The 11 Best Concerts in Phoenix This Weekend

This weekend, you can party poolside with Foreigner or JAUZ, encounter living legends, or go ham with hip-hop stars. The Valley’s concert calendar from Friday, June 7, to Sunday, June 9, will also offer you chances to see such acts as Sebadoh and Darude, as well as attend the final show at The Listening Room.

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

Foreigner

Friday, June 7
The Pool at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale

The criticism that Foreigner have to face is much the same as that fielded by Journey and Boston: The current lineup touring under the classic band name bears little resemblance to the group of people responsible for recording the hits that created the brand in the first place. At least Foreigner, unlike both Journey and Boston, didn’t find its new singer online. But still, guitarist Mick Jones is the only member who was in Foreigner prior to the 1990s, and guitarist/saxophonist Thom Gimbel is the only other one there prior to 2000.

Those sorts of wholesale changes will inevitably lead to some “glorified tribute band” claims that are tough to debate. In defense of Mick Jones, he has assembled a band that has retained the spirit of the original group. Foreigner will be at Talking Stick Resort on Friday night for an outdoor show by the pool. It starts at 8 p.m. and tickets are $25 to $125. Brett Callwood

Snow Tha Product

Friday, June 7
The Pressroom

Despite the success of artists like Cardi B, female rappers are still rare in the current hip-hop landscape, and LGBT ones even rarer. But times are changing, which we hope means talents like Snow Tha Product will finally see more success. Born Claudia Feliciano, Snow was a social work student before she began to pursue music in the late 2000s. She’s known for her rapid-fire rapping style and for performing in both English and Spanish. Recent projects include the mixtape Vibe Higher, a role on the USA Network show Queen of the South, and a spot on The Hamilton Mixtape. Smeared Lipstick Crew will join her at The Pressroom. The show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $23 to $35. Douglas Markowitz

JD Souther

Friday, June 7, and Saturday, June 8
Musical Instrument Museum

Many folks probably only learned about the great songwriter JD Souther because of his stint on the ABC prime-time drama Nashville, which is as unfortunate as his character's name, Watty White. His role as a revered Music Row insider on the hit show is only his second most interesting television appearance of late: In Showtime's documentary The History of The Eagles, Souther's artful contributions are well-detailed, as he's responsible for many of the wildly popular but polarizing California country-rock band's best-known hits.

His work includes the driving "How Long," the only listenable song on the Eagles' last album, The Road Out of Eden. In the early 1970s, Souther was a part of the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band. Along with his bandmates at the time, Chris Hillman (The Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers) and Richie Furay (Buffalo Springfield), Souther helped define what is now known as alt-country by mixing sweet harmonies and arrangements that could waltz along or rock about. Indeed, Souther's music is what makes him worth knowing about — not the fact that he was once on a show with the cheerleader from Heroes. His performances at the MIM each start at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $48.50 to $63.50. Kelly Dearmore

Rich the Kid

Saturday, June 8
The Van Buren

From challenging other rappers and local skaters to a game of Skate to being the CEO of his Rich Forever Music label, Rich the Kid does it all. Being in control of business is something the Queens-born rapper takes to heart, hence the title of last year’s The World Is Yours and this year’s follow-up The World Is Yours 2. After a having a big year in 2018, including the major successes of singles “New Freezer” and “Plug Walk," his 2019 is off to a great start with the release of tracks like “4 Phones” and “Tic Toc.” He’ll be at The Van Buren on June 8 with support from NLE Choppa, Yung Bino, and 83 Babies. Julio Lugo

JAUZ

Saturday, June 8
The Pool at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale

It’s a good time to be JAUZ. After all, DJ and producer Sam Vogel is fresh off a Coachella set that broke the EDM corner of the Internet with a remix of the kids’ song “Baby Shark.” (“I still have dust in my nose and throat, but I’ll get over it,” he says.) When he wasn’t actively on stage at the festival, he was canoodling with friends you know better as superstar producers.

For the record, Vogel was not particularly interested in doing a remix of “Baby Shark.” Fans had been asking; after all, it’s a popular song about sharks, his branding is all sharks everything, so, um, where is it? He refused outright, then acquiesced — sort of — by offering to do it under the condition that his fans retweet his offer 20,000 times.

Vogel’s genre-bending blend of trap, bass house, and dubstep has since launched him into the EDM stratosphere. He founded his own label-slash-collective, Bite This, in November 2017, releasing singles from rising British bass line producers Holy Goof and ATRIP, future house duo Loge21, and “digital renegade” duo Pixel Terror. He releases his own music on Bite This Too, including debut studio album The Wise and the Wicked, an ambitious pop-facing record peppered with bizarre monologues that err on the side of standard-issue stoner philosophizing and chronicle humanity’s return from some version of the apocalypse. Elle Carroll

DaBaby

Saturday, June 8
The Pressroom

For those having trouble keeping up with the ever-shifting hip-hop landscape, DaBaby is definitely one to know. The rapper from Charlotte, North Carolina, has been making major waves this year and already boasts a rabid fan base that will undoubtedly be lit at his June 8 performance at The Pressroom.

