New Music Festivals
Two new Valley music festivals were announced recently. The hip-hop-focused IYKYK Music Festival, produced by Relentless Beats and Universatile Music, will take place on Saturday, Sept. 9, at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale. Lil Uzi Vert is the headliner, and the list of appearing acts includes Metro Boomin, Denzel Curry and Jeleel, with more performers to be announced later. The one-day event will also feature "a series of experiential activations, music, art, fashion and more," according to a press release.Doors for the all-ages festival open at 4 p.m. and the event will run 5 p.m. to midnight. Tickets are now on sale and range from $75 for general admission to $169 for VIP, which includes early entry to the venue, first access to merch, express entry, access to VIP lounge, a commemorative lanyard, premium view, air-conditioned restrooms and private food and bar. Visit relentlessbeats.com for info and tickets.
Also, the inaugural Dreamy Draw Music Festival happens Nov. 3-4 at the newly remodeled Scottsdale Civic Center. The outdoor concert event, announced last week, will feature more than 20 different indie bands and artists of the country, bluegrass, folk, roots and Americana variety. Performances will take place on three stages within the civic center, which recently received a $35 million overhaul.
Midland and Lord Huron headline the two-day festival. The rest of the lineup includes Margo Price, Luke Grimes, Watchhouse, Breland, Hailey Whitters, Trampled by Turtles, American Aquarium, Jamestown Revival, Mighty Poplar, Stephen Wilson Jr., Pony Bradshaw, American Hustler, Breland, JD Clayton, Matt Farris, Taylor Glasheen, Nat Myers, Emily Nenni, Grady Spencer and the Work and The Senators.
Dreamy Draw Music Festival co-founder and talent buyer RJ Largay tells Phoenix New Times the “multifaceted experience” will encompass the various genres connected with country music.
“We're going to lean into the southwestern sort of vibe but will have more than just country music," he says. "We're going to have bluegrass. We’re going to have folk. We're going to have Americana. Some of the bands on the lineup, like Midland, blur the lines between all those genres, but we also want to be inclusive of Americana and some of the more traditional country [music]."
Tickets for Dreamy Draw Music Festival go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday through the event’s website, dreamydrawfest.com. General admission starts at $70 per day or $135 for the weekend. VIP tickets include a variety of perks and are $150 and up each day or $290 and up for both days.
Grey Daze Concert
In 1998, Chester Bennington left the alt-rock group he had auditioned for six years earlier as a freshman at Greenway High School. The next year, he auditioned for the band that would eventually be known as Linkin Park and the rest, as they say, is history.But Grey Daze will always be the band that kicked off Bennington's career, and on Friday, Aug. 11, the re-formed group will perform at The Rebel Lounge.
It's a homecoming of sorts; Rebel is the former home of legendary music venue The Mason Jar, which is where Bennington, along with Grey Daze members Sean Dowdell and Cristin Davis, saw some of their first concerts as teenagers, as recounted in a 2020 Phoenix New Times cover feature
Dowdell and Bennington had re-formed Grey Daze in 2017, just months before Bennington died by suicide, and in 2020, Grey Daze released their first album in years, "Amends." The album includes vocals by Bennington. A follow-up, "The Phoenix," debuted in 2022.
The August 11 show has Civilia and Dierdre as opening acts. Tickets for the 8 p.m. show cost $20 plus fees. The Rebel Lounge is located at 2303 E. Indian School Road.
Alice Cooper License Plate
It was back in April 2022 when Phoenix New Times reported that an Alice Cooper license plate was coming to Arizona.Now, the plate is available on the Arizona Department of Transportation website for automobiles and motorcycles.
The red plate shows the legendary rocker decked out in his signature black eye makeup. It bears the name of Alice Cooper's Solid Rock, the teen centers Cooper opened more than two decades ago to make a difference in the life of Phoenix youth. Cooper's signature fundraiser for the centers, Alice Cooper's Christmas Pudding, celebrated its 20th anniversary in December.
The plate, like most other specialty plates, will cost $25, $17 of which goes to support Solid Rock programming.
“We know that people who choose specialty license plates for their vehicles take pride in displaying their connection to these community organizations,” MVD Director Eric Jorgensen said in a press release. “MVD is pleased that we can partner with the various organizations dedicated to helping Arizonans.”
The Alice Cooper plate was one of five new specialty plates released on Thursday. The others are Arizona Realtors® Homes for All, Cancer Support for Families, Diné College Warriors and U.S. Army.
For more information, or to order the plate, visit the ADOT website.
Keanu Reeves at Crescent Ballroom
Dogstar is performing at Crescent Ballroom on Aug. 11. The stop is part of Dogstar’s 30-city tour in support of the upcoming album “Somewhere Between the Power Lines and Palm Trees,” their first record in more than 20 years.Dogstar, which features actor Keanu Reeves on bass, plus vocalist and guitarist Bret Domrose and drummer Rob Mailhouse, originally formed in the early ’90s and served as a side gig for Reeves when he wasn’t acting. The band released two full-length albums, 1996’s “Our Little Visionary” and 2000’s “Happy Ending,” before breaking up in 2002. They reunited last year.
Tickets for Dogstar’s Crescent Ballroom gig, which you have to be 21 to attend, are sold out, but may be available on the secondary market.
