Q&A With Cathy Rivers, New Rialto Theatre Executive Director

TUCSON, AZ — There's a new executive director at downtown Tucson's Rialto Theatre, but the show, or shows in this case, will go on.

Longtime community radio figure in the Old Pueblo, Cathy Rivers, was named to the position on Wednesday.

Rivers joins the Rialto after serving as the executive director for Tucson community radio station, 91.3 FM KXCI for over five years.

Prior to that, Rivers served as a on-air disc jockey and program director for the station from 2013-15.

She also worked as a promotions coordinator for Plush live music venues and was a DJ at a number of stations in Tucson from 1994 onward.

Patch talked with Rivers on Thursday to get her feelings on her new job and more.

Below is a transcript of that conversation, edited for brevity and clarity.

Q: As someone that’s lived in Tucson for a while now, what does it mean to you to be the next executive director of the Rialto Theatre?

A: I'm super excited. It's obviously been a challenging year, and I feel that it's really important to get in there and revive the east end of Congress, in support with Hotel Congress, which has done so much to keep that part of our community alive.

And unfortunately, we've seen some businesses close and I'm just really excited to dig in and get the Rialto back with live music.

Q: You have a background in music radio. What do live music venues, like the Rialto Theatre, mean to you?

A: It's the lifeline for musicians. Especially as the industry's changed over the years. With record deals and record labels, it's incredibly important to musicians to play live and connect with their audiences, sell their merchandise and share new music.

So I think it's extremely important for art and culture and musicians to get back into the venues.

Q: You’re assuming this new role as live music tries to emerge from a year-long shutdown. How do you plan on getting the Rialto back to where it was pre-pandemic, or as close to that level as possible?

A: So first we have to consider safety and the community. So we're just checking in, we're listening to the doctors and the scientists and figuring out when it's safe to get people back under a roof together.

So that's the first step. Then checking in with artists and musicians and seeing if they're comfortable and ready to tour. Then we start bringing back staff and booking shows.

Q: How do you see live music going along with that recovery? Especially given how important the Rialto Theatre is to downtown Tucson's revitalization?

A: I think people are hungry to get back out. I think we're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I think if we look at history, when we've had periods in history where we've had to shut things down and we've had to be safe, and then afterwards, people come out and are hungry and ready to be a part of the community again and enjoy music and art.

I think it's going to be a vital role in the healing process after going through what we've gone through in the last year.

Q: Where do you see the Rialto Theatre going, events-wise, under your watch as its new executive director?

A: I think it's the same. We'll see how musicians feel about touring over the next year and in the coming years. But I do see artists coming, exactly what [Rialto Foundation Board President Kip Volpe] said, we're a great stopping point between L.A. and Austin.

And we have a very different crowd than other cities. We have a very devoted crowd and I think that people are really going to be anticipating the opportunity to see live music.

Q: How has the live music scene evolved in Tucson since you arrived in the early 1990's and how has the Rialto contributed to that evolution in your opinion?

A: Well it's pretty incredible. When I first moved here to Tucson, I lived above the Rialto Theatre. There were studio apartments above the Rialto that were supposed to be artists spaces. Not necessarily apartments but we all lived there.

And I remember our landlord owned a wig shop on Congress, and we would go and pay him our rent and I'll never forget one day looking out the window on a Sunday morning and I literally saw a tumbleweed passing through Congress downtown.

I remember calling my parents — I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio — and I was like, 'I just saw tumbleweeds in downtown Tucson' because there's nothing else going on except for the Hotel Congress at the time.

So I've seen the evolution of downtown Tucson. I've been a part of it. I was also married at the Rialto Theatre.

And I've watched it grow. Back in the 1990's, there were a lot of small venues, a lot of mom and pop venues that supported local music and touring musicians. And it was very cool, very different.

And then when the Fox Theatre revived and the Rialto Theatre revived, then we started seeing major bands come through that were only either performing at the Tucson Convention Center or at the Downtown Tucson Performance Center.

And the evolution of the '90s till now, pre-COVD-19, was amazing. And we just have to get past the COVID-19 pandemic and I think we're going to get a really vibrant and beautiful music scene back to Tucson.

Q: Is there anything else that you’d like people to know about your new role?

A: We are primarily a music venue, and that's what we're going to do is we're going to focus on bringing quality music to downtown Tucson and offer people a place to enjoy that. And then hopefully they'll spend time in downtown Tucson, eat at restaurants, have cocktails with their friends.

We're hoping to be a big part in revitalizing that. But there's other things that we're going to focus on, too.

I think it's really important that as a foundation and a nonprofit, we look into educational opportunities for young people.

Teaching kids how to run sound, or play their guitars on a big stage. So we're going to really try to expand and look at other avenues to be a part of a community organization, as well as a music venue.