To wit: The Concert in the Coliseum will bring rap star Post Malone to the TPC Scottsdale on Saturday night to kick off this year’s WM Phoenix Open. If you can’t afford the hefty price tag for tickets, consider attending guitar virtuoso Orianthi’s show at Celebrity Theatre on Sunday.
Other notable shows happening this weekend include DJ/producer Borgore at Sunbar in Tempe on Friday the annual Phoenix Rock Lottery at Crescent Ballroom on Saturday and Portugal. The Man at Marquee Theatre on Sunday. Blues-rock prodigy Taj Farrant is also scheduled for a two-night stint at The Rhythm Room.
Read on for details about these gigs and the rest of Phoenix's best concerts this weekend or check our listings for even more live music in the Valley.
Borgore
Friday, Feb. 2Sunbar, 24 W. Fifth St., TempeThe music of Asaf Borger — better known to electronic dance music fans as Borgore — is provocative and downright filthy. Throughout his career, the DJ/producer has crafted tracks peppered with expletives and coated with quite possibly the grubbiest dubstep bass in existence. It's called "gorestep" and it's a mix of dubstep depravity laced with Borger's libertine-like affinity for heavy metal hooks (he's the veteran of hard rock band Shabira) and hip-hop raunch. It's so filthy that taking a shower after listening might be necessary, especially if you've been grinding away to Borger's tracks amid a sweaty mass of grinding clubgoers. Borger not only embraces the decadent nature of his music, he revels in it. And dubstep fans have dug his stuff over the past decade. Experience it for yourself this weekend at Sunbar in Tempe. With Dack Janiels; 9 p.m., $36.50 via tixr.com. Benjamin Leatherman
’90s Pop Tour
Friday, Feb. 2Arizona Financial Theatre, 400 W. Washington St. As it turns out, English-language artists don’t have the market cornered on throwback tours. This concert experience offers a lineup of Latin pop artists who were big in the ’90s, such as hitmakers Kabah ("Vive," "Mai Mai”), Magneto (“Todo Esta Muy Bien,” “Soy Un Soñador”), Lynda ("Gira Que Gira," "Inseparables") and Sentidos Opuestos (“Historias de Amor,” “Escribeme en el Cielo”). Other artists scheduled to perform on the tour include Mexican girl group JNS and pop/hip-hop Caló. According to promoters, more than 3 million have attended the tour’s various performances, which reportedly feature visual effects, choreography and mucha nostalgia. 8 p.m., $49.50-$149.50 via livenation.com. Benjamin Leatherman
Concert in the Coliseum 2024 feat. Post Malone
Saturday, Feb. 3TPC Scottsdale, 17020 N. Hayden Road, ScottsdaleBefore the action gets going at the annual WM Phoenix Open golf tournament next week, the 2024 Concert in the Coliseum will take place on Saturday on the TPC Scottsdale. The annual 21-and-over event takes place on the 16th hole of the golf course, which will host a massive outdoor stage, and this year’s Concert in the Coliseum features Grammy-nominated singer/rapper Post Malone of "Sunflower" and "Rockstar" fame. (Past acts include Maroon 5 and Walker Hayes in 2023 and Old Dominion and Thomas Rhett in 2022.) Expect to hear the rapper perform tracks off his latest album, last year’s “Austin,” and such recent singles as “Dial Drunk.” Tickets are officially sold out, but seats are available from resellers. (Heads up: They're expensive.) 7 p.m. Jennifer Goldberg
Tommy James and the Shondells
Saturday, Feb. 3Celebrity Theatre, 440 N. 32nd St. While Tommy James and the Shondells’ hypnotic 1969 hit “Crystal Blue Persuasion” might be forever linked to its prominent inclusion in an episode of “Breaking Bad,” the prolific rock legends feature plenty of other hits in their repertoire that aren’t tied to the illegal drug trade. Hits like “Crimson and Clover,” “Mony Mony,” "Hanky Panky,” "I Think We're Alone Now” and “Sweet Cherry Wine” are all untainted by any association with illicit substances, but are just as catchy and addictive. Chart-toppers like "Crimson and Clover," "Mony Mony," "Hanky Panky," "I Think We're Alone Now," and "Sweet Cherry Wine" remain untainted by any association with illicit substances, yet are equally as catchy and addictive. 7:30 p.m., $35-$95 via etix.com. Benjamin Leatherman
Phoenix Rock Lottery 2024
