A Photo History of Landmark Tempe Music Venues

Tempe’s music scene has ebbed and flowed considerably over the past 35 years and plenty of venues have come and gone in that time. Bands and musicians have been gigging inside the city’s bars and concert halls stretching back to the ‘70s and earlier, long before Tempe’s glory years in the ‘90s with the Gin Blossoms and The Refreshments rose to superstardom, and have kept rocking on ever since. These days, you can still catch big shows in Tempe at such current venues as the Yucca Tap Room, Marquee Theatre, and the C.A.S.A. Lounge.

Numerous other Tempe venues have lived and died over the last several decades — including such iconic rock bars as Long Wong’s, The Sun Club, Chuy’s, Gibson’s, and The Sail Inn — but memories of those places will live on. In that spirit of nostalgia, we present a look back at 25 of Tempe’s most legendary music venues, as well as what’s happened to each spot since then.