tolleson but what the West Valley has as far as arts,” he said. “We have so many talented musicians, artists and actors in the Southwest Valley.” 

Mia Elenes, digital communications coordinator for the city of Tolleson, said the event is meant to bring people into the downtown area not only to listen to music but to also check out local businesses.  

“We wanted to bring attention to the local restaurants popping up downtown,” Elenes said. “We have a few that are brand new that are really exciting.” 

For the concert series, Davis looked for bands that do a lot in the West Valley and have followings in the area. Many of the featured groups have members who live in the West Valley. 

“I want to utilize our homegrown talent, not just Tolleson but the West Valley as a whole,” Davis said. 

Many of the bands have played at other Tolleson events, such as Luces de Navidad or the Whoopee Daze Festival. 

Davis chose dance bands that play music of different genres and time periods, including R&B, pop and Latin hits. 

“It’s definitely stuff people know and will dance to,” Davis said. 

Elenes said during the first concert with Soul Persuasion, the community really helped to bring a positive energy and vibe to the event. 

“One of the things that made it so successful this first concert we did was really the community,” she said. “They got up. They started dancing, and they just started having a good time. There was no scrutiny. There was no judgment. It was just enjoying themselves and enjoying the band.” 

Attendees are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets to sit outside for an evening of music. 

Davis said that people in the area have been wanting more things to do, especially with live music. 

“It shows the true heart and the true spirit of our city,” he said. “We love to come together. We love music. We love to celebrate life. We are a very happy, vibrant, loving community. We love when we have an excuse to come together.”  

During the event, the TIA sets up a table, where they have giveaways for the public. 

Along with the concert series, the city of Tolleson has also been investing in visual arts projects. 

Local West Valley artists recently completed murals at the civic center. The final mural, done by Maria Reed Madrid, pays homage to Tolleson’s history and the transformative nature of the canal, which dates back to prehistoric times, to the Hohokam. 

The canal played an important part in making Tolleson the “vegetable capital of the world” in the 1800s. 

The mural features details such as pecan trees that once were on the banks of the canal and starlings soaring to the backdrop of a rising sun and casting reflections on the canal’s waters. 

“It just really tells our story,” Davis said. “The majority of us, our families came here for the agricultural work. So, they were all migrant workers. That’s how a majority of the original people settled here in Tolleson.” 

The city is working on plans to feature artwork on its utility boxes.  

“I’ve been working with other cities that have done it, Avondale and Surprise,” Elenes said. “They helped me learn what to expect, what to do and not to do and ideas on what could make it better. The West Valley is very collaborative.” 

Four of the utility boxes at the Tolleson Civic Center will feature artwork from Tolleson Union High School District students. They will be chosen as part of an art competition. 

“We’ll do those ones first,” Davis said. “They’ll be the model for the rest of the community.” 

Local residents were surveyed to get their feedback on the mural, and their input is also being sought for the utility box art wrap project. 

“We really do strive to have the community involved,” Davis said. “It’s their city. We’re just here to push their vision forward.”