Dale Watson is about as country music as it gets. Dapper in classic western attire, complete with Stetson, big belt buckle, and boots, his shock-white pompadour and rich, deep tenor lend an air of authenticity. Watson is the archetypical country-music artist. There’s a reason he’s often referred to as the “real…
Thao Nguyen, the singer-songwriter behind the group Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, tells me that I need to give the hit Comedy Central show Broad City another chance. I admit to her I haven’t picked up on the vibe of the show yet. “You got to dig in…
Armed with an accordion and a double platinum record, Phoenix band KONGOS re-entered the music world Friday with their recent single, “Take It From Me.” KONGOS, a band of four brothers and Arizona natives, are tying up their sequel to their widely successful 2012 album “Lunatics.” But the new album,…
Coachella, man. Wow. Like a fine wine, you just keep getting better with age. After gorging ourselves on Sumo Dogs and indie-pop, dancing ourselves dusty, head-banging to Death Grips and “Welcome to the Jungle,” and maybe drinking a beer or seven, we sifted through the rubble and our reporter’s notebooks…
Even the most casual radio listener could sing along with a chorus or two during an Ellie Goulding show. The hit-filled set switched gears faster than you could say “Goodness Gracious” to show off Goulding’s skill in carrying out completely different genres and to remind everyone exactly how she has…
“Internal fixation.” That’s how Axl Rose’s good-looking foot specialist Dr. Rachel Triche described the lead-singer’s broken foot on April 8. Her ESPN-esque medical update, in which she sat in front of all her various credentials, was both great reality TV and evidence of Team GNR’s belief that rock & roll…
Only elderly shamans and energy healers can remember the dark ages before the Coachella Music Festival first bloomed out of the polo field–riddled deserts east of Los Angeles. Popular lore holds it was founded in 1999, when Beck, Rage Against the Machine and Morrissey united for worshippers fearing imminent global…
Escape the Fate – Monday, April 18 – Joe’s Grotto The funny thing about the music of Escape the Fate is that it’s basically pure pop that’s been gussied up with hard rock and emo trappings. Songs like “Issues” and “Gorgeous Nightmare” could easily be hits for Lady Gaga —…
Not lucky (or well moneyed) enough to get to Coachella this year? You’re not alone. Granted, thousands of Valley residents will be making the five-hour trek to Indio to attend this year’s version of the high-profile music festival, which kicks off today. Melanie Martinez – Friday, April 15 – Marquee Theatre …
In the classic Japanese film Rashomon, four characters tell the same story from four completely different perspectives, giving accounts so conflicting that it’s impossible to know what really happened. Coachella is kind of the same way, times about 20,000 perspectives. When we asked L.A. Weekly writers to name their all-time…
Guns N’ Roses is playing Coachella this weekend. Had the Rolling Stones played Coachella in 2013, which would have been their first U.S. festival since Altamont in 1969, there would have been similar buzz. But nothing like this. For many — and I mean the vast majority of the 100,000…
Okay, so you blew your tax refund on a ticket to Coachella. How do you make these the best three days of your life while on a budget? It’s not easy. Last year, writer Marc Ballon asked a bunch of people how the hell they afforded Coachella. Most estimated they…
Most bands would take not developing much of a fan base over their early years, let alone eight early years, as a sign to throw in the towel. This is certainly not the case for NOFX. What started off as a hardcore punk band in the early ’80s slowly developed…
In 2009, Highly Suspect was a Cape Cod bar band playing cover songs by legends like Sublime, Jimi Hendrix, and Pink Floyd. Six years, four albums/EPs, and two Grammy nominations later, the band clearly didn’t just change their musical concept. In fact, Highly Suspect has helped redefine a lot in…
Darrin Robertson and Jim Saccoman are looking at me suspiciously. The two local musicians thought a mutual acquaintance of ours had put me up to this interview, and asked me how I encountered their self-described “recording project” Sha-Pink, which has been creating music locally for more than 30 years. “We’re…
Country Thunder 2016 has wrapped up, but that doesn’t mean you can’t live vicariously through our pictures. These brave souls braved the rain and were rewarded by musical performances by some of the biggest names in country. Check out select few shots from the festival below, and explore the full…
After you’ve decided to start ranking all the acts on the Coachella lineup, there comes a moment when you realize you’ve made a terrible mistake. The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is way too big, too ambitious in scale and scope, too sonically diverse to be reduced to a…
A bastion of the country music community and a bucket list festival slot for its artists, Country Thunder in Florence is the crown jewel in a state that’s about as south as the Southwest gets. This year saw Kip Moore, Florida Georgia Line, Jake Owen and Eric Church in headlining…
Music fans of Phoenix, get ready for an invasion. Operators – Monday, April 11 – Valley Bar Dan Boeckner’s musical résumé, which includes Wolf Parade and Handsome Furs, reads like the indie rock equivalent of a Major League Baseball journeyman player. The Canadian singer-songwriter performs well with any team he…
As we’re sure your aware by now, the legendary Elvis Costello is going to be in town this weekend. If not, consider yourself enlightened. Social Distortion is also scheduled to perform in the Valley this weekend, specifically at the Arizona Bike Week festivities in Scottsdale), as is metalcore act Killing…
Dan Boeckner, currently touring with his New Wave synth-pop trio Operators, is a member of three indie bands. Does he ever worry that he’s not dedicating enough time to each project? “I do constantly worry that I should be writing something,” he says. “That worry is like gas in the…
In case you don’t already know, it’s Arizona Bike Week. Yesterday kick-started the annual event. This mammoth celebration of all things chopper-related also includes an active concert roster throughout its weeklong run, featuring a lot of longtime acts guaranteed to incite nostalgia and deliver hit-filled sets, like Social Distortion, Blues…
