Drake Is Coming to Phoenix (Waka Flocka Flame, Too)

Bummed out that Drake skipped Phoenix in favor of Tucson earlier this month? Well, be bummed no more: Everyone’s favorite former-Degrassi star/current sexy music maven is returning to Arizona, planning a stop at Ashley Furniture HomeStore Pavilion on Thursday, May 10. Drake’s latest, Take Care, earned him four Grammy nominations…

Record Heat: Alphabetical by Brad Dwyer

If you’ve ever spent any time in the Up on the Sun comments section, you know it can be a weird place. We’ve had some pretty deplorable stuff in our Clubhouse comments — stuff that makes you sort of shake your head and wonder if all that crap people say…

Take Cover: The Madera Strand Covers The Police

When The Madera Strand prepared a Police set for Cover the Crescent, the band’s main obstacle was finding the right pitch. “[Sting] sings so high anyway, but I’m also an alto, so some of those notes were kind of hard to hit,” says vocalist d’Averill Demetrulias in reference to “Walking…

Incoming: Cage the Elephant, Garbage, Hot Tuna

Kentucky alternative rockers Cage the Elephant are making a stop at the Marquee Theatre in April. The band is still pumping out singles from their latest release, Thank You, Happy Birthday, and will surely be performing many of them for the Tempe crowd.Cage the Elephant, Garbage, Hot Tuna and other…

Radiohead at Jobing.com Arena on Twitter

So, was last night’s Radiohead show hyped up to be like, the greatest thing, ever? I hate going concerts with any sort of expectations because I usually walk away disappointed. I’ve been a casual fan since I first heard “Fake Plastic Trees” in Clueless, which is pretty funny when you…

Mike Kennedy, What Are You Listening To?

​Mike KennedyKennedy is a comedian and producer at the Speakeasy Comedy Lounge. He co-headlines the Tempe Improv Thursday, April 19. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? I would’ve said X 103.9-FM a month ago, but now it’s…

Tumblr of the Week: Justin Timberlake Doing Things

For the last few years, Justin Timberlake has been focusing more on his acting career and less on his music. I love a good falsetto voice every now and then, but there’s only so much of JT’s music that I can tolerate in one sitting without feeling like I’m indulging…

Reactions to The Clubhouse Closing on Twitter

See also: Clubhouse Music Venue Closes ​It has been almost two weeks since gang-related gunfire erupted outside the Nipsey Hussle show at The Clubhouse in Tempe, wounding 15 and placing a scar on the face of an otherwise admirable venue. Last Friday, owner Eugenia Ruven was arrested for “failing to…

Asher Roth Is Bro Rap Incarnate, but Don’t Hold It Against Him

In the Occupy age, America’s highest income brackets have proved unsympathetic. Alas, class discrimination persists even in that most liberal of institutions: hip-hop. Consider the curious case of Asher Roth. Roth’s early years resembled those of Silver Spoons’ Ricky Stratton. By his own admission, Roth was the child of well-to-do…

The Wiley One Is All About Going Green

Sam Wiley, the heart and soul of Tempe-based The Wiley One, is known around town for churning out acoustic-driven, reggae-infused hip-hop tunes with rapid fluidity. Since 2007, the “No. 7 Kid” has dished out bouncy beats and twangy guitar licks, spreading his sound across the Southwest while, at the same…

Seeing Red: Miss Krystle’s Pop Is Far from Routine

You wouldn’t have recognized Krystle Delgado three years ago. She was 20 then, dressed to the nines in a gorgeous floor-length gown with platinum blond hair. She sat at a piano and played “Think of Me,” the classic track from Phantom of the Opera, her own voice evoking operatic tones…

Blogs Teased in Our March 15 Issue

This week, New Times ran a list in our print publication highlighting some of the most interesting posts published at Up On The Sun over the past week. Here are links to those posts. What did the community have to say about the Clubhouse at an open forum in Tempe?…

Help Bad Lucy Choose Their Album’s Cover Art

Making a record is an involved, laboring process. There’s writing, recording, mixing and mastering. Sometimes it can be the little things that vex an independent band. Currently, alt pop-rockers Bad Lucy find themselves mulling over the artwork for their upcoming EP. The guys held a cover shoot with models Lear…

KUKQ Returns to Phoenix (Via the Internet)

Legendary Valley alternative radio station KUKQ is back — on the Internet, that is. Operators of the site boasting those famous call letters, synonymous with Phoenix jock Jonathan L (host of Jonathan L’s Lopsided World of L, which is syndicated on terrestrial Valley station KWSS 106.7 these days), announced via…

Breaking News: Clubhouse Music Venue Closes Down

See also: Last Night’s Town Hall Meeting on Clubhouse Music Venue Shooting Filled With Anger, Accusations, and Rhetoric We’ve received word this afternoon that the Clubhouse Music Venue was shut down earlier today. While no word of the concert hall’s closure has been posted on its website or Facebook page,…

Incoming: Daughtry, The B-52’s, The Expendables

The all-American nearly-turned Fuel frontman American Idol star Chris Daughtry is bringing his band and his ever-prominent soul patch to the Southwest for a rock and roll romp at the Comerica Theatre in May.Daughtry’s manly, modern rock howl has made him one of the few Idol contestants to move from…