It’s been 6 years since I have been to Dusk Music Festival and I am so so glad to be back for the 2025 edition. Dusk Music Festival is an ages event that started in 2016 as a 1 day music, art and food festival which has now become 2 days.  When I attended back in 2019, it was held at Armory Park and featured 3 music stages.  It has since moved to Jacome Plaza with 4 music stages.

General admission weekend passes start at about $137 plus taxes and fees and the event runs from 2:30pm to 11pm both on Saturday and Sunday.  There are other types of tickets like VIP and Platinum VIP for those wanting a premium ultra experience and amenities.  Thanks again to Chad, me and my buddy got to attend and review this music festival.  The 2025 edition of Dusk features Loud Luxury, Deorro, G-Eazy, and Levity as headliners.

Getting There

We were staying at Country Inn & Suites by Radisson which was about a 27 minute walk/stroll to Jacome Plaza.  We would walk to the Cushing St. Sun Link streetcar station on both days to the festival and back on Saturday since the streetcar closes early Sunday night.  As there is no parking at the festival, people are encouraged to use rideshare or transit.  Luckily transit is free in Tucson which includes the Sun Tran busses, the Sun Link streetcar and Sun Van disability services.

Jacome Plaza

Jacome Plaza has an address of 101 N Stone Ave and is located right downtown.  It was built in 1989 and officially named Jacome Plaza in 2003.  The plaza is a central hub for many events and community activities.  It was really easy to get around as it was mostly on pavement.  There were patches of grass at several places around the plaza with curb cuts at the corners.

There were several oversized porta potties at several bathroom locations that were wheelchair accessible.  Every time my friend or I needed to use the bathroom, we did not have to deal with long line ups or dirty bathrooms.  People were quite courteous and allowed us to use the accessible bathroom first.

4 Music Stages

There are 4 music stages at Dusk Music Festival: starting with the biggest and main stage: Alameda, Presidio, Discovery and Portal stage.

We spent most of the weekend at the Alameda main stage.  This was the only stage to have an ADA wheelchair accessible viewing area.  I never used this area or seen anyone here at all.  It was a small little area far back from the stage and was not raised up at all.  There was also no one monitoring that area at all.

This stage was the most crowded so we either scanned our wristbands for the VIP area or the Platinum VIP area every time we were at Alameda.  Both these areas were slightly raised and got up close to the right hand of the stage without being too crowded.  The Platinum VIP area had couches, cabana tables, bathrooms, buffet food, snacks and 5 drinks included.  The food was good too.

Presidio was the second main stage and we spent the second most time here.  Since there was no wheelchair spot here, we only spent time in the VIP area.  This was on the left side of the stage and was never too crowded.

Discovery stage was on the one side of the park and we never saw any of the performances there.  We did pass by to see what it looked like and where it was located relative to the other stages.  The whole festival does seem spaced out enough so it never felt too crowded or was hard to get around.

It took us a few minutes to find Portal stage as it was just  small enclosed tent stage right in the middle of the park.  It was a great experience seeing 30 or 40 people inside a small tent with a DJ playing music inside it.  Most of the artists in here were local names to Tucson or Arizona.

Art and Food

Not only do you get great music at Dusk Music Festival, there is also a great line up of food, art and games.  Highlighting Tucson’s foods, there is a great line up of food trucks, restaurants and chefs.  There was 2 streets full of delicious foods like tacos, noodles, hot dogs and lots more.

There is artwork throughout the festival too.  Partnering with University of Arizona’s School of Art, 3D & Extended Media program, students were to create artwork, sculptures, and lighting exhibits for the festival grounds.  There was also an arcade room and other games to be played but we never did.

After Parties

There were two official after parties for each night after the festival ended.  On November 15 there was Alleycvt at Hotel Congress and Jigitiz at The Blind Pig.  On November 16 there was Pretty Sweet & Ekonovah at The Playground and Whipped Cream at Gentle Ben’s.  We only went to see Whipped Cream on the second night.

Getting into Gentle Ben’s was a bit of a hassle as the elevator to the dance floor upstairs was broken.  My friend had to bump my wheelchair up two sets of 10 stairs to get to the top.  Once we made it up, it was totally worth it.  The music and he vibe was great.  We even got to hang out and take pics with Whipped Cream after her show.

Final Thoughts

Dusk Music Festival was another great experience listening to EDM, hip hop and rock at this all ages family event.  Jacome Plaza was easy to get to and it was very easy to get around the festival grounds in my wheelchair.  With great music, food, art and games, it was definitely worth coming back and am hoping to experience this again soon.  Wheelchair or not, this festival is not to be missed.  Thanks to Chad for this unforgettable VIP experience.