Relentless Beats
Audio By Carbonatix
Editor’s note: This story is updated and released on Thursdays, featuring concert listings that run through the following Sunday.
Every day, there are numerous opportunities to check out local and touring bands performing live around the Valley. Dive bars, midsize concert halls and arenas are among the spots where you can catch a concert. To help you make plans, here are some top-notch shows around town this weekend.
Justin Cook
Black Pistol Fire
Friday, Feb. 27, 8 p.m.
Crescent Ballroom
Austin-by-way-of-Toronto rock Black Pistol Fire prove a duo can make as much racket as a five-piece. Since 2011, drummer Eric Owen and guitarist/vocalist Kevin McKeown have built a rep on relentless touring and sweaty club shows that leave little paint on the walls. It’s bluesy, fuzz-filled rock with bite, delivered loud and proud.
The Summer Set
Friday, Feb. 27, 8 p.m.
The Van Buren
Valley pop-punk act The Summer Set emerged from Scottsdale in the late 2000s, riding the Warped Tour wave and major-label buzz before navigating hiatuses and lineup shifts. They’ve regrouped more than once, keeping the name alive through reunion runs and new releases. Their latest hometown show goes down on Friday night with support from Senses and Good Boy Daisy.
Neil Schwartz Photography
Extra Innings Festival
Friday, Feb. 27 and Saturday, Feb. 28, noon
Tempe Beach Park
A week after Innings Fest unleashed a grand slam of rock ‘n’ roll hitmakers, its sister event ambles in a country direction with two days of twang. Luke Bryan and Valley native Dierks Bentley headline Friday’s lineup, with Kane Brown, HARDY, Jessie Murph and Shaboozey batting cleanup on Saturday. Major League Baseball legends will also appear both days.
System Overload 2026
Friday, Feb. 27 and Saturday, Feb. 28, 7 p.m.
Rawhide Event Center
Arizona promoter Relentless Beats kicks off 2026 with a weekend of dubstep and riddim built for bass fiends. Heavy hitting DJs and producers Slander, Wooli, Liquid Stranger, NGHTMRE and Eptic top a two-night lineup of more than a dozen artists that will shake Rawhide Event Center to its studs. Bring some earplugs and plenty of energy.
Marshall Tucker Band
Saturday, Feb. 28, 8 p.m.
Celebrity Theatre
The Marshall Tucker Band formed in the early ’70s and quickly became fixtures of the era’s touring circuit, sharing stages with the Allmans and carving out their own loyal following. Decades later, the band is considered Southern rock royalty and still draw crowds eager for a slice of that road-tested legacy and tunes like “Fire on the Mountain.”
Live Nation
Magic City Hippies
Saturday, Feb. 28, 8 p.m.
The Van Buren
Magic City Hippies have spent the past decade mixing indie funk and beachy psych into slinky, bass-filled tracks built for late nights and serious grooves. The Miami-born has an easygoing swagger to go along with five albums of club-ready rhythms, including their latest release, 2025’s “Enemies.” Brooklyn-born indie dance duo Supertaste opens.
Tom VandenAvond
Saturday, Feb. 28, 8 p.m.
The Dirty Drummer
Tom VandenAvond embodies alt-country at its most unruly. The Texas-born troubadour spins songs that drift from old-school twang to low-key folk ballads with lurid edges. Hints of Jimmie Rodgers and Lead Belly flicker through his raw, whiskey-soaked vocals. It’s grit, menace and mischief delivered with a knowing wink. Locals Hashknife Outfit and Soda Gardocki open the night.
Katatonia
Sunday, March 1, 6:30 p.m.
The Nile Theater
Since debuting in 1991, Katatonia have refined a brooding strain of metal that trades up speed for atmosphere and weight. The Swedish band brings the noise with moody guitar, introspective lyrics and songs that simmer before they strike. It’s high-octane tunes with emotional depth for metalheads who like their darkness thoughtful as well as thunderous. Rivers of Nihil opens.
Brian Ziff
Cardi B
Sunday, March 1
Mortgage Matchup Center
Cardi B storms into downtown Phoenix on her Little Miss Drama Tour with trademark swagger. The rap superstar turns the arena into her playground, firing off chart-topping hits and viral bars. Big-budget production, louder-than-life attitude and a seat-shaking set leave no doubt who runs the room.
Francine Reed
Sunday, March 1, 3 p.m.
The Nash
Francine Reed is the grand dame of Arizona jazz and blues. Born into a musical family, she began singing gospel in church before lighting up Valley stages from the mid-’70s onward. Her brassy voice and larger-than-life presence made her a fixture at Phoenix clubs over the decades. She’s shared stages with Miles Davis, Etta James and Smokey Robinson. Take our advice: See her live at least once.
