Coldplay

Black Mountain's Stephen McBean Fronts a Lot of Bands, Is Influenced by Even More

The Shins, McDowell Mountain Music Festival, 3/22/13

The Shins @ McDowell Mountain Music Festival at Margret T. Hance Park|3/22/13It's been 10 years since McDowell Mountain Music fest got started, and nine since Natalie Portman, as the prototypical "manic pixie dream girl" stated that The Shins would "change your life." In that time, McDowell Mountain ... More >>

Ron Hoon of Fox 10, What Are You Listening To?

Hoon is an anchor of FOX 10 Arizona Morning. He'll be serving as emcee for the 2013 Phoenix Heart Walk on Saturday, March 23 at 8 a.m. at the Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza in Phoenix. Hoon was game to play a round of "What Are You Listening To?" with Up on the Sun.

Grammy Awards 2013: Katy Clowns Bon Iver, Miguel Shows How It's Done, and Taylor Swift Dissed Her Ex

The Grammys are a huge night for music fans. While we tend to shake our head and wonder how some of these artists won (ie. "Album of the Year"), it's entertaining to watch the live performances and keep fingers crossed for our favorite artists. fun. won big last night, sweeping up the "Song of the Y ... More >>

Coachella's "Bloom" Video: WTF Does it Mean?

Yesterday afternoon, the home page of the Coachella website changed to a video called "Bloom," which shows plants and art exhibits sprouting from the ground. Some look pretty creepy--did those worm/slug things 30 seconds into the video really just form a structure? At least the rest are fairly cute ... More >>

Spotify Ruffles Feathers, Promises Paradigm Shift

Five Must-See Shows This Weekend

Curious what's going on around town this weekend? Need some suggestions as to how to rock, dance, or krump in the Valley of the Sun? Don't fret: These are our Five Shows to See This Weekend.

Pennywise: New Album, New Singer, Same Contentious Vibe

Punk and hardcore bands aren't usually known for lineup stability, but Hermosa Beach, California, rockers Pennywise had a pretty solid run for their first 20 years of existence. Beyond the death of bassist Jason Matthew Thrisk (they dedicated "Bro Hymn" to him) Pennywise's line-up remained solid a ... More >>

Vinyl Station Makes a Living With Former Gin Blossom and Shows With Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World

The life of a gigging band is pretty rough: Tempe-based alt-rockers Vinyl Station play eight gigs a week to make ends meet, populating Valley bars like the Rogue, Rosie McCaffery's, and Kazimierz Wine Bar with their original tunes and alternative covers. On Sunday, March 25 the band is scheduled t ... More >>

Barry Fey's Backstage Past: The Gun, Axl Rose, Lars Ulrich, and the Truth

Legendary concert promoter Barry Fey's Twitter bio is pretty revealing: "Its Barry Fey. I am a rock promoter. I have promoted a few shows here and there. Maybe you have heard of me?" Fey, "The Rockfather," retired from the business in 1997, but not before establishing himself as one of the big name ... More >>

So What Do Those 15 Favorite Songs Say About Us Anyway?

Lindsay Cates on the 1s and 2s ​Okay, so the 15 Favorite Songs thing. It happened. I freaked out a little (a lot) picking my selections, but it was a fun, in a self-aggrandizing way. I wrote yesterday that it was nearly impossible to do what the event asked: come up with 15 songs that you love a ... More >>

Lollapalooza: "It Was 20 Years Ago Today..."

​It's kind of hard to imagine that Lallapalooza is 20 years-old. I wasn't in attendance in 1991, but the event still feels like a cultural touchstone for me (due in no small part to the "Homerpalooza" episode of The Simpsons, which introduced me to Sonic Youth, and cemented my growing love for The ... More >>

NKOTBSB at US Airways Center, 6-30-11

Photos by Luke HolwerdaNKOTBSB gets beamed down to the US Airways Center stage.​REVIEW BY MELISSA FOSSUM AND DANIEL RAVEN New Kids On the Block and Backstreet Boys have grown up a bit since their heydays on MTV and the music charts, and so have their fans. But that hasn't stopped the bands fr ... More >>

Warner Music Group for Sale: The Multi-Billion Dollar Battle for Ownership Winds Down this Week

Wikimedia CommonsWarner Music Group artist Madonna​Warner Music Group -- home to acts like Led Zeppelin, Green Day, and Tempe-based indie rock band The Maine -- is for sale. If you think it's tough outbidding other eBay users for a rare record, you should see the bidding battle currently underway ... More >>

Kenny Chesney Is All Hat and No Saddle

311 at the Marquee Theatre Last Night

Maria Vassett311 performing at Marquee Theatre in Tempe.​311 Marquee Theatre February 22, 2011 Until last night I had never attended a sold out show at the Marquee. I had also never been surrounded by fans chanting any band's name as loudly as the audience of lovable stoners did last night as the ... More >>

The Dears: Degeneration Street

The Dears - Degeneration Street​A funny thing happened Sunday night at the Grammy's -- Montreal's Arcade Fire won best album of the year. The band managed to sneak in a few mercis in their humble acceptance speech, and rightfully so. None of those thanks, however, went towards fellow Quebecois roc ... More >>

