Talking after a long day of recording, Megafauna’s Dani Neff is upbeat about the progress her band is making on its untitled third album. Reflective and enthusiastic, Neff touches on the still difficult-to-define Megafauna sound, the new direction her songwriting is taking, and the challenges of keeping one foot rooted…
If you’re an electronic dance music fan with a ticket for Zedd’s performance on Saturday at Mesa Amphitheatre, there’s been a slight change in plans. Don’t worry, the show’s still going to happen as planned, only at a completely new venue. Live Nation, the co-promoter of this weekend’s gig by…
The man with the golden voice (though fragile) will sing the next title song for the franchise that once starred a villain with a golden fetish. Or something like that. Sam Smith, the British singer fresh off a batch of Grammy wins, will sing the theme song to the upcoming…
The Valley of the Sun didn’t always have skate parks. For many years, finding a good place to drop in and have some fun was both a challenge and a somewhat noble quest for riders of all ages. According to Rob Locker of local skateboard and record company AZPX, when…
Featuring Iration, Rebelution and a number-one pick you can probably guess.
It’s Labor Day, which means that basically all the concert promoters in town are giving their staffs the day off Monday. That means that while most everyone doesn’t have to work today, there’s not much to do tonight, at least not musically. That doesn’t mean the rest of the week…
I was trying to remember the last time the Trunk Space was this packed. Perhaps when Kimya Dawson played the Indie 500 in April, but probably not even then. At any rate, the very first show for Okilly Dokilly, the “metal” band themed after the bug-eyed neighbor from The Simpsons,…
The next time that country music king Toby Keith ambles into Phoenix, he’ll only be here for whatever concert he’s scheduled to perform — and certainly not for any personal appearances at any of his namesake venues. That’s because, as of this week, there aren’t any left in the Valley…
Summer concerts in Phoenix aren’t exactly the most glamorous things in the world. If you’re indoors, you’re dealing with an overworked air conditioner and a sweaty walk to the parking lot. Outdoor concerts are great, if you’re the type of person who likes dancing in saunas. But that hasn’t stopped…
Here are our co The Donkeys – Friday, September 4 – Valley Bar The Donkeys, not to be confused with the late-’70s power pop band from West Yorkshire or the Japanese noise rock outfit, have a solid fan base in Phoenix, prompting these Californians to visit about once a year…
I never in a million years thought I would be prompted to write about Miley Cyrus. Still, when one of the most successful pop singers of the current era drops a 23-song double album for free, it piques my curiosity. To be honest, I am not familiar with her previous…
We’ve gotten through the worst of it, Phoenix metalheads. The VMAs, relentless pop-country touring bands, and, oh, the relentless heat. We’ve still got some triple digits in September, no doubt, but there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. And since it’s still waaay too hot to figure out…
For the first time in nearly two decades, Garth Brooks is playing a concert in Phoenix. The singer’s triumphant return to town will take place at US Airways Center (which by the time of the concert will be known as Talking Stick Resort Arena) on Friday, October 23, and Saturday,…
The members of indie folk band Dear Jerome don’t mind being one of the softer-sounding acts taking the stage at such venues as Tempe Tavern, Rips Ales & Cocktails, or Pho Cao. In a rock scene in which amped-up instruments sometimes overshadow vocals, the male-female dynamic via singers Brandon Jensen…
The long-running instrumental duo El Ten Eleven credits Peter Hook for sparking a new direction on the band’s eighth album. El Ten Eleven has opened numerous shows for Hook, the founding bassist of New Order and Joy Division, and his son Jack Bates. At one point, Hook told El Ten…
Raheem Jarbo has been living with split personalities since 2007. That’s when he started releasing hip-hop as Random, a socially conscious rapper trying to spit his version of truth to power, and Mega Ran, his video game rap- and nerdcore-based alter ego. With Jarbo’s newest record, RNDM, dropping on September…
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…
So when did metal bands decide it was a good idea to have a DJ? Who decided that since metal was cool and funk was cool, they would be twice as cool when you put them together? And why did so many angry young dudes relate to this thinking so…
There are very few performers whose musical and visual qualities have firmly established them atop the Rushmore of Hard Rock, like Heart. Its climb up the majestic mountain of success and enduring relevancy can only be matched by the likes of Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, The Who, to name a few…
It been a helluva two weeks for the local metal-playing Ned Flanders aficionados in Okilly Dokilly. It’s not too often a band goes viral in the way they have. What started as a joke in line at the grocery store has grown into a worldwide point of interest, and now…
The Slipknot show on Saturday night at Ak-Chin Pavilion was far from your normal metal concert. It was more of a changing of the guard, and there were plenty of underlying themes and realizations to accompany the best heavy show of the summer. Of course there was enough pyro onstage…
Here are our picks for live music this weekend. For more options, visit our comprehensive calendar. Jill Scott – Friday, August 28 – Comerica Theatre R&B artist Jill Scott went from speaking her heartfelt thoughts to singing them, after she was discovered by Questlove from The Roots at a poetry reading…
