10 Things We Learned at Country Thunder

1. The golf cart taxi service is worth its weight in gold For those who weren’t in Crazy Coyote, Roadrunner or Premier, you had a hell of a long walk from your campsite to the concert grounds. Felt like grabbing a water bottle from your trailer? Forgot your American flag-printed…

How the Hell Do People Afford Coachella?

By: Marc Ballon Hawaiian Sierra Blackford really wanted to go to Coachella. It wasn’t easy. The 23-year-old singer-songwriter juggled three jobs as a waitress, playing gigs at local bars and working in a slipper store to save enough for her concert tickets, heavily discounted airfare (She knows somebody in the…

Standing Up to Pee at Coachella: A Tale of Triumph

It was time to break the seal. When used for their intended purpose, port-a-potties are hardly a pleasant experience for either sex. But they can be especially tricky for women. Men only have to squat half the time–women have to for both excretory functions, and it can get a little…

Through and Through Gospel Review Is a Slice of Phoenix Gospel

Following in the footsteps of his pastor father, Joel Marquard, of Dear and the Headlights fame, decided to record a gospel album in his late 20s. Marquard’s father was responsible for picking out the hymns and songs for each service at their church and now his own 12-piece traditional gospel…

15 Queer/Trans Musicians You’ve Never Heard Of (And Some You Have)

Phoenix Pride is back this year for another weekend-long celebration that promises even bigger crowds than last year. It’s no secret that the world has grown a bigger conscience when it comes to the understanding and acceptance of the LGBT community, and with that many openly gay, bisexual, transgender etc…

Coachella’s 5 Most Annoying Scheduling Conflicts

By Andy Hermann We get it, Coachella. You’ve got over 100 acts and only about 36 hours to cram them all onto your six stages, so there’s bound to be some overlap. And for the most part, you do a good job of putting acts head-to-head that have little chance…

New Downtown Phoenix Music Venue Valley Bar to Open in May

Local concert guru Charlie Levy has something cool in the works for downtown Phoenix — and, no, its not an attention-grabbing festival à la Viva PHX or Los Dias de la Crescent. Instead, its a brand new music venue. Levy, who co-owns the Crescent Ballroom and runs concert promotions company…

Interpol Is Back With Unintentional Anagrams and a New Outlook

Nobody makes sullenness seem so stylish as New York’s brooding post-punk band Interpol. As part of the so-called post-punk revival in the early- to mid-2000s, the quartet (now a threesome) helped re-popularize a genre largely forgotten by the huddled masses. Alongside the Strokes, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and the White…

6 Best Concerts in Phoenix This Weekend

Lots of good stuff to do this weekend as festival season in Arizona comes to a close with a strong finale. This weekend we have Country Thunder down in Florence, and Quail Run Park in Mesa will host two consecutive days of concerts — FestivALT AZ on Friday and UFEST…

Tucson’s Drew Cooper Makes Country Music For Everyone

When Drew Cooper strolls into the Hotel Congress on a dimly-lit late afternoon, he’s got a canvas bag, festooned with a pink block print of an owl, over one arm and a rambunctious, wildly endearing toddler in the other. His iPhone speaks volumes about his preferred aesthetic though, a mix…

Sidewinder Music Festival Postponed

The Sidewinder Music Festival, a country music event scheduled for April 25-26, has been postponed, organizers announced today. The reason given in a statement to New Times was “strategic restructuring.” Etzel Entertainment President Tom Etzel said in the press release, “All of our corporate and community partners have been very…

Reverend Horton Heat Revs Up the Rockabilly Engine Again

To characterize the musical stylings of the Reverend Horton Heat as simply rock ‘n’ roll is akin to saying the founder and leader of the popular rockabilly band, Jim Heath, likes playing the occasional live show. For more than the past quarter-century, the Dallas-based Heath and his two bandmates have…

Michael Gira and Swans Fly Forward into the Next Project

Do not come to the Swans concert expecting to hear a parade of songs from the latest album, or preceding ones for that matter. Swans leader Michael Gira doesn’t dwell in the past. Instead, he strives for the next “invigorating, energizing” sound to move his world. “It’s more about internally…

Right Hear, Right Now: 5 Rad New Songs By Phoenix Artists

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. Strange Lot – “Into The Night” Strange Lot have just released the first single from their forthcoming full length album Another…

Heritage Hump Day: The Green Lady Killers – “My .45”

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…

Brett Eldredge Has More Than Just a Wild Side

Brett Eldredge sounds like a damn maniac. He’s not listing off conspiracy theories, nor is he divulging dark stories of Hollywood debauchery: Rather, he’s laying out in detail what he’s going to do once his latest hit, “Mean to Me,” reaches number one on the country charts. “I’ve made the…

Five Underrated Bad Religion Songs

Bad Religion’s first album came out in 1982. That’s 35 years ago. They’re still pumping out new albums and selling concert tickets nationwide.With this kind of longevity comes a massive catalog of hundreds of songs. Therefore, it’s understandable that you may have slept on a couple of gems on your…