Indie Rock and Indie Pop

The Office Finale and Five More Signs Your Indie Music Is Getting Old

Season 2 of the American version of The Office is my favorite TV show ever, and because I am a glutton for punishment, I've been using tonight's series finale mostly as an excuse to understand how old I and my tastes (and the DVDs I watched all those Jim and Pam moments on over and over) are getting ... More >>

Should You Buy FYF Fest Tickets This Year?

My Bloody Valentine is headlining, of course you should buy FYF Fest tickets; this is a no brainer. Okay, the decision isn't necessarily that simple. Backing up: FYF Fest is a two-day festival that takes place in downtown Los Angeles, featuring a variety of indie, electronic, punk, and comedy acts. ... More >>

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

Top Five Must-See Shows in Phoenix This Weekend

This weekend is Prince Eve. We understand that. But if you're unable or unwilling to part with the kind of money it takes to see Prince in something smaller than an arena, you can divert yourself with any of these coming attractions:

Beautiful Noise Returns with Shoegaze Acts Both Vintage and Fresh

Beautiful Noise Returns to Mesa Amid a Shoegaze Revival

It was 1993 when Brandon Capps and a few like-minded friends started coordinating the first Beautiful Noise "shoegaze" festivals around Arizona. But 20 years ago, shoegaze wasn't a compliment. It was an insult, a pejorative tossed at the kind of guitarist who stared down at his pedals, waiting for t ... More >>

Was Coachella 2013 Worth The Drive From Phoenix?

If you went to Coachella last weekend, you're probably still sunburned, dehydrated, and physically exhausted. Sleeping in your own bed is a glorious feeling after camping out or crashing on a friend's hotel room floor, but some aches and pains are bound to persist. Fortunately, if you had a good-en ... More >>

Top Five Must-See Shows in Phoenix This Weekend: Merle Haggard, Modest Mouse, and More

Of all the things Merle Haggard and Sigur Rós have in common, this is perhaps the most important: They're both playing in Arizona on Friday. But that doesn't guarantee they'll end up in today's Top Five Must-See Shows in Phoenix This Weekend. Of course, if you're at Country Thunder this weekend, ... More >>

Modest Mouse @ Crescent Ballroom

Reclusive Neutral Milk Hotel Songwriter Steps Back into the Spotlight

Matt & Kim, Marquee Theatre, 3/9/13

Matt & Kim @ Marquee Theatre|3/9/13I woke up Saturday eager to see Matt and Kim. My boyfriend suggested passing some time by catching a move. Hell, why not? So, off to Oz the Great and Powerful -- fucking worst movie I have ever put money toward. Oh, wait, my boyfriend paid. Whoops! Regardless, I wa ... More >>

Top Five Must-See Shows in Phoenix This Weekend

We're just a little bit biased about the best way to spend your weekend here in Phoenix. New Times' Carnaval Electrico with Cold War Kids, Mergence, Hanni El Khatib, and more, is clearly awesome, but get this: There's other cool things going on around town. No joke. Rampage Fest at the Sail Inn is k ... More >>

Whirr, Trunk Space, 3/6/13

Whirr @ Trunk Space | 3/6/13I don't want to be a shallow critic, but there's no denying the Whirr's firm place in the shoegaze section of the record store. They are knee-deep in the genre tropes: the excessive delay and reverb, the lead guitar doing some twinkly thing while the rhythm section hammer ... More >>

Don't Want to Go to Coachella? Good Thing All These Coachella Bands Are Coming to Phoenix (Pt. 2)

Phoenix is scheduled to perform Monday, April 8, at Marquee Theatre./td>Last week we ran a list of Coachella bands headed to Phoenix around the festival's dates. Well, since then the list has grown, including big name acts like Phoenix, The Postal Service, and Tegan and Sara. So allow us to fill you ... More >>

Didn't Buy A Coachella Pass in Time? Good Thing a Bunch of Coachella Bands Are Coming to Phoenix

As expected, this year's Coachella sold out pretty fast. Scalpers are already selling tickets for upwards of $1,000 for a single pass--for the love of god, please email this person and offer them $200. That's a bit of an anomaly, since most resales are going for around $500, but sometimes a kind sou ... More >>

Coachella 2013 Official Lineup is Posted

The wait, as they say, is finally over. You can cease all the speculation of who the hell is officially playing this year's Coachella as Goldenvoice unveiled the lineup in grand fashion. See also: -Who Is Really Playing Coachella This Year? -The Rolling Stones Aren't Playing Coachella, but Some ... More >>

Grouplove @ Crescent Ballroom

Minus the Bear, Cursive, Girl in a Coma, Marquee Theatre, 11/8/12

Minus the Bear, Cursive, and Girl In a Coma, Cursive @ Marquee Theatre|11/8/12The term "indie rock" is a convenient catchall, but last night at the Marquee Theatre, the term's definition was stretched to the limit. Minus the Bear, Cursive, and Girl in a Coma utilize elements of a lot of genres: po ... More >>

Cursive's Tim Kasher on I Am Gemini , Solo Project and Touring With Minus The Bear

Omaha indie rockers Cursive are no strangers to making concept albums. From Domestica's tale of Sweetie and Pretty Baby to the religious town in Happy Hollow, each album has its own narrative thread. This is abundantly clear on the band's seventh album, I Am Gemini. "I was writing really jerky song ... More >>

Girl In a Coma's Jenn Alva On Working "Twice as Hard" as Other Bands

Nina Diaz was only 12 years old when she joined up with her sister Phanie and Jenn Alva in the power trio band Girl in a Coma. Hailing from San Antonio, Texas, the trio recalls the height of '90s indie rock, with melodic melodies and crunchy guitars. Up On The Sun spoke with Jenn Alva about the ag ... More >>

Is a Nirvana-Style Breakthrough Looming with '90s Revival?