The 27-year-old gained initial fame with his breakout hit “Baby on Baby,” filled with energetic rhymes and creative lyricism. He has been on the map for a few years, linking up with South Coast label CEO Arnold Taylor in 2016, who connected him with Interscope executives this year. DaBaby inked a deal with the major label in January and quickly has become a force to be reckoned with.

His debut album, named for his first major hit, was released this past March to critical acclaim. It earned an impressive 7.7 on Pitchfork’s notorious album review chart, and its 13 tracks reveal an ascendant raw talent.

Many will argue that a good test of an artist’s rap chops is freestyling, a skill DaBaby effortlessly checks off his list. Last month, he stopped by Power 106 in Los Angeles to fire off a freestyle with the musical group The L.A. Leakers, in which he floated over the beat to the hit “Act Up” by Miami's City Girls. Off the cuff, he delivered impeccable bars that showed off not only his lyrical ability but also his charming and lighthearted personality. Anna Hopkins

The Good Feelz

Saturday, June 8
The Listening Room

If you’ve never attended a show at The Listening Room, this weekend will be your last chance to do so. The cozy midtown Phoenix music venue, which touts itself as a performer-focused spot and “pure listening environment," is closing its doors after one final night of music on Saturday. Vocal ensemble The Good Feelz — which consists of musicians Lisa Fogel, Brian Sweis, and Adam Vargas — will perform two sets at 6 and 8:30 p.m., respectively.

The Listening Room’s co-owner Jim Colletti, who originally planned to close the venue on June 1, says they decided to keep things going for one final weekend in order to provide The Good Feelz with a gig. “These are performers who sold out several performances here in the past and couldn't find a venue for this weekend,” he says, “so we’re allowing them to keep the energy going here one last time.” Tickets are $20 in advance via and $25 at the door. Benjamin Leatherman

Black Sabbitch

Sunday, June 9
Last Exit Live

The members of Black Sabbitch play the songs of Black Sabbath and play ‘em with aplomb. They shred ‘em, in fact, and are not only talented — nailing every note of the legendary group's familiar repertoire — but are captivating to an almost distracting level. They emanated the effortless cool of rock ‘n’ roll, but with about 10 extra ounces of sexy confidence that may even cause the female metalheads in attendance at Black Sabbitch’s gig at Last Exit Life on June 9 to pick up a bass and start their own heavy metal tribute band with their girlfriends. For fans of Sabbath — and women who rock hard — this is not one to miss. Artemis Thomas-Hansard

Sebadoh

Sunday, June 9
Valley Bar

Sebadoh started as a kind of solo recording project of Lou Barlow toward the end of his tenure with Dinosaur Jr. in the late '80s. Upon his departure from Dino in 1989, Barlow focused on his songwriting with Sebadoh, and his recording aesthetic became synonymous with the "lo-fi" of the 1990s alongside artists like Pavement.

A prolific songwriter, Barlow, along with his bandmates, wrote some of the most emotionally poignant rock music of the '90s, and the sonic quality of his recordings influenced a new generation of musicians striving for recordings that contain the intimacy, immediacy, and imperfection of being in the same room with music as it's being performed. Sebadoh's later recordings (including 2013’s Defend Yourself, their most recent LP) became more sonically vivid, but the raw quality of the songwriting remained undiminished. Tom Murphy

Tab Benoit

Sunday, June 9
Musical Instrument Museum

Everything from New Orleans is humid and damp, from the cobblestones of the French Quarter to the sweat coming off the dancers at any of the city’s famed clubs. The blues music that has come out of the city sounds slick, smooth, and played loose by sweaty fingers in fervid, crowded rooms.

Guitarist Tab Benoit grew up in Baton Rouge and graduated from high school in New Orleans, and his style of Delta-blues-meets-roots is as authentic to the city’s character as his thick Cajun patois. He’s the type of guitar player that can start a party by himself, with a flashy, bluesy, percussive style of playing that practically demands audience members get out of their seats and start moving. As a result, through almost 20 albums spanning nearly two decades, he’s one of the city’s most important music exports of note. Catch him in concert on Sunday night at the MIM. The show is at 7 p.m. and tickets are $43.50 to $53.50. David Accomazzo

Darude

Sunday, June 9
Maya Day & Nightclub in Scottsdale

Finnish dance-music producer Ville Virtanen, better known as Darude, scored a monster hit with his first release "Sandstorm," a track that's sold millions of units worldwide since its release. While he's never managed to replicate the success of that initial monster track, he's managed to carve out a respectable niche for himself among the world's top trance producers and DJs. And he’s not slowing down by any means, constantly touring and releasing new works. Darude hits the nightclub at Maya in Scottsdale this weekend for to headline the club’s Sunday afternoon pool party, which kicks off at noon. It’s free to attend if you RSVP online and $10 general admission if you don’t. Cory Casciato