Throughout the years, McDowell Mountain Music Festival (MMMF) has stopped asking what downtown Phoenix can do for them and started asking what it can do for downtown Phoenix. In an effort to better serve the community that has served them so well since 2012, MMMF has made a couple of…
For many local fans of death metal, the biggest show of the year is happening on Friday, March 11, at Club Red in Mesa. There will be lots and lots of growling vocals, double bass drums, and dual guitar attacks drowning out the bass lines. The legendary purveyors of the…
It stuns me each year as Viva PHX, Stateside Present’s mini-South by Southwest that takes place in 17 venues in downtown Phoenix on Saturday, gets better and better, how difficult the decisions are about when and where to be. In addition to the sheer mind-blowing volume of touring acts booked,…
Though not all band members are related, folk rock outfit the Avett Brothers does contain a pair of biological brethren — Seth and Scott. The two started playing music together in the late ’90s and in early 2000 released their first EP. As for the current lineup, bassist Bob Crawford…
The third annual Viva PHX festival will take over downtown Phoenix this Saturday, March 12, and it promises to be bigger and better than ever. With 70 bands spread across 17 venues in one night, there will be something for everyone. Whether your tastes are country and cumbia or hip-hop…
Looking for a great show to see this week? Here are our picks for the best concerts to see this week in Metro Phoenix. For more options, visit our comprehensive online concert calendar. Steep Canyon Rangers – Monday, March 7 – Musical Instrument Museum Approximately 73 million bands have formed…
Since branching out on her own from The Fiery Furnaces, Eleanor Friedberger has moved closer and closer to the classic-rock sound she grew up with. On New View, her third solo album, Friedberger puts her own spin on the sound of 1970s rock touchstones like George Harrison, Neil Young, Bob…
It’s a great month to be a music fan in Phoenix. The weather is (more or less) tolerable at the moment and the concert calendar is overflowing with “must see” shows featuring a staggering amount of tastemaking and chart-topping artists. Its due in part to the fact that Arizona just…
Phoenix’s own SXSW just got a little easier to plan. Viva PHX has released its official schedule, breaking down where and when the 70-plus acts will play next Saturday, March 12. Organizers have also added a new venue — Melinda’s Alley, the speakeasy bar beneath the Renaissance Phoenix Downtown. Fittingly,…
Arizona, which can be somewhat of a mystery to the outside world, impacts musicians in ways that only the West can. For Brian Weitz, better known as Geologist and as one-fourth of Animal Collective, his academic stint at southern Arizona’s Biosphere, while a Columbia University undergrad, caused him to revisit…
With more than 30 years of making groundbreaking albums — including the latest, Shockwave Supernova — teaching a legion of future rock superstars (Steve Vai, Metallica’s Kurt Hammett), and supporting the upper echelon rock elite (Mick Jagger, Deep Purple), Joe Satriani should be a household name. Still, the strictly instrumental…
The Phoenix. A symbol of revival, of taking something that once was an all-powerful force and giving it new life. Phoenix, like the name of legendary guitarist/songwriter Peter Frampton’s favorite guitar (lost, reunited with Frampton 30 years later, and actually spelled “Phenix”). Also the name of one of the cities…
Sumerian Records, Ash Avildsen’s D.C./LA-based label, is celebrating its 10th anniversary as a home for metal and prog bands with a showcase tour featuring Born of Osiris, Veil of Maya, After the Burial, ERRA, and Bad Omens. Sure, it’s been a while since finding a record label became something a…
For my money McDowell Mountain Music Festival – taking place Friday, March 11, through Sunday, March 13 – is the best festival in the Valley by far. The first festival I ever went to was Bonnaroo 2011, and those four days on the farm changed my entire life, and while 3MF…
It is clear that hip-hop star Fetty Wap likes to have fun whenever and however he can, a face that was apparent prior to his concert at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe this past Friday. When I first drove up to the venue, a small crowd of a people was…
Looking for a great show to see this week? Here are our picks for the best concerts to see this week in Metro Phoenix. For more options, visit our extensive online concert calendar. Mutemath – Tuesday, March 1 – Crescent Ballroom The emotional documentary-style short film for Mutemath’s latest single,…
Rick Estrin and the Nightcats – Friday, February 26 – Rhythm Room For more than 30 years, the synergy between guitarist “Little” Charlie Baty and singer/harmonica player Rick Estrin has made Little Charlie and the Nightcats one of the best (and most entertaining) jump-blues bands around. With Baty’s “soft retirement”…
The summertime concert lineup in the Valley just got a little weirder. That’s because legendary parody musician “Weird Al” Yankovic will be headed to Phoenix during the sweltering season for a performance at Comerica Theatre on Wednesday, August 3. Tickets for the show will be $39.50 and go on sale…
Robyn Hitchcock, who will turn 63 on March 3, the day he performs in Phoenix, formed the Soft Boys in 1976 and went on to front the Egyptians in the ’80s. He has been performing a vast amount of solo material in various incarnations ever since. Whether he is fronting…
Paul Meany, the lead singer of MUTEMATH, seemed almost over-prepared to talk about the video for the band’s latest single “Monument.” The emotional, short documentary-style film, which has gone viral with the help of Ellen DeGeneres, features Charles “LaLa” Evans. He built a shrine to his widow, to whom he…
Looking for a great show to see this week? Here are our picks for the best concerts to see this week in Metro Phoenix. For more options, visit our comprehensive online concert calendar. Metalachi – Monday, February 22 – Rhythm Room What would happen to a young Mexican American musician,…
Here are our concert picks for this weekend. For more options, visit our comprehensive concert calendar. Ringo Deathstarr – Friday, February 19 – The Rebel Lounge Ringo Deathstarr are fucking sick of the word “shoegaze.” Even before they’ve played a single note at gigs, Elliott Frazier — singer, songwriter and…