Cassiopeia @ Yucca Tap Room

Knesset @ Phoenix Art Museum

White Rabbits, Gull, and Other Successful Animal Rock Bands

Indie rockers White Rabbits are coming up fast and now they're on their way to potentially making it big. They recently appeared on the Late Show With David Letterman, and they released a fantastic music video for their single "Heavy Metal" in support of their album Milk Famous, which also just came ... More >>

Tumblr of the Week: Who is Bon Iver?

​Bon Iver is the new Arcade Fire of the Grammy Awards. In classic "Who is..." Tumblr fashion, a plethora of people have taken to the interwebs to express their disdain for Justin Vernon and co. because they won the Best New Artist and Best Alternative Album awards, simply because they had "never ... More >>

Handsome Furs @ Crescent Ballroom

10 Favorite Shows of 2011: Melissa Fossum

Melissa FossumM83 wasn't #1, but I like this picture a lot.​ I went to a lot of shows this year. Thanks to last.fm, I can conform that I went to at least 56 concerts, not counting the numerous times I swung by Yucca Tap Room or Crescent Ballroom just for fun. That's one show every six and a h ... More >>

Top 10 Albums of 2011: Mike Escoto

Bon Iver​Welcome to another installment of Up on the Sun's 2011 Review. Over the next week, we'll be counting down our favorite songs, shows, national and local releases of 2011. This installment comes from Mike Escoto, who contributes to Up on the Sun and is one of the main perpetrators over ... More >>

Blonde on Blonde

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 >>

In the Raw

Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, and The Walkmen at Comerica Theatre, 9-15-11 (With Video)

Maria VassettBon Iver​Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, and The Walkmen Comerica Theatre Thursday, September 15, 2011 It feels like I've been discussing the term "indie" with a lot of people lately. Last week's Foster the People show spurred a lot of the conversation, which basically boils down to this: ... More >>

Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes Bring an Indie Super-Show to Phoenix

Foster the People Just Wants You to Dance

Cold War Kids @ Marquee Theatre

Death Cab, Cut Copy, Empire of the Sun, DFA 1979 to Headline Treasure Island Music Festival 2011

Empire of the Sun, Death Cab For Cutie, Cut Copy, Explosions in the Sky, and Death From Above 1979 have been announced as the headliners for this year's Treasure Island Music Festival, according to One Thirty BPM.TIMF has brought a pretty solid lineup to the table for its fifth year. The bill has be ... More >>

Happy Bon Iver Day!

Bon Iver​Construction paper? Check. Squiggly scissors? Got 'em. Magazine cut-outs of kittens? Definitely. No, we're not helping our kid sister make a collage; we're making ironic D.I.Y holiday cards to celebrate Bon Iver Day. That's right, y'all, Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett has proclaimed July ... More >>

Bon Iver Fleet Foxes The Walkmen Comerica Theatre = Indie Rock Pants Wetting

Bon Iver​ In case you've missed practically every noteworthy blog hyping it, or didn't watch The Colbert Report last night, here's some news: Bon Iver, the band, released Bon Iver, the album, today. It's the band's second outing, and technically the first that was recorded as a band and not just ... More >>

John Vanderslice @ The Rhythm Room

What's Selling? Top Ten Lists from Valley Record Stores

Fleet Foxes, Helplessness Blues ​Want to know what new release discs and platters are moving across the Valley at local record stores? We've got you covered with another installment of What's Selling. Looks like Fleet Foxes are doing pretty well this week, with their heady folk album Helples ... More >>

Radar Bros.

Arcade Fire

Think of The Baseball Project as an Indie Rock Soundtrack to a Ken Burns Documentary

Incoming: Biffy Clyro, Crystal Stilts, Def Leppard, Journey, Old 97's, Cut Copy

Magnus BlikengCut Copy​There's plenty a fine show coming through Phoenix in the foreseeable future, so allow me to write about a show that has been announced for August 12 - Aussie synthpoppers Cut Copy. For those who may not be familiar with Cut Copy, they have released three albums so ... More >>

Pavle Milic, What Are You Listening To?

Pavle Milic​Pavle Milic You can find the co-owner of restaurant FnB at the Old Town Farmers' Market in Scottsdale every Saturday from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? If my wife drove, it's highly likely that NPR will ... More >>

Lisa Savidge's Name Might Be the Only Thing the Band Didn't Obsess Over

The Dodos @ The Duce

Sebadoh @ Rhythm Room

Arcade Fire Wins 'Album of the Year' - But Is That A Good Thing?

Arcade Fire​ It's been less than twenty-four hours since Arcade Fire's amazingly good album The Suburbs won 'Album of the Year' at this year's Grammy Awards. Frankly, I'm still a little shocked that the Grammys got it right for once. When I first heard that the band was nominated I thought for s ... More >>