Saturday, Feb. 3Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. Second Ave. Local music fans rejoice. The annual Phoenix Rock Lottery is returning this weekend for its 10th installment. Here's how it works: On Saturday morning, 25 local musicians will gather at the venue. They'll be split up into five new bands by drawing names from a hat. Throughout the day, the bands will each choose a name, write three original songs and learn one cover tune. Then, each band will show off the day's work on Saturday evening during a live performance. This year’s participants include AJJ’s Sean Bonnette, singer-songwriters Veronica Everheart and Shawn Johnson, Phoenix Afrobeat Orchestra’s Daniel Ybarra, Diva Bleach’s Brie Ritter, Practically People’s Jane Harris and Quinn Scully from The Senators. Proceeds from the event benefit Rosie's House, a Valley nonprofit organization that delivers the gift of music education through instruments and free instruction to local underserved youth. 8 p.m., $15/$20 via ticketweb.com. Jennifer Goldberg
Taj Farrant
Saturday, Feb. 3 and Sunday, Feb. 4Rhythm Room, 1019 E. Indian School RoadAustralian guitar prodigy Taj Farrant defies the notion that the blues are a genre by and for the older crowd. In 2017, he earned international attention at the age of 8 when videos of him playing Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" blindfolded went viral on social media. Despite his youth, Farrant possesses the extraordinary ability to play the blues with soul and verve. His performances evoke the raw emotion and technical prowess associated with the genre's greatest artists and have impressed Carlos Santana, Rob Thomas and the members of KISS. (Farrant’s amazing skills aren’t just limited to the blues, as he can also wail on such rock anthems as “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “Bohemian Rhapsody.”) He’s currently touring the U.S. in support of “Crossroads,” his 2023 single, and is scheduled for a two-night stint at The Rhythm Room this weekend with his sister Jazel Farrant and rock band Nathan Bryce and Loaded Dice. 8 p.m., $30-$50 via seetickets.us. Benjamin Leatherman
Orianthi
Sunday, Feb. 4Celebrity Theatre, 440 N. 32nd St.Orianthi has a lot of experience with sick riffs. The Australian-born singer, songwriter and musician has been a touring guitarist for much of her career, shredding alongside luminaries like Alice Cooper, Carrie Underwood and the late Michael Jackson. Orianthi started young as a guitar prodigy jamming with the likes of Carlos Santana at age 18. Since then she’s developed a straightforward, no-thrills hard rock that’s flavored with a bit of bluesy soul and swagger and salted with her tough gal vocals. “Rock Candy,” her most recent studio album, might not offer much sweetness, but there’s plenty of smoke wafting off its blues rock licks as Orianthi shreds and sings about heartache and sorrows. “It’s so hard when your heart’s on the ground,” she sings on the album's lead single “Light It Up” over a defiant garage rock stomp. Hear her perform it live when she comes to Celebrity Theatre on Sunday night. With The Black Moods; 7:30 p.m., $25-$95 via etix.com. Ashley Naftule
Portugal. The Man
Sunday, Feb. 4Marquee Theatre, 730 N. Mill Ave., Tempe Alt-rock band Portugal. The Man aren’t afraid to get a little looney with it. On “Dummy,” one of the standout tracks off last year’s “Chris Black Changed My Life,” frontman and guitarist John Gourley goes full Chuck Jones on the track as he compares his religion and the dread of death to a piano hanging over his head. Call it theology ACME style. The song is as cartoony as that image: an immersive blend of rubbery basslines, steady drum hits, spacey backing vocals and Gourley’s androgynous, slightly childish voice. That atmosphere of playfulness and surprise permeates Portugal. The Man’s work. Even something as pop as 2017’s inescapable hit “Feel It Still” sounds like it shouldn’t exist: a Technicolor throwback to Motown/girl group pop that sounds right at home in the smartphone era. You can still hear them playing with those ’60s R&B flourishes on cuts like “Grim Generation” and “Champ.” P.TM’s music is so vibrant, colorful and energetic that it makes you forget about that existential piano swinging up above for a few minutes. What more could you ask from art than that? With Snacktime; 8 p.m., $52.63-$96.03 via seetickets.us. Ashley Naftule
