The 18 Best Concerts in Phoenix This Week

October is known as one of the biggest months for concerts in the Valley. The next few weeks feature a ton of big shows happening. The Arizona State Fair’s concert series is now in full swing, and local arts and cultural centers have their mojos working.

But don’t take our word for it. Check out the array of notable concerts taking place from Friday, October 4, to Thursday, October 10, around metro Phoenix.

Highlights include deadmau5 bringing his cubev3 to Comerica Theatre, the Jonas Brothers at Talking Stick Resort Arena, jazz great Chick Corea at Mesa Arts Center, and the costumed punks of Masked Intruder getting rowdy at the Nile Theater in Mesa. There’s even a rock band inspired by Genghis Khan in the mix. No joke.

Details about each of these shows can be found below. For more live music happening this week and later in October, hit up Phoenix New Times' online concert calendar.

Masked Intruder

Friday, October 4
The Nile Theater in Mesa

Pop-punk quartet Masked Intruder have been stealing hearts and VCRs across the country this year. The band's debut full-length sounds a bit like Screeching Weasel and The Ergs!, with a pinch of lovelorn Weezer added for good measure. The band keep their members secret, identifying each by nothing more than a color and a matching mask and Chuck Taylors.

Singer/guitarist Intruder Blue says the band formed in prison because "crime and love songs go together like chocolate and peanut butter." Though Masked Intruder mostly focus on those love songs, tunes like "Stick 'em Up (I've Got a Knife)" provide just the right balance for this group of four Midwestern guys who (probably) haven't done anything more incriminating than stealing the occasional pizza. They invade the Nile in Mesa on Friday night. The Bomb Pops and Pottymouth open the 8 p.m. show. Tickets are $17. Melissa Fossum

Son Volt

Saturday, October 5
Crescent Ballroom

Jay Farrar, the less experimentally minded side of the Uncle Tupelo coin, still lives in a world where guitars are not relics and kill fascists. The St. Louis native has now invested more than two decades into Son Volt, his post-Tupelo band long hailed as one of the finest rock groups under the Americana umbrella in their own right. Farrar’s songs are as Midwestern salt-of-the-earth as they come, often mingling Woody Guthrie-style populism with meat-and-potatoes riffs and drums, just the ticket for those who enjoy their tunes served up with a conscience and a side of feedback. Their latest album, Union, strikes a balance between the current political climate and the eternal themes of love and time. Tickets are $25 to $38. Chris Gray

Jonas Brothers

Saturday, October 5
Talking Stick Resort Arena

In October 2013, the Jonas Brothers broke up, citing "a deep rift within the band." In an outfit comprising three siblings — Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas — disagreements are bound to happen. But six years after the trio broke countless young hearts around the world, they reunited and pushed out a brand-new record to celebrate their reconciliation. On tour in support of their fifth studio album, Happiness Begins, the Jonas Brothers will visit Talking Stick Resort Arena on Saturday with support from openers Bebe Rexha and Jordan McGraw. Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. concert are $60.20 to $495.20. Matthew Keever

Bad Religion

Saturday, October 5
The Van Buren

Bad Religion have always cast themselves as an avatar of dark and bitter social cynicism that tends to view even punk itself through the same gloom-tinted lens as it does the rest of the scary world. They had a serious sound, almost apocalyptically earnest. Now nearing their 40s, they've aged a bit more gracefully than many of their contemporaries, but are just as badass as ever. Their latest release, Age of Unreason, dropped this year. It's as punk and politically minded as any of their previous albums. They’re scheduled to perform on Saturday night at The Van Buren. Dave Hause and the Mermaid and Emily Davis and the Murder Police will open the 7:30 p.m. show. Tickets are $32.50 to $35. Jason Heller

The Cult

Saturday, October 5
Arizona State Fair

Longtime fans of British rockers The Cult, led by Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy, and the band’s multiplatinum Sonic Temple album won’t want to miss their current tour. It commemorates the 30th anniversary of the album’s release, which features some of the band’s top songs (“Fire Woman,” “Sun King,” “Edie (Ciao Baby),” and “Sweet Soul Sister”). The setlist will reportedly draw from band’s catalog, with the centerpiece being a “superset” focused on tracks from Sonic Temple — some of which haven’t been performed since the album’s release. The Cult continue to bridge the divide between hard rock and indie alternative rock. On Saturday night at 7 p.m., they’ll perform their first-ever show at the Arizona State Fair. It’s free to attend with fair admission, $40 if you’d like to have reserved seating. Daniel Rodrigue

Slow Magic

Saturday, October 5
Shady Park

Performing in a costume and striking mask, Slow Magic aims to direct the audience's attention to the music and the show's visual art. The mask itself invites the projection of imagination onto the imagery. “It's [an] imaginary friend,” Magic says. “An imaginary animal. I've heard a lot of different things about what it is: fox, zebra, horse. But I want to leave it up to people who come to see the band to decide.”

