Jim Louvau
Audio By Carbonatix
Editor’s note: This story is updated and released each Thursday 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.
Frontline Touring
Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers
Friday, May 1, 7 p.m.
Backyard Desert Ridge
Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers are an Arizona treasure. The homegrown favorites have been keeping their desert-rock engine humming lately, playing multiple local gigs in support of their newly released ninth album, “Hell to Breakfast.” That includes an intimate show at Backyard Desert Ridge in north Phoenix this weekend, which will boast their usual mix of storytelling, party vibes and plenty of tequila-filled toasts.
Mariachi El Bronx
Friday, May 1, 8 p.m.
Walter Studios
L.A.’s Mariachi El Bronx are all swagger and brass, fusing punk-born energy with traditional mariachi in a way that feels both reverent and rowdy. The offshoot of hardcore outfit The Bronx has spent years flipping the script on the Latin genre, and their Walter Studios gig doubles as an early kickoff to Cinco de Mayo weekend.
Death Angel
Friday, May 1, 6:30 p.m.
Marquee Theatre
Metal fiends Death Angel don’t pull any punches. The Bay Area thrash veterans specialize in razor-sharp riffs and heavy-hitting tunes that leaves no room to breathe. Since the ’80s, they’ve remained one of metal’s most reliable live forces, proving age means nothing when the volume stays punishing. Death Angel brings their Act III Tour to Tempe’s Marquee Theatre this weekend with support from Vio-lence and Incite.
Mesa Amplified
Friday, May 1, 5 p.m.; Saturday, May 2, noon
Downtown Mesa
Mesa Amplified makes its debut this weekend, taking over the city’s downtown with a free music festival. Friday kicks off with a moonlight dance party at the Neon Garden featuring DJ MyGodComplex, while Saturday turns nearby businesses into venues for dozens of local bands. The Ataris headline the main stage at Main Street and MacDonald on Saturday night with support from 2Tone Lizard Kings and Fourbanger.
Day Trip in the Park feat. Matroda
Saturday, May 2, 4 p.m.
Civic Space Park
House heads of the Valley, take note. This open-air dance party in downtown Phoenix is topped by Matroda and packed with groove-driven DJs on the rise. EDM artists like HNTR, Kamino, Cassti and Animate serve up enough beats and bass to keep the flow going long after sunset.
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
Saturday, May 2, 6:30 p.m.
Marquee Theatre
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony’s influence still runs through hip-hop’s DNA. Since debuting in 1991, the Cleveland icons changed the sound of rap by making speed feel smooth, mixing rapid-fire flows, melodic hooks and streetwise storytelling into a style all their own.
Benjamin Leatherman
The R&B Lovers Tour
Saturday, May 2, 8 p.m.
Mortgage Matchup Center
The R&B Lovers Tour rolls into Phoenix on Saturday with a stacked lineup featuring Keith Sweat, Joe, Dru Hill, Ginuwine and Kut Klose. The night is like a ’90s and early-2000s R&B time warp, layering smooth harmonies, slow-burn grooves, and era-defining hits that still go hard decades later.
Noizu
Saturday, May 2, 8 p.m.
Warehouse 215
L.A.-based producer Noizu deals in punchy house cuts, bass-heavy grooves and hooks that snap into place fast. With a sound made for movement and peak energy, he headlines one of the final EDM gigs at downtown’s Warehouse 215 under its current owners this weekend. Dreya V, Ceez, Randy Perez, Who?, Scribble, Siv and STPHN open.
Hiromi’s Sonicwonder
Saturday, May 2, 7 p.m. and Sunday, May 3, 7 p.m.
Musical Instrument Museum
Hiromi Uehara brings her Sonicwonder project to the MIM this weekend with just as much jaw-dropping precision and flair as her other performances. The jazz virtuoso infuses her high-speed compositions with fusion, funk, prog and a breathtaking pace that twist and turn on a dime. It’s a live show that plays like controlled chaos from start to finish.
Chet Faker
Sunday, May 3, 8 p.m.
The Van Buren
Australian singer-songwriter Chet Faker specializes in smoky, downtempo soul that leans on texture as much as melody. Blending electronic beats with lived-in vocals, he’s amassed a global following on understated tracks that feel intimate without trying too hard.
