The first Paint Phoenix In 2014 was a pretty killer event where artists gathered in downtown for three days to quite literally paint the town. But in their second go round they have decided to add in a day long block party, so artists and appreciators alike can congregate to…
March in Phoenix is usually one of the most beautiful months of the year — the transition between winter and summer is in full swing, so the weather is usually in the, oh, high 80s. For those who aren’t familiar, no — we don’t have a spring season here. It…
View image | gettyimages.com Editor’s Note: A few weeks back, we published an article titled “6 Reasons Most Musicians Don’t Deserve to Get Paid.” The article generated a fair bit of controversy, and to keep the conversation going, we asked local musician Henri Benard to pen a response. Here it…
Mitchell Hillman listens to more local music than just about anyone in the Valley. He presents his picks for best new music in his column, Right Hear, Right Now…
“You hear one metal band, you’ve heard ’em all.” Heavy metal fans know that this is one of the most naive statements one can say about the genre, but it’s still a sentiment often spoken. Metal genres are exponentially diverse nowadays, allowing for some interesting lineups. A perfect example is…
They started with just an old school bus that ran on vegetable oil, but in three short years, the Epic Proportions Tour slowly has approached the hyperbolic standards of the name. Co-managed by Peter Sotos and Gabe Kubanda, Epic is a local venture that books self-sustaining tours across the country,…
Every Wednesday is Heritage Hump Day! That’s because every Wednesday from now to the end of the year or before someone really big stops us, Heritage Hump Records (a temporary subsidiary of Onus Records) and New Times will be bringing you a limited edition collector’s item of a much beloved…
Acclaimed jazz bassist Charnett Moffett has performed with a who’s who of jazz artists while also leading his own cutting-edge ensembles. His latest venture: The Nettwork Trio, any combo of musicians Moffett feels can best explore the divergent aspects of his more than three-decade long career. The current incantation includes…
The atmosphere at Last Exit Live was just a little different than usual Friday night for the premier of The Stakes’ debut record, The Stakes Music Vol.1. The jazz- and funk-infused hip-hop seven-piece brought the laid-back, chilled-out vibes of their music with them to south Central Phoenix, and it settled…
Sweating to the oldies will have a new connotation after Saturday, February 21, at Club Red. Local heroes, Unruh, are reuniting for their first show in 15 years and celebrating the release of their box set, Tomb, with a giant show featuring some of the best bands in the current…
“We try and make our music for anyone who can appreciate it, for people from all walks of life,” said Zalamar ‘Zeedub’ Davis one of the two MCs fronting Tempe full-band hip-hop group The Stakes. The Stakes’ music blends the smooth tones of jazz with the heavier guitars of funk,…
We sincerely hope you’ve got loads of disposable income stocked up, because — like it or not — the music festival season is upon us. Over the next three months or so, an exhaustive number of indoor and outdoor mega-concerts and big-ticket music events are scheduled to take place both…
In 1969, Mike Matthews of Electro-Harmonix debuted what would become one of the best-selling guitar pedals of all time: the Big Muff. Gaining age and popularity through legendary performers like Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, and Dinosaur Jr., the pedal remains an indispensable part of any fuzzhead’s collection, recalling the golden…
As you might have heard recently, Steve Aoki is cutting back on the cake. More specifically, the electronic dance music icon has stated that he’s ceasing his trademark stunt of throwing sheet cake at audience members during shows, at least at big EDM festivals where he’s a support act. “If…
The husband/wife team of Phoenix band the Love Me Nots, Michael Johnny Walker and Nicole Laurenne, has never been afraid to reinvent itself. The garage rockers in 2013 debuted their electro-fuzz outfit Zero Zero, merging 1960s psychedelia, gritty guitar licks, and new wave dance pop. Now there’s Motobunny, a garage-meets-glam-meets-’80s…
Every Wednesday is Heritage Hump Day! That’s because every Wednesday from now to the end of the year or before someone really big stops us, Heritage Hump Records (a temporary subsidiary of Onus Records) and New Times will be bringing you a limited edition collector’s item of a much beloved…
From the time we are thrust into the world and make an attempt to find our place in it, we have to seek ways to be seen and heard by those around us. The things we say, the words we write, and the clothes we wear help to us to…
In the past five years, Sedona-based psychedelic folk outfit decker. has played somewhere near 600 shows, according to frontman Brandon Decker, and the band has played more out-of-town dates than most Arizona-based bands have performed locally in that time. Through four albums, countless shifts in lineup, and the retirement of…
Say what you will about the power of positive thinking, but it has helped some some folks people succeed now and again. e. For proof, look no further than DJ Akshen, the Valley turntablist who won the Red Bull Thre3style regional qualifier this past weekend at Monarch Theatre. Akshen bested…
View image | gettyimages.com “I wonder what your mom is like?” Those were the words I heard waking up next to a girl, whose name I honestly don’t remember, one morning in my bed. They changed my life and made me realize I was going about this all wrong. My…
While I try not to whine about it too much, it’s a true fact that our fair Southwest desert doesn’t get too much “rock festival” action. Sure — we seem to have EDM raves and indie rock fests galore. But when it comes to weekends packed with hard rock, and…
Here at Up on the Sun, we spend a lot of time out in bars and venues watching live music and then lots more time thinking, discussing, and writing about it. We have writers focusing on every aspect of the Phoenix music scene, reacting to it, interacting with it, and…
