Concerts

Tool US Airways Center 3/27/14 Initially, it seemed prog-metal legends Tool might be trying to pull off one of the biggest pranks in rock ‘n’ roll history or just going in for another cash grab when booking a just-completed short run of tour dates. After all, the band hasn’t put…

Curious about what’s going on around town this weekend? Need some suggestions as to how to rock, dance, or krump in the Valley of the Sun? Don’t fret. We’ve got the hook up on what shows you might be interested in attending over the next couple nights and days. This…

Few bands remain as succinctly Californian and categorically challenging as San Diego’s Slightly Stoopid. Signed to the late Bradley Nowell’s Skunk Records in 1995, they’re an act that’s been a signed Golden State institution for almost 20 years, carving out their niche by pulling together a variety of genres into…

Listen to “Wounded,” a new track by Buckeye country singer Katryna Eastwood, and it’s easy to think the singer is far older than her 16 years. The haunting acoustic melody is layered with poignant lyrics of a heartbreaking man, collecting loves without a care before throwing them to the wayside…

Charlie Musselwhite is no stranger to the blues. In fact, that’s where the harmonica master spent most of his career, from Mississippi to Memphis to Chicago to Northern California, where he makes his home — Musselwhite’s career in the blues has spanned 50 years. Along the way, however, he’s also…

††† (Crosses) Crescent Ballroom 3/25/14 It started with crosses. And a rosary. “O memories that bless and burn / O barren gain and bitter loss / I kiss each bead and strive at last to learn / To kiss the cross, sweetheart / To kiss the cross . . .”…

Even without an LP on which to hang their hat, Glendale-based reggae band Black Bottom Lighters have opened for Flogging Molly on St. Patrick’s Day, toured the West Coast, played the local stage at True Music Festival, and headlined a pre-Thanksgiving show at The Marquee. Suffice it to say few…

There are few acts like G. Love & Special Sauce, the genre-bridging Philadelphia alt-hip-hop trio that’s been at it for two decades now, and there are even fewer frontmen quite like Garrett Dutton. Best known for his rapping approach within G. Love & Special Sauce, Dutson isn’t afraid to display…

Judging by the amount of success that local performers at last year’s McDowell Mountain Music Festival have seen since their March 2013 engagement at Margaret T. Hance Park, I think it is safe to say that the festival’s organizers know how to pick ’em. Just about every local band that…

Like many jam bands, Sound Tribe Sector 9 (STS9) leave no sound unturned, no rhythm unexplored, and no genre unappreciated. Everything from jazz fusion to hip hop beats to funkadelic licks to psychedelic twists gets represented on the Atlanta-based group’s 11 album catalog (with another on the way) birthed from…

One of the hallmarks of the McDowell Mountain Music Festival over its decade or so of existence has been the utter diversity of sounds its offered. Such is the case with the 2014 edition, which runs Friday, March 28, until Sunday, March 30, and features a smorgasbord of sounds that…

American dance music, folk act, jam band — however you label them, Donna the Buffalo have been defying traditional classification while coming from a traditional background. Formed by vocalists/multi-instrumentalists Tara Nevins and Jeb Puryear in 1989, the New York-based band has amassed a cult following, culled from their rigorous touring…

Want to get in a show this week? There are plenty of concerts over the next five days around Metro Phoenix to choose from, as you can see for yourself by viewing our extensive online concert listings. And we’re fairly certain that there’s something for everyone, regardless of your particular…

So, how was your weekend? Perhaps you got all up in the club, got in as much revelry as possible, or got yourself into one of the big concerts going on around town. Meanwhile, the Up on the Sun staff spent the past several nights hitting up shows like Sharon…

Lady Antebellum Ak-Chin Pavilion 3/22/14 The weather was perfect Saturday night for Lady Antebellum’s first outdoor concert of the year at Ak-Chin Pavilion as they provided a fun and energetic performance the crowd will not soon forget. And it also included a few surprises. Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave…

Justin Moody, Corey R-J, A Cloud For Climbing, & Old Hours Axiom 3/22/14 Peoria is not the first suburb that comes to mind when Phoenicians think live music — hell, it’s not even likely to be the fourth or fifth suburb for that matter. However, nestled behind a string of…

Califone, Destruction Unit, Cherie Cherie, Los Puchos The Icehouse 3/21/14 Wooden Indian didn’t merely put on a concert Friday night at the Icehouse — they created an experience, transforming the cavernous downtown Phoenix arts venue into an otherworldly sonic happening. And the evening was every bit as epic as Wooden…

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings Heritage Square 3/21/14 Whatever it was that you did yesterday that left you feeling awesome — no matter how cool it was — then good for you. But Sharon Jones still kicked your ass. Hell, like one of her Dap-Kings said when he was introducing…

The headliners at each year’s McDowell Mountain Music Festival have always been a little hard to classify or pigeonhole into a certain genre, much like the annual three-day event itself. Ditto for singer/songwriter Dwight Yoakam, who ostensibly can be classified as country-rock, but doesn’t easily fit easily into either category…

Unlike soccer and vuvuzelas, guitars and baseball don’t necessarily go together. But when you’re talking about two institutions as American as the Fender Stratocaster and Major League Baseball, the alignment seems a little more warranted. Such is the case with the new MLB-approved line of Fender Strats that the company…

Hear that? It’s the clock counting down the hours until your weekend begins and it’s nearing the magic moment known as quitting time. To help the time pass more quickly, you might consider what it is you’ll actually be doing during the next couple days and nights of work-free bliss…