Inaugural ZONA Music Festival Will Take Over Downtown Phoenix in December

And the lineup is packed with national and local indie acts.

August 24, 2022

Image: Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast is one of many acts scheduled to appear at the inaugural ZONA Music Festival in December.

Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast is one of many acts scheduled to appear at the inaugural ZONA Music Festival in December. Peter Ash Lee

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December in Phoenix usually brings spectacular weather — weather that's perfect for being outside and listening to music.

But the prospect of mild days and chilly nights isn't why we're excited by this morning's announcement of ZONA Music Festival, a new two-day boutique music festival that will be held Saturday, December 3, and Sunday, December 4, at Margaret T. Hance Park in downtown Phoenix.

The event, which was announced during a press conference this morning at Kahvi Coffee & Cafe in central Phoenix, is a joint project of local promoter Stephen Chilton's Psyko Steve Presents and nonprofit organization Downtown Phoenix Inc. Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego spoke at the event, as did Arizona Congressman Greg Stanton.

And the lineup is packed with both national and local acts.

The scheduled headliners are Beach House, Portugal. The Man, Bleachers, Tegan and Sara, and Japanese Breakfast.

The rest of the musical acts include: Bartees Strange, Beach Goons, Black Carl, Breakup Shoes, Chicano Batman, Chloe Lilac, Destroy Boys, Diva Bleach, flor, The Front Bottoms, The Garden, Glixen, The Happy Fits, Jeff Rosenstock, July Talk, Lucius, Lucy Dacus, Miniature Tigers, The National Parks, Pariah Pete, Phoenix Afrobeat Orchestra, Playboy Manbaby, Pom Pom Squad, The Red Pears, The Regrettes, SALES, SASAMI, Sitting On Stacy, Sub Urban, Sydney Sprague, Turnover, TV Girl, UPSAHL, and Waxahatchee & Kevin Morby.

“We are beyond thrilled to be among this incredible lineup and return to one of our favorite cities in the United States,” Tegan Quin and Sara Quin said in a statement. “It's been a long three years, and we are very much looking forward to getting on stage and strutting our stuff at ZONA in December.”

"So excited to come back to Phoenix for ZONA Festival!!!,” Northern California-based punk trio Destroy Boys said in a statement. “So many killer bands are playing, plus this is one of our favorite cities. See you there!!!"

ZONA Music Festival two-day general admission and VIP weekend tickets will go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. Arizona time on Friday, August 26, on the ZONA Music Festival website. Single-day GA and VIP tickets will be available closer to the event.

Jennifer Goldberg is the Senior Editor of Culture at Phoenix New Times. She joined the New Times staff in February 2016. In her role, Jennifer writes and publishes profiles of both local and regional musicians, previews upcoming performances and provides guides on the best of Phoenix’s entertainment scene. She also oversees the Best of Phoenix. Jennifer previously worked for Jewish News of Greater Phoenix. During her career, Jennifer has received awards from the Arizona Press Club, the Arizona Newspaper Association and the American Jewish Press Association. She holds a bachelor’s of arts in English from Arizona State University.

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