La Rosa Marks First Year as Tucson Music Venue With Community Birthday Party

La Rosa, the music venue created from a revamped Benedictine Chapel in Tucson, is celebrating its first anniversary with a community birthday party featuring live music, dancing, food and drinks.

Owners David Slutes and Charlie Levy say reaching the one-year mark is the result of work they have been pursuing for years. The aim behind La Rosa was to bring a lively new venue to a Tucson landmark, one with enough capacity to host nationally touring artists.

According to Slutes, the vision predates the chapel itself. He said he and his partner had long imagined creating a boutique-style, mid-size venue in the city. "My partner and I had dreamed of putting a beautiful mid-size venue, boutique-style venue that we could bring in nationally touring artists and do something very, very lovely in town," Slutes said.

Once the pair found the Benedictine Chapel, Slutes said, the decision came together quickly. "We walked into this building and fell in love from the moment we found it. And since then, it's been just a labor of love, and it's been quite a journey," he said.

The pace since opening has been relentless, and Slutes said the anniversary arrived sooner than either owner expected. "It's like running downhill for the last year. And just now we're looking back at, 'oh my gosh, it's been a year,'" he said.

Local performers have also been part of the venue's story. Slutes described the many local artists who have played at La Rosa as a consistent bright spot. "We've had so many great local artists here. It's just been a dream and couldn't have gone better," he said.

As La Rosa looks toward its second year, Slutes pointed to community support as the biggest factor in its run so far. He said the owners bring some experience to the work, but that success is never guaranteed. "We've just been very lucky. And frankly, the Tucson community has just embraced us," Slutes said.