EDM Producer Ferry Corsten Loves Scottsdale Sushi

When trance gone electro, house and big room DJ and producer Ferry Corsten isn’t making music or spending time with his family, he’s likely got one thing on his mind: tearing down a mountain on his snowboard. Corsten, who plays at Maya Day and Night Club in Old Town Scottsdale…

The Fray Try Out Different Kinds of Pop for New Album

The Fray haven’t always tried to make songs that appeal to the mainstream. It’s that strategy that earned them success in 2005 when the singles, “Over My Head (Cable Car)” and “How to Save a Life” made the Denver band practically inescapable to anyone with the ability to listen to…

Tucson’s Lenguas Largas to Bring Swirling Psych-Rock to Tempe

Tucson favorites Lenguas Largas are making the trek up to the valley for a June 14 performance at the Yucca Tap Room with The Paul Collins Beat. Lenguas Largas began as recording project between vocalist/guitarist Isaac Reyes and guitarist Ricky Shimo in 2009, and has since expanded to the unorthodox…

5 Must-See Concerts in Metro Phoenix, 6/9 to 6/12

James Taylor might be the marquee name in Phoenix this week, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of other shows to see around the Valley of the Sun. Check out the following selections, which include a bass master, indie rock, alt-blues and more. And if those don’t tickle your…

Axl Rose and Guns N’ Roses Wrap Up Vegas Residency in Style

Axl Rose and his new cast of gunners wrapped up their second residency at The Joint inside The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino over the weekend in Las Vegas with a bang. While their were no Izzy Stradlin or Duff McKagen surprise appearances on the final night this time around,…

Johnnyswim’s First Album a Product of Love, Blood, and Sweat

Amanda Sudano and Abner Ramirez are about to hit the ground running. The husband-and-wife team are home in Los Angeles for all of three hours, hustling to get laundry done in their Toluca Lake apartment, only hours before leaving for another tour stretch again. Such tribulations are nothing new for…

Lionel Richie – Ak-Chin Pavilion – 6/8/2014

Lionel Richie’s All the Hits, All Night Long Tour Ak-Chin Pavilion June 8 Lionel Richie is one of the best-selling artists of all time. He was a member of Motown’s The Commodores in the ’60s and went on to be a hit machine as a solo artist, with 10-plus albums…

25 Best Metro Phoenix Concerts in June

Feeling warm? Don’t let it get to you…seriously. Look, we know you’re miserable now that the heat’s really kicking in, but just crank up the A/C, grab a ice-cold beverage, and think happy thoughts. You can’t stay inside all the time, especially there is many an excellent show to see…

The Western in Scottsdale to Close After This Weekend

The Western is headed for its last roundup, y’all. The stylish Scottsdale bar/restaurant/music venue, which has been open about a year and change, will apparently be closing after one final show on Sunday night. An e-mail announcing it’s shuttering was sent out this morning by the joint’s PR person with…

Pop Music Gets its Day at Trunk Space

The Trunk Space in Phoenix is geared toward many musical audiences that are fans of punk rock and experimental bands. Mullarkey, Trunk Space’s volunteer booking agent, who declined to give a first or last name, says that many of the upcoming shows are from bands reaching out to the venue…

Lonesome Shack’s Blues Rooted in the Desert

You could easily be forgiven for mistaking More Primitive, the new LP by Seattle-based blues trio Lonesome Shack, for a mid-’70s recording from the North Mississippi hill country, the fertile blues scene that gave listeners artists like R.L. Burnside, Fred McDowell, Jesse Mae Hemphill, and more. But no, singer/guitarist Ben…

Arena Rock’s 10 Greatest Bands

Steve Wiley is Up on the Sun’s resident Record Store Geek. Biweekly, he shares stories of great music and whacky characters from his continuing 27 years in Valley record stores and the always-zany music biz. When I was a young music fan, I just liked what I liked. I didn’t…

Back from the Brink, Rocky ?Votolato Moves Forward Again

Rocky Votolato is a guy on the shore skipping stones across the water. Part craft, part amusement, the circumspect Seattle songwriter’s success and happiness has ebbed and flowed like the tide, something he’s gradually grown more accustomed to, though it’s not always been a smooth ride. Finally firmly at peace,…

Nintendocore Pioneers Minibosses now ?Rocking for Good Times’ Sake

Where would Minibosses be without Samus Aran and Jimmy Page? On the day of its release in 1987, pre-teen Aaron Burke picked up Metroid, an action game for the Nintendo Entertainment System that debuted Aran, a daring bounty hunter in space. A longtime science fiction/space fan, Burke fell hard for…

4 Locally Released Tapes of 2014 You Should Hear

Though independent cassette releases have been a fixture in the underground for decades, the format has been steadily on the rise to mainstream prominence in recent years. As we arrive at the halfway mark of 2014 we decided to recap some of the better local releases since the year turned…

Why Jimmy Buffett Isn’t Completely Worthless

Chances are you’ve found yourself, at one point or another, on the periphery of Jimmy Buffett culture. See Also: Hey, Phoenix — You Need To Start Dancing At Concerts Perhaps you have a regrettable and somewhat unsettling aunt who prides herself on being a “Parrot-head,” who comes to family reunions…