During a conversation with singer/songwriter Mike Doughty, two things come to his delightfully twisted mind about playing music in Phoenix: “Shopping at Zia Records” and being here “when it was 125 degrees outside.” Luckily for Doughty, who is playing Crescent Ballroom in downtown Phoenix on Sunday, January 24, he can…
Cris Kirkwood of the Meat Puppets begins talking almost immediately, standing in his driveway, dressed casually in sweats, his hair and beard gray save for a few stray dark strands radiating in all directions from his head. A fuzzy halo. His neighbor, he says, was the victim of a recent…
Rest peaceful and easy, Glenn Frey. Last year when Don Henley opened his tour here in Phoenix, AZ., I tried to get to the bottom of why so many people who love country rock hate the band that had the most success with it, that being The Eagles. Which is…
The quiet, almost Americana-ish intro to All Them Witches’ latest album, Dying Surfer Meets His Maker, is something of a false lead. Beginning with bassist/vocalist Michael Parks singing as sweetly as any folk troubadour, almost imperceptibly the song builds into a storm of rolling thunder and psychedelic lighting. It is…
From styles that range from sweet, sad pop to in-your-face blistering punk rock, there are plenty of talented female musicians showing off their skills in bands all around the metro Phoenix area. We made you a list of ten local bands to check out that are fronted by women. Here…
Phoenix band Harper and the Moths’ throwback funk/soul blend not only matches their clean-cropped look perfectly. It makes their sound accessible to a wide variety of people, an attribute that has landed them some solid successes, including getting some radio play on KWSS. “We see people as young as 16…
Here are our picks for best concerts in Phoenix this week. Browse our comprehensive concert calendar for more options. The Maension – Joe’s Grotto – Monday, January 18 The Maension plays an intriguing combination of ’90s grunge and ’00s nu-metal, filled with slogging, heavy riffs and hard-hitting breakdowns that brings…
Last Saturday, 25 local musicians met at Crescent Ballroom to become five randomly selected bands, each tasked with creating three new songs and tackling a cover by the time the evening’s show began. For the third year in a row, the Phoenix Rock Lottery was another rousing success, with pretty stunning results…
Say what you want about the quality of Weezer’s new material, you have to hand it to the band: They sure keep their nose to the grindstone. Weezer is set to release its 10th studio album in 2016, just two years after releasing its previous album, and has announced a…
The song has one of those universally recognizable intros that everyone who has ever listened to the radio or streaming music has heard. It opens with an iconic bass line, followed by echoing finger pops, and the opening vocals, “I got sunshine on a cloudy day.” Few songs more epitomize…
Looking for something to do this weekend? Look no further. Here are the best concerts happening in Metro Phoenix this weekend. Check out our comprehensive online concert calendar for even more live music options. Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour – Friday, January 15 – Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts…
Like any good pirate, Lindsey Stirling has a reputation that precedes her. Most of America knows her story. It’s one that underdog-loving households can get behind. A young artist is told on national TV that there’s no way she can sell out a Vegas venue with her electric violin dance…
Rum Drinker may write songs about tropical paradises and “SNES Heaven,” but the band’s Shangri-La just happens to be Sunnyslope, the Phoenix neighborhood wrapped around Nouth Mountain. The lo-fi surf punk quartet is fronted by singer/guitarist Josué Rodríguez and keyboardist Paris Tejas, a couple who met in Portland but now…
For years, Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch have worked as a team writing acclaimed and, at times, harrowing songs bridging the country music world and the back porches of Appalachia. In this context, almost exclusively, Welch has been the lead voice. It is a rare and blessed occasion when Rawlings…
The surprise news of David Bowie passing Sunday night caught everyone off guard, and there has been a massive outpouring of emotion and support for a man whose music and art touched many (New Times has published two such pieces). Those tributes are well-deserved. Bowie leaves behind an incredibly diverse and…
If there were any doubts that Kendrick Lamar dominated 2015 critically, this should lay those to rest. Our former sister paper Village Voice released its annual critic’s survey, Pazz + Jop, today. The project tallied votes from nearly 500 music journalists, who voted for up to 10 of their favorite…
The flood of tributes to David Bowie on social media was inescapable once the world surmised that the news of his passing was not some cruel hoax, the likes of which have already taken Morgan Freeman and Mickey Rourke from us numerous times already. It did get you thinking though…
When I first interviewed Ben Haggerty, better known as Macklemore, a little over three years ago, my first call to him was marked by the appearance of his alter ego Raven Bowie, who picked up the phone and hammered out a series of unintelligible words in a heavy British accent…
Queensrÿche is a band that has had its fair share of ups and downs, especially in the past decade. Since its birth in 1982, the American metal act has released 14 studio albums, one of which was ’88’s Operation: Mindcrime, considered one of the best concept albums of all time…
f One could argue that 2015 was one of the greatest years in Arizona hip-hop history. With a wide range of talent across the state, the beautiful culture simmering underground for years now bubbled up to the surface. The artists of this community are beginning to see fruits of the…
Change, as they say, is inevitable. And in Phoenix’s live music and nightlife scenes, it’s practically a fact of life. Every single year will always include any number of both arrivals and departures of venues and clubs as places open to much fanfare or regrettably close their doors. Such was…
The College Football Playoff National Championship game won’t be the only battle of brawn hitting Phoenix this weekend. CAMPVS, a Universal Music Group-backed company that brought universities across the country Battle of the Bands and MovieFest, is hosting the final throw down for its EDM competition right in the heart…
