In 2009, Highly Suspect was a Cape Cod bar band playing cover songs by legends like Sublime, Jimi Hendrix, and Pink Floyd. Six years, four albums/EPs, and two Grammy nominations later, the band clearly didn’t just change their musical concept. In fact, Highly Suspect has helped redefine a lot in…
Darrin Robertson and Jim Saccoman are looking at me suspiciously. The two local musicians thought a mutual acquaintance of ours had put me up to this interview, and asked me how I encountered their self-described “recording project” Sha-Pink, which has been creating music locally for more than 30 years. “We’re…
Country Thunder 2016 has wrapped up, but that doesn’t mean you can’t live vicariously through our pictures. These brave souls braved the rain and were rewarded by musical performances by some of the biggest names in country. Check out select few shots from the festival below, and explore the full…
After you’ve decided to start ranking all the acts on the Coachella lineup, there comes a moment when you realize you’ve made a terrible mistake. The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is way too big, too ambitious in scale and scope, too sonically diverse to be reduced to a…
A bastion of the country music community and a bucket list festival slot for its artists, Country Thunder in Florence is the crown jewel in a state that’s about as south as the Southwest gets. This year saw Kip Moore, Florida Georgia Line, Jake Owen and Eric Church in headlining…
Music fans of Phoenix, get ready for an invasion. Operators – Monday, April 11 – Valley Bar Dan Boeckner’s musical résumé, which includes Wolf Parade and Handsome Furs, reads like the indie rock equivalent of a Major League Baseball journeyman player. The Canadian singer-songwriter performs well with any team he…
As we’re sure your aware by now, the legendary Elvis Costello is going to be in town this weekend. If not, consider yourself enlightened. Social Distortion is also scheduled to perform in the Valley this weekend, specifically at the Arizona Bike Week festivities in Scottsdale), as is metalcore act Killing…
Dan Boeckner, currently touring with his New Wave synth-pop trio Operators, is a member of three indie bands. Does he ever worry that he’s not dedicating enough time to each project? “I do constantly worry that I should be writing something,” he says. “That worry is like gas in the…
In case you don’t already know, it’s Arizona Bike Week. Yesterday kick-started the annual event. This mammoth celebration of all things chopper-related also includes an active concert roster throughout its weeklong run, featuring a lot of longtime acts guaranteed to incite nostalgia and deliver hit-filled sets, like Social Distortion, Blues…
If you’ve been remotely cognizant of country music lately, with the radio on or the Academy of Country Music awards or the Country Music Association awards blowing up your timeline, then you know country bands are hot. There’s a still a place for pop and vocal powerhouses, but bands that…
Chase Bryant was almost ready to call off his music career at just 18 years old. He’s now the country star behind the hits “Take It On Back” and “Little Bit Of You,” which hit the Top 5 just hours before he spoke with New Times last week, but at…
You may not know this, but Elvis Costello has a wicked sense of humor. While the prolific musician may be better known for his rancorous songs like the contentious “Tramp The Dirt Down,” which famously stated he would dance on the grave of then-British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, he’s long…
If you thought last month was packed with big shows, wait until you get a load of what April’s concert calendar has in store. Herb Alpert and Lani Hall – Tuesday, April 5, and Wednesday, April 6 – Musical Instrument Museum Two living legends, Herb Alpert and Lani Hall, will…
Sad Kid may just be a pack of whiners. Because for all the crying the Phoenix band’s name implies they just hosted one of the most anticipated local shows of the year in the Broken Hearts Ball. They just returned from their first big out of state gig in New…
It’s 6:45 a.m. when Old Dominion vocalist Matthew Ramsey calls us, the exhaustion heavy in his voice. There’s no other time for the band to do phone interviews these days, requiring wake-up calls that would make most musicians blush, curse, and dive back under the covers. When asked if these…
As we reported a week or so ago, Guns N’ Roses basically announced that they would play a concert in Phoenix sometime after Coachella. Until now, they hadn’t released a date. Now, the wait is over. The band announced today that it would play University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale…
There’s a helluva lot of live music happening around the Valley this weeked — and that ain’t no April Fools joke. There’s a free gig by The Struts over at Tempe Marketplace tonight, the multitude of performances during First Friday, and the Phoenix Lights electronic dance music free-for-all up at…
Something happened to pop star Justin Bieber in late 2015 when he released his latest effort, Purpose. Suddenly, he didn’t just appeal to adoring teen girls around the world. Purpose broadened his fan base to those who were looking for something other than just another teen idol. It wasn’t just fans…
It’s not uncommon in the world of popular music for the progeny of legendary performers to try and make a name of their own. The late Natalie Cole, the late Frank Sinatra Jr., and Jason Bonham are a few successful, contemporary examples. For sibling singers Sofia, Melanie, Amanda, and August…
Oddly enough, Celebration Guns has run into some confusion about their name. It comes from a Stars song off their album Your Ex-Lover Is Dead, but when the Phoenix quartet played Michael Feldman’s travelling radio show Whad’Ya Know?, a few members of the aging, liberal crowd raised an eyebrow: “Celebrating…
In case your teenaged kids haven’t already excitedly informed you, Justin Bieber is headed to the Valley later this week. Like it or not, the 22-year-old hitmaker is hitting Gila River Arena in Glendale on Wednesday with his “Purpose” tour in support of the blockbuster album of the same name…
The Vanishing Show in Tempe’s Maple-Ash-Farmer-Wilson neighborhood is a novel response to Tempe’s strict noise ordinances. The event, which had its second annual show Saturday night, acts as a moving house party with bands playing no longer than 20 or 30 minute sets. The idea is that by the time police…
