The 10 Best Concerts in Phoenix This Weekend

Up for an adventure and a little bit of a road trip? This year’s Country Thunder Arizona music festival is taking place over the next few days and it's one of the biggest concerts happening in the Valley this weekend. If you’re hoping to stay closer to home, however, there are plenty of other worthwhile shows and music events happening from Friday, April 12, to Sunday, April 14.

Infamous grindcore act Graf Orlock will be performing at The Lunchbox, Railroad Earth will stage their first Valley show since the untimely passing of their co-founding member Andy Goessling died last year, and local indie band Troubled Minds will celebrate the release of its new EP.

There will also be pool parties and EDM events aplenty, including the latest Bubble Bobble foam party.

Details about each of these shows and events can be found below in our list of the best concerts happening in the Valley this weekend. And for even more live music around town, hit up Phoenix New Times' online concert calendar.

Guy Gerber
Friday, April 12
Shady Park in Tempe

Guy Gerber might appear to be just another suave-looking European DJ. But the world-traveling techno spinner from Tel Aviv has been a badass in the EDM world for more than a decade. He's also the founder of his own EDM label, Supplement Facts. However, much of the mainstream learned Gerber’s name after his unlikely collaboration with Diddy on their ballyhooed 2014 album, 11:11. Over the past several years, Gerber has been a man of the people, spinning his high-energy melodic mixes of tech house, deep house, and progressive house at a multitude of club gigs and festivals. He hits Shady Park in Tempe this weekend for a Friday night gig that kicks off at 9 p.m. Tickets are $30. Nate Jackson

Graf Orlock
Friday, April 12
The Lunchbox

Graf Orlock play grindcore inspired by their favorite action movies. On their 2012 Los Angeles EP, for instance, the group focused on Michael Mann's 1995 cops-and-robbers masterpiece, Heat. Dialogue and samples from the film are twisted into a vicious commentary on how fucked up Los Angeles can be. The chaos is almost as brutal as that film's pivotal shootout scene. Other releases feature snippets from such action flicks as The Terminator, Aliens, and RoboCop. Despite the shtick, Graf Orlock’s rock is hard, fast, and fierce, which leaves their listeners and audiences breathless. Frontman Karl Bournze is equally as fearsome, eschewing stage banter and displaying a level of anger and ferocity during Graf Orlock’s sets. He gets up close and personal during the set with everyone in the crowd, even the people hanging out at the back of the crowd. Consider yourself warned. Jason Roche


Troubled Minds (EP Release Show)
Friday, April 12
The Rebel Lounge

The Phoenix pop punk and emo rockers Troubled Minds hit the ground running in 2019 with fresh material when they dropped their single “Exit Stage Left” in February. Now, the group is gearing up to celebrate the release of their newest EP, A Call to Anywhere At All. Local punk rock group Audrey Heartburn will also be releasing a new EP at the show. Fans of emo music can stick around afterward for a night emo music from DJs spinning sad boi/gurl bangers. Julian Hernandez

Country Thunder 2019
Friday, April 12, to Sunday, April 14
Canyon Moon Ranch in Florence

The big names of contemporary and throwback country music are once again rounding up at Canyon Moon Ranch in Florence for the annual Country Thunder music festival. Over 100,000 country and western fans are expected to the festival grounds from Friday, April 12, to Sunday, April 14, for 10-gallon headliners such as Tim McGraw, Clay Walker, Chris Stapleton, and homegrown star Dierks Bentley. In addition to country stars taking the main stage, Country Thunder 2019 also offers retail vendors, partner activities, on-site bars, a food court, and additional entertainers and a side stage featuring local country bands. Lauren Cusimano

Bubble Bobble 11
Saturday, April 13
Club Red in Mesa

Typically, there are three things your average EDM aficionado wants out of a dance party experience: top-shelf DJs; music that’s loud, fast, and hard; and sufficient room for shaking their booty. This weekend’s Bubble Bobble 11 will offer all those things in abundance, plus a super-sized sea of soapy foam. The long-running foam party has been taking place almost annually since the mid-aughts and is inspired by the famous video game series of the same name.

Millions of tiny bubbles will rain down from the ceiling of Club Red in Mesa on Saturday, April 13, covering electronic dance music fans with an overwhelming amount of suds. Meanwhile, headlining DJs like Scott Brown, Hixxy, and Mitomoro will be dispensing beats to keep the dance floor moving as they serve up beats and bass. A cadre of local DJs and EDM artists will also perform, including Dark Mark, Fairydvst, Raichu, Underdown, Maromi, Big Stabes, Disco Stu, S33D, Sparrow, Distorter, and Cik. Bust a move starting at 8 p.m. Presale general admission is $22 and premium tickets and party packages are $50 to $180. Benjamin Leatherman