I used to not like Big Sean as an artist. I disliked his voice and adlibs, and in his early days, I was simply not impressed with the music he was putting out. When Kanye West brought the Detroit rapper under his tutelage, I knew we would watch Kanye mold…
Last year’s Pot of Gold Music Festival featured four days of music. This year’s is down to just two, but Lucky Man Concerts is making them count, doubling down on hip-hop for a festival that promises two of the most significant rap concerts that will happen in Phoenix this year…
As you might expect, Saint Patrick’s Day is traditionally cause for much celebration. Typically, that includes (but is by no means limited to) parties where live music and adult beverages are in abundance, enlivened affair filled with fun, and events where everyone’s wearing something green. Such will certainly be the…
Coachella may be known for getting rock bands like Radiohead, The Cure, and Guns N’ Roses to play in the middle of the California desert, but when it comes to rock en español, the 16-year-old festival has nothing on Rock Fiesta. The one-off event taking place in Quartzite Friday, March…
Looking for a great show to see this week? Here are our picks for the best concerts worth checking out this week in Metro Phoenix. For more options, visit our comprehensive online concert calendar. Electric Six – Tuesday, March 15 – The Rebel Lounge Most of America got to know…
Few musicians are quite as raw and honest as Genevieve Schatz. From the sound of her voice to the message of her music, the performer, known simply by her first name, doesn’t hold back. For that matter, Genevieve doesn’t always even know how or where her performances are going sometimes,…
McDowell Mountain Music Festival returned to Margaret T. Hance Park for the third straight year, attracting tens of thousands of people downtown for weekend of dual-stage musical madness. There were changes galore at this year’s incarnation, including the elimination of camping, waste (there were three-bin recycling stations throughout the festival), and…
Viva PHX’s third edition once again ignited downtown Phoenix last weekend, proving for just one night that under the right circumstances Phoenicians will brave the great outdoors on their quest for excellent music. The festival operates by setting out a beacon for bands touring on their way to South By…
Why would Bruce Springsteen want to revisit the over 35-year-old album The River? I asked myself the above question as the New Jersey-based singer-songwriter, accompanied by his incomparable E Street Band, played the 20 songs on the breakthrough double album in chronological order to a sold-out crowd at Talking Stick…
Kitten’s Chloe Chaidez is a killer interview. An old soul, for sure, especially for someone who can’t even by a legal beer yet, but something tells us she’s maybe had one or two alcoholic beverages. The Los Angeles, California singer/songwriter basically is the band she fronts, but to hear her…
To say that downtown Phoenix will be busy with live music and concertgoers this weekend would be an understatement. Two of the Valley’s biggest festivals of the year will be taking place and bring tens of thousands of people to the area who are eager to see a show, including…
Throughout the years, McDowell Mountain Music Festival (MMMF) has stopped asking what downtown Phoenix can do for them and started asking what it can do for downtown Phoenix. In an effort to better serve the community that has served them so well since 2012, MMMF has made a couple of…
For many local fans of death metal, the biggest show of the year is happening on Friday, March 11, at Club Red in Mesa. There will be lots and lots of growling vocals, double bass drums, and dual guitar attacks drowning out the bass lines. The legendary purveyors of the…
It stuns me each year as Viva PHX, Stateside Present’s mini-South by Southwest that takes place in 17 venues in downtown Phoenix on Saturday, gets better and better, how difficult the decisions are about when and where to be. In addition to the sheer mind-blowing volume of touring acts booked,…
Though not all band members are related, folk rock outfit the Avett Brothers does contain a pair of biological brethren — Seth and Scott. The two started playing music together in the late ’90s and in early 2000 released their first EP. As for the current lineup, bassist Bob Crawford…
The third annual Viva PHX festival will take over downtown Phoenix this Saturday, March 12, and it promises to be bigger and better than ever. With 70 bands spread across 17 venues in one night, there will be something for everyone. Whether your tastes are country and cumbia or hip-hop…
Looking for a great show to see this week? Here are our picks for the best concerts to see this week in Metro Phoenix. For more options, visit our comprehensive online concert calendar. Steep Canyon Rangers – Monday, March 7 – Musical Instrument Museum Approximately 73 million bands have formed…
Since branching out on her own from The Fiery Furnaces, Eleanor Friedberger has moved closer and closer to the classic-rock sound she grew up with. On New View, her third solo album, Friedberger puts her own spin on the sound of 1970s rock touchstones like George Harrison, Neil Young, Bob…
It’s a great month to be a music fan in Phoenix. The weather is (more or less) tolerable at the moment and the concert calendar is overflowing with “must see” shows featuring a staggering amount of tastemaking and chart-topping artists. Its due in part to the fact that Arizona just…
Phoenix’s own SXSW just got a little easier to plan. Viva PHX has released its official schedule, breaking down where and when the 70-plus acts will play next Saturday, March 12. Organizers have also added a new venue — Melinda’s Alley, the speakeasy bar beneath the Renaissance Phoenix Downtown. Fittingly,…
Arizona, which can be somewhat of a mystery to the outside world, impacts musicians in ways that only the West can. For Brian Weitz, better known as Geologist and as one-fourth of Animal Collective, his academic stint at southern Arizona’s Biosphere, while a Columbia University undergrad, caused him to revisit…
With more than 30 years of making groundbreaking albums — including the latest, Shockwave Supernova — teaching a legion of future rock superstars (Steve Vai, Metallica’s Kurt Hammett), and supporting the upper echelon rock elite (Mick Jagger, Deep Purple), Joe Satriani should be a household name. Still, the strictly instrumental…
