Trey Wilhite grew up in Tucson skating a six-foot half pipe his dad, an architect, built in the backyard. When the family pool leaked around 2008 and there was no money to fix it, they drained it, and the skaters came. The music, the fashion and the skating all showed up at once. Now he sells vintage as Attic Slug and is putting on SlugFest: one stage, 12 local bands, a skate park built mostly from repurposed material, vintage vendors and art installations. It started as his idea and grew into a team of about seven. We talk about the festival in northeast India that inspired it, the permits nobody warns you about, why he treats the budget as an investment, his grandma's cardboard guitar, and Slugman, who Trey has only read about online.
SLUGFEST 2026
Saturday, October 17, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Historic Fourth Avenue Coalition, 311 E 7th St, Tucson
Tickets: slugfestaz.com/tickets
$10 off with code GRIND
Ages 14 and up. 14 to 16 with a parent or guardian.
Members watch it without the ads: eltucsonan.com/supporters/sign_in
Introducing Tucson to itself.
Gregorio C., El Tucsonan
CHAPTERS
0:00 Slugman shows up
1:45 Where SlugFest came from
4:47 Skating, music and a drained pool
6:47 Attic Slug, and what SLUG stands for
8:17 The festival in India that inspired it
10:49 Booking 12 bands for one stage
14:02 Building the team
18:21 The hardest part: permits and porta potties
22:53 What the day looks like
24:44 "Some guy called Slugman"
27:23 Why vintage
29:36 Ten genres, one stage
31:35 First music memories
33:05 Grandma's cardboard guitar
36:28 How skating came into his life
38:10 SlugFest in five years
42:21 Seeing trash as art
44:27 Solarpunk
47:13 Building the skate park
48:01 Vendors, food trucks and who can come
51:22 The budget, and why it's an investment
55:40 Start small, think big
56:28 A skate team and a record label
1:01:25 Does our logo look like the Hatchet Man?
1:02:26 Producer Questions
1:06:54 India, and music that makes you laugh
1:11:08 The Slugman round
1:12:55 Slugman's message for humanity
1:16:16 Three people to interview next
LINKS
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Instagram: @eltucsonan
TikTok: @el.tucsonan
YouTube: @Eltucsonan
SLUGFEST
slugfestaz.com
Instagram: @slugfestaz
LAST EPISODE
Tito Romero: https://youtu.be/hgKEJ0v4E4g
BOOKS & WRITERS
None this episode.
NAMES MENTIONED
Rachel, Andre, Carrie Ann and Alexis, the SlugFest team: creative direction, video, press and more.
Vijayanti Pappu, the South Indian Carnatic musician Trey is most excited to see.
Crooked Tooth, handling the bar at SlugFest.
KFMA Day and Fall Ball, the Tucson festivals Trey grew up going to.
El Tucsonan is produced by Self Media Productions LLC, Tucson, Arizona.