The mask started as a cardboard construction made by a friend, and though the current incarnation is visually similar, it's primarily made of plastic and includes lights. The mask looks totemic — an abstracted, even mythological, animal. Attached to a human body, it is reminiscent of the sacred imagery of half-human, half-animal creatures in cave paintings and inside pyramids. But in the context of ethereal yet bright electronic-pop music, Slow Magic's otherworldly presence is somehow also inviting and playful. See for yourself at his gig on Saturday night at Shady Park in Tempe, which starts at 9 p.m. Tickets are $15. Tom Murphy

Creedence Clearwater Revisited

Saturday, October 5
Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino in Chandler

Okay, so John Fogerty won't be there, but Creedence Clearwater Revival’s original rhythm section will be. And if you weren't around for the original CCR anyway, that doesn’t matter a bit. What will matter is that this revisited Creedence consists of roadworthy veterans who'll be performing some of Americana's greatest hits — "Proud Mary," "Born on the Bayou," and "Suzie Q," to name but a few. In the end, though, it’s all about the music of CCR, which Creedence Clearwater Revisited perform with style and aplomb. If you close your eyes and dig the moment while attending their show at Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino in Chandler this weekend, you just might awaken back to the ways a certain generation learned its legacy. The gig gets going at 8 p.m. Tickets are $69 to $99. John Hood

deadmau5

Saturday, October 5
Comerica Theatre

Joel Zimmerman — better known as deadmau5, the EDM DJ as famous for his sick beats and mouse head helmet as he is for being kind of a grump — will bring his latest audiovisual spectacular, the cubeV3, to Comerica Theatre on Saturday night. That’s right, bass cadets: deadmau5. In Phoenix. The stage setup (which our sister publication Miami New Times described as a “massive, three-sided cube [that] will tilt, rotate, and push the boundaries of what a live stage production can be” and feature a “cutting-edge crispness and eye-popping visuals personally designed and rendered by Zimmerman”) will be the centerpiece of his performance. Get ready to rage when the mau5 is in the house. The masked man will be supported by Lights, MSTRKRFT, and Sysdemes.  The show is at 8 p.m. and tickets are $41.50 to $160. Douglas Markowitz

Chick Corea

Sunday, October 6
Mesa Arts Center

Since getting his start playing gigs in high school, Chick Corea has gone on to release dozens of outstanding discs under his own name, platters like Now He Sings, Now He Sobs and My Spanish Heart. After playing on Miles Davis's late '60s/early '70s jazz-rock fusion albums In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew, the prodigious and legendary jazz pianist helped propel fusion even more with Return to Forever. Corea is still doing his thing at the age of 78 and is currently touring with renowned bassist Christian McBride and percussionist Brian Blade. The trio won a pair of Grammys for their 2014 album, Trilogy, and are scheduled to perform at the Mesa Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $35 to $63. Jon Solomon

John Digweed

Sunday, October 6
Shady Park in Tempe

John Digweed has been living the dream for decades; at age 11, all he wanted in life was to be a DJ. Suffice it to say, he reached his goal — and then some. Over the past three decades, Digweed has held down a prestigious residency at influential NYC club Twilo, collaborated with fellow producers Sasha and Nick Muir, appeared as himself in Greg Harrison's 2000 flick Groove, and has been voted as the number one DJ in DJ Mag, among other accolades.

Throughout his decades-spanning career, Digweed has made sure the music always comes first. "What excites me is new music," he says. "I'm always about throwing forward, not backward." As such, you're guaranteed to hear some fresh cuts coming from the sound system at Shady Park in Tempe on Sunday afternoon when Digweed performs. Rest assured that lovers of progressive trance — and lovers of electronic music, period — will be out in force to hear his tunes. Brando and DJ duo Turner and Heit will open the afternoon, which starts at 3 p.m. Tickets are $35. Amber Taufen

La Santa Cecilia

Monday, October 7
Crescent Ballroom

If there is one band that represents the multicultural mix of the Southwest, it's La Santa Cecilia. Since their Latin Grammy nomination in 2015, the L.A. group have been representing the city at major festivals in Texas and New York. They're also picking up the attention of critics through pieces on NPR's All Things Considered and Latino USA.

Their hybrid of Latin, rock, and world music has caught the attention of groups like Cafe Tacuba, Lila Downs, Ozomatli, and Los Lobos, all of whom have had La Santa Cecilia open shows for them. Anyone who has attended their concerts can attest that lead singer Marisol "La Marisoul" Hernandez has one of the most powerful voices in any city, in any genre. The band are scheduled to perform on Monday night at Crescent Ballroom with Dolores Dorantes. Start time is 7 p.m. and tickets are $15. Eddie Cota

Huun-Huur-Tu

Monday, October 7
MIM Music Theater

Bad Religion have always cast itself What exactly does throat singing sound like? Think of a swarming mass of Africanized bees buzzing inside a long narrow pipe, a deep baritone rumble ebbing and flowing in relation to the opening. That's kinda close. The singing — technically the sound's created by the singer singing both the note (drone) and the drone's overtone(s), producing up to several notes at once — also can sound like a flute, bird, horse, or whistle, though the bee-like hum is most famously recognizable.