Fear Factory @ The Clubhouse

Michael Jackson Penned a Tune For Hanson

​At some point in time, Michael Jackson wrote a song for Hanson, according to ShowBiz 411.The song was written for them to play, not in their honor. Jackson never actually gave the song he wrote for Hanson to them. He intended to send it to the 90s boy band but never did. It must have been stashed ... More >>

26 Miles for This?! Marathon Runners Suffer Through Horrible Headliners at P.F. Chang's "Rock 'N' Roll" Marathon

​You could argue that the Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon is as big an annual event as the East Valley has.Especially for the formerly important town of Tempe, which saw Glendale steal away the city's BCS bowl game in 2007. Since then, the East Valley really hasn't had any other high-profile sporti ... More >>

'American Idol' Live! at US Airways Center Last Night

Luke HolwerdaAmerican Idol Live​American Idol Live! August 12, 2010US Airways CenterFor Valley residents who always wanted to make it out to the American Idol studios but never did, last night at US Airways Center was their opportunity to see the top 10 contestants from 2010's season perform on th ... More >>

Ronnie Winters at Rosie McCaffrey's

Ronnie Winters.​This is part of a series of reviews of bands who play weekly at local bars. The show: Ronnie Winters at Rosie McCaffrey's. The look: Standard Irish pub. The smell: Residual from pub food consumed earlier in the evening. The taste: Thick, dark, beer. Three words/phrases to describe ... More >>

Barcelona

Beyonce Gets Emotional Over Michael Jackson At U.S. Airways Show

Victor J. PalaganoBeyonce busted out several gold dresses for her show at U.S. Airways Center... and we mean "busted."Given that yesterday was the day the world said goodbye to Michael Jackson with a glitzy, arena-sized sendoff, it shouldn't have been surprising to see Beyonce dedicate a song to the ... More >>

Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, and All Points West — Pick Your Festival

Green Way

The boys of Fred Green might just be done waiting for their big break

Pop Fans Rejoice: There's a Brand-New Tommy Keene Record!

Second Motion RecordsIt's one thing to have a musical career that's lasted more than a quarter-century. Impressive? Sure. Noteworthy? Not really -- plenty of popular artists have pulled it off by this point. It's quite another thing to have a musical career of comparative anonymity that lasts more ... More >>

M. Ward, Vetiver, Owen, and Sigur Ros are Just Some of What's Selling at Revolver Records

Mathew Ward and Zooey Deschanel (a.k.a. She & Him). We fully admit to our jealousy of Mathew Ward. Not only does the Portland guitarist have an obscene amount of talent (which he's demonstrated much over the past decade on seven separate full-length albums), Ward's collaborated musically with ... More >>

You Asked For It: Kinch

So I've made a big deal out of the relentless first come-first served policy we have for You Asked For It, our weekly local CD review column, a few times before. This week, I'm breaking it. I'm only moving Kinch up one week, but I wanted to confess it up front. I feel guilty, but for the band who ma ... More >>

Top Ten Hip-Hop Albums Of 2008

By Dan Leroy A couple of weeks ago, an expert on the Harry Potter series told an audience of high school kids how lucky they were to have this Big Shared Experience--these seven books and 41,000 words in common. What does Harry Potter have to do with hip-hop in 2008? In an age when many year-en ... More >>

Top Ten Hip-Hop Albums Of 2008

By Dan Leroy A couple of weeks ago, an expert on the Harry Potter series told an audience of high school kids how lucky they were to have this Big Shared Experience--these seven books and 41,000 words in common. What does Harry Potter have to do with hip-hop in 2008? In an age when many year-end ... More >>

Rolling Stone: Still Blowing Bob Dylan

Rolling Stone, that music magazine that felt it necessary to feature the ladies from MTV's The Hills on the cover of its May issue, just released its list of top 50 albums of 2008. Wouldn't you know it; they put Bob Dylan at number two. Why not number one, Rolling Stone? Maybe because they realize ... More >>

Concert Schedule for Thanksgiving Weekend: Suicidal Tendencies, Yeasayer, Deerhunter, Mushroomhead, and more

Suicidal Tendencies, Yeasayer, Deerhunter, Dash Berlin, Mushroomhead, Times New Viking, Thanksgiving

You Asked For It: Evan Brightly

You Asked For It: Smokescreen

Turbo Charged

The denim demons ride

Prince

Planet Earth
(Sony/BMG)

Busker Love

Once upon a time in Ireland, a girl met a guy and they made sweet music

Arresting Development

Like Shaun of the Dead? This'll bust a cap in your arse

Green Way

The boys of Fred Green might just be done waiting for their big break

Español Sung Here

Crossing over — who's doing it, who's not

Dark Star Rising

Watch out for the undertow

Rebuilding Fiona

Thankfully, Fiona Apple has decided to remain with us

S.A.T. Words

In discussing Bloc Party's anthemic dance rock, you gotta get deep

Torturous Times

The winged wonder on John McCain's righteous anti-torture stance, Stepford-like Gilbert and changes at hipster haven Lux

Keep It in Play

The humble iPod strikes a chord with Matt Kata and his D-Backs brethren

I ♥ Bono

How to deconstruct U2's Bomb? Let Mom review it.

The Ultimate Rock Fantasy

Más y Más

Mexico's bubbling rocanrol scene whips up something Kinky

Bang to Hype

At SXSW, it's all about the buzz, not the Buzz Band