Mellow Heat @ Rips

For hipster types, the fixation with Yacht Rock a few years back was one of those trendy things that quickly sailed into the sunset. For local selector DJ Organic, however, spinning up the sometimes-cheesy soft rock, easy listening, and album-oriented hits of the late ’70s and early ’80s was more…

How Big Boi Inspired Phantogram’s Latest Album

It is every artist’s goal to be the next new thing — clichéd as it is, any creative will eventually admit this desire. Few can make one radical thing while even fewer continue to deliver intriguing material. Phantogram, the electronic psych-pop duo from upstate New York, fall into the latter…

Top 10 Metro Phoenix Metal Vocalists

When it comes to categorizing what makes a great heavy metal vocalist, there are a lot of factors that come into play. First off, there’s the matter of subgenres. Mainstream, Swedish, death, black, melodic — as much as I hate to pay attention to this bottomless list, it’s a fact…

Obscura’s Sixth Anniversary

Under normal circumstances, we’d wish local club promoter Robden Brethauer and the DJs of Obscura a hearty “Happy Birthday!” in honor of the monthly dance night’s sixth anniversary party this weekend. Since such glad tidings run contrary to the mopey and melodramatic sentiments inherent to the Britpop, post-punk, and ’80s…

Trunk Space: 20 Favorite Shows From the Last Decade

Later tonight, the Trunk Space will wrap up both its 10-year celebration and its ambitious performance project, the Indie 500. As we’ve previously reported, the multi-day concert festival — which dozens of bands playing the space over the last week and change — sought to have a total of 500…

Mad Decent Block Party Coming to Phoenix

If you’ve been into the EDM thing for more than a few minutes, you’ve heard about the Mad Decent Block Party the last couple years. Heard about the great performances by the label’s regulars like Riff Raff, Diplo, and Major Lazer. Heard the tales of wild crowds and even wilder…

10 Must-See Metro Phoenix Metal Concerts in April

Now more than ever, there are a lot of metal — from comedy to thrash to black to grindcore — getting slung in and around Metro Phoenix thanks to concerts and gigs by locals and touring acts alike. As such, Up on the Sun’s resident metal scribe, Lauren Wise, is…

David Guetta @ Maya Day and Nightclub

If you’ve never heard of David Guetta before, please feel free to go back underneath the rock you must’ve crawled out from under. After all, the tousle-haired Frenchman and internationally known house music DJ/producer is considered one of vanguards of EDM’s most recent crossover surge in popularity. Plus, he took…

The 25 Best Club Candids Photos of March

If you were out soaking up the sounds at the Monarch Theatre during Pete Tong’s spectacular set last month, we might have taken your picture. Ditto for those who hung out at both Bottled Blonde and El Hefe in Scottsdale, folks celebrating Spring Training at Dos Gringos and Giligin’s, or…

Mustard Plug’s Dave Kirchgessner: “Ska Is Still Kicking”

Not many bands have attained popularity and commercial success outside the mainstream music industry box the way that Mustard Plug has done. While they can’t claim to be most famous ska-punk band in existence, the septet have amassed a sizable cult following, as well as radio-friendly songs and music videos,…

Phoenix’s DJ Lujan Gets Into the Mix at WMC 2014 in Miami

Jay Lujan is fast becoming a local DJ success story. He’s opened for countless big-name DJs and EDM superstars like Wolfgang Gartner and Fedde Le Grand, played last year’s Groove Cruise Los Angeles and recently toured the country in support of his annual compilation CD, This Is Lujanic. On top…

Boyfrndz’s Scott Martin: “We Want to Create Our Own Niche”

Pushing any kind of artistic endeavor through to the finish line is a process destined to involve evolution. Practically no book, drawing, film, album, Play-Doh sculpture, or whatever comes through looking exactly the way its creator originally envisioned it. If Scott Martin wasn’t already aware of this reality, he experienced…