Hailing from Tuva, a tiny Russian Federation republic on the Mongolian border, Huun-Huur-Tu formed in 1992, though the tradition of throat singing dates back hundreds of years. Indigenous instruments such as the cello-like igil, khomus (Tuvan jaw harp), dünggür (shaman drum), three-stringed doshpuluur, and others, eventually were added as musical accents to what initially was a vocal-only affair for herders. Western instruments — even electronics — have found a place within this traditional folk music. Huun-Huur-Tu are scheduled to perform at 7 p.m. on Monday, October 7, at MIM Music Theater. Tickets are $33.50 to $43.50. Glenn BurnSilver

Bit Brigade

Monday, October 7
Valley Bar

Watching most video game speed runs is generally as compelling as counting bumps on a popcorn ceiling. But what if said speed run were in the midst of a badass rock concert? That’s the entire M.O. of Georgia’s Bit Brigade, who jam through entire NES game soundtracks, including Metroid and Contra, as someone ekes out the best speed run score possible. Is this a gaming event with music, or a concert with a dash of gaming? Who cares! It kicks the stuffing out of playing Candy Crush on the bus. The run begins at 8 p.m. on Monday, October 7 at Valley Bar. Also, make sure to chug some Mountain Dew Game Fuel beforehand. Tickets are $15. Double Ferrari and Long Grass open. Chris Coplan

Bettye LaVette

Tuesday, October 8
MIM Music Theater

Soul singer Bettye LaVette’s genius lies in her uncanny ability to wring emotional depth from even the most innocuous of pop songs. Her plaintive rasp exposes the lovestruck vulnerability at the heart of “Maybe I’m Amazed,” plumbs the spookiest depths of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy,” and fills Elton John’s barroom confessional “Talking Old Soldiers” with almost unbearable world-weariness. An R&B ingenue in the 1960s, LaVette’s career never really took off until a boutique French label released her debut album in 2000 — 28 years after she recorded it for Atlantic/Atco Records. Since then, she’s sung “A Change Is Gonna Come” at Obama’s first inaugural celebration, stolen the show at the Kennedy Center Honors with a rendition of “Love, Reign O’er Me” that reduced Pete Townshend to tears, and generally disproved F. Scott Fitzgerald’s old saw that American lives have no second act. She’ll be in concert at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, October 8, at MIM Music Theater. Tickets are $43.50 to $48.50. Andy Hermann

The Hu

Tuesday, October 8
Crescent Ballroom

The members of The Hu are badasses. That much is clear. They combine traditionally Mongolian sounds — throat singing and the two-stringed morin khuur horsehead fiddle — with the bass, beats, and production techniques of modern rock. The four-piece band from Ulaanbaatar have a distinctive beefy sound that lends itself to energetic fist-pumping.

The Hu conquered YouTube with its “Wolf Totem” video, in which the bandmates wore leather, rode motorcycles, and chanted their infectious minor-key melodies over the Central Asian plains. Their guttural tones have stirred up the mosh pits at the U.K.’s Download Festiva, and Germany’s Rock amRing. They’ll be at Crescent Ballroom on Tuesday, October 8. Tickets are $20 to $30 for the 8 p.m. show. Brendan Driscoll

Sabaton

Thursday, October 10
The Van Buren

When a band are named after a knight’s foot armor, you can probably bet on two things: They're either a power metal band or they're Swedish. Sabaton are both. Several of the band's albums and the majority of their lyrical content are focused on war (particularly WWI and WWII) and historical battles. Other songs pay tribute to legendary and influential metal bands. But in 2012, nearly all the members left to form the ironically named band Civil War, leaving vocalist Joakim Broden and bassist Par Sundstrom to recruit new members for their heavy international tour gigs. The band are still loved worldwide and they invade The Van Buren this week. HammerFall opens the 8 p.m. show. Tickets are $27.50 to $33. Lauren Wise

Bring Me the Horizon

Thursday, October 10
Comerica Theatre

Not every band evolves, but more and more the idea of “selling out” seems to be something that modern artists care about less about than their elders. Bring Me the Horizon’s career trajectory has seen them go from all-aggro to a band with more melody. They’ve made the shift about as gracefully as one can and they still play enough of their older stuff that so you can still feel chills. Their current tour comes to Comerica Theatre on Thursday, October 10. Sleeping With Sirens and Poppy open the 7 p.m. show. Tickets are $39.95 to $49.95. Cory Garcia

Stereolab

Thursday, October 10
Crescent Ballroom

Stereolab are spearheaded by frontwoman Laetitia Sadier and guitarist Tim Gane, with a rotation of backing players. They’ve been performing since the early '90s and released 10 critically acclaimed records between 1992 and 2010, though they're largely remembered for Emperor Tomato Ketchup and Dots and Loops.

It’s been over a decade since they've toured in the States. Their current tour, which comes to Crescent Ballroom on Thursday, October 10, offers the chance to witness why the band transcend era and genre with an energetic hour-and-a-half set. The show is at 8 p.m. and admission is $30 to $40. Kenneth Pritchard