Review: Phoenix Rock Lottery combined good music and great vibes at Crescent Ballroom

A lot has already been said about Phoenix Rock Lottery. Like, how the event's premise — 25 local musicians are randomly sorted into five bands that spend the day writing and performing several songs — makes it enough of a cultural landmark. Or, that it does real good for the community, with the event providing thousands of dollars in aid for music education efforts courtesy of Rosie's House. Even that the Lottery is not just about good music and community support, but the event helps build the skills and career paths of every participant.

At the end of the day, though, Rock Lottery is still just a concert. And like any other concert, it needs to be evaluated less on the mighty context surrounding it and more on the merits and accomplishments of its players. In the case of the 2025 edition, Saturday evening (Feb. 1) proved to be a generally solid night for great music. Even as some bands grappled more with the proceedings than others (some false starts to songs, or imperfect communication), the net concert was exciting for both the sense of chaos and uncertainty as well as the generally moving displays from each band.

This Lottery demonstrated that while the event is something we can feel good about as a community, it's also a place to feel excited and joyous about expression and collaboration being displayed at their most essential and unwieldy.

Even after everything that's been said about the Lottery, there's still one final noteworthy tidbit. It was a passing comment by one player that really spoke to the singularly undeniable fact about the Lottery: it's special in every conceivable way, and it makes us all better and more connected (in several ways) for having attended and participated.

"If it was any other combination, it would be completely different," says singer-guitarist Joey Gutos. "You only get this with these beautiful people. We all won the lottery, folks."

Electric Zebraz

Bassist Tyler Flanagan (Skin Ticket/Dreamcast), singer-guitarist AJ Odneal, singer-beatmaker Sophia Bavishi, singer-guitarist Alexis Gaston (Jules), drummer Josh Every (Droll)

Being the first band up at the Lottery is a risky predicament. Still, as far as making the right first impression, a cover of The Rembrandts' "I'll Be There for You" (aka the "Friends" theme) instantly ingratiated the Zebraz to the ever-growing Crescent crowd. From there, there was a sweet, folky number called "Expectations," another, albeit dreamier folk song conceivably titled "I'm Coming Home," something called "The Funk Song" that was more '90s college rock by way of a bar jam and a genuinely exciting take on Drake Bell's 2000s kids rock classic, "I Found a Way." Maybe I wouldn't have called these Zebraz "electric," per say, but they were nonetheless a solid example of how the Lottery is often an experience over a concert, and we could see the young band trying to make it all happen in real-time. There were more hits than anything else (even if everything wasn't as dynamic as it could have been), and the Zebraz started us off on a note that trended toward the genuinely positive. Mission accomplished, really.

The Peeling Ceilings

Drummer Keire Johnson (Glixen), singer-percussionist Giovanni Kiyingi, guitarist-bassist Wills Brinton (Practically People), saxophonist Chaz Fertal (The Hourglass Cats), guitarist-bassist Cameron McGregor (Bethany Home)

On paper, The Peeling Ceilings were seemingly the most unlikely configuration of artists. But then, in practice, the collective confirmed that sometimes the best Lottery bands don't have to make a ton of sense. Kiyingi set the band's afrobeat-tinged tone with the opener, a kind of extra sleepy "Graceland"-inspired tune (seemingly called) "Be There When It Rains." Fertal, meanwhile, applied his sax grooves and wedding band vibes to a genuinely crowd-stirring take on Outkast's "Hey Ya!" The song "Journey," meanwhile, demonstrated how McGregor and Brinton really supported the group with their guitar-bass swapping and general intensity. Finally, drummer Johnson got to show off his vocals on a set-ending ska-screamo hybrid that got some truly big reactions. It's clear that the best Lottery bands also let each other do their respective thing, and the Ceilings found success in finding a space to let everyone shine while creating something rich and textured. If we don't see something further from the Ceilings, I'll be a sad panda, indeed.

Mother Byrd

Drummer Mike Cassidy (Prince Mirth), singer-guitarist Betsy Ganz (The Sunpunchers), singer Mae Agloro (Maeby), bassist-guitarist Lauren Henschen (Lo Wren), singer-keyboardist Ellie Fern (Ellie Fern & The Evergreen)

Mother Byrd felt like the first group of the evening that felt quite cohesive (if only in theory). Across their four songs, they showed just that to varying degrees of effectiveness. The opener, seemingly titled "Achy Breaky," was sweet pop-rock song that was hugely charming if not demonstrably good. Meanwhile, the next (mostly untitled) track blended Stereolab and new-wave for another entertaining moment despite minor hiccups. The band's self-titled song showed more genre interplay (a plus for this group, apparently) as they forged a groove with a doo-wop-meets-indie-folk ballad of immense potency. And, finally, while a teensy cliched, an inspired take of 4 Non Blondes' "What's Up?" felt like a massive moment of crowd interaction. So, yes, they didn't gel as I might have hoped, but Mother Byrd brought something new and interesting as they played around with sonic ideas and still managed to feel both evocative and engaging. Just because you didn't soar, folks, doesn't mean the crowd didn't enjoy this fun, folky release of emotions and tension.

These Are Aliens

Drummer Pablo Bastidas (Lovetrain and Pijama Piyama), singer-guitarist Bailey Pyritz (Kylo Gun/I Am Miss Havisham), singer-guitarist Joshua Strickland (The Bayou Bandits), bassist Steven Culebro (Badlands), singer Sarah Cannon (Sarah June)

Unlike some other bands during the evening thus far, the bulk of These Are Aliens felt aligned around general indie rock-ness. It was Strickland, known for playing a bluesier Southern rock sound, that felt like the only outlier. That "tension" was clear from the first song, where the rest of the band crafted a weirdo stoner rock anthem and Strickland mostly tagged alone. Similarly, his lead on Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" was good (if not a little too Hootie and the Blowfish-esque in tone and scope), but it felt like the rest of the band couldn't fully click. Things turned around after Pyritz led the band for another indie jam called "Homo Gaylien" (about a "gay alien who fights a homophobic alien, and the gay alien wins)." Weird as it was, it clearly had an effect, as the band further clicked on a more rollicking take on The Cranberries' "Zombie" and the fiery blues jam "Alien Love Machine." Sure, it took the band valuable time to really garner some momentum, but when they did, they managed to balance the band's indie vibes with Strickland's more showy tendencies. It wasn't perfect, but with more time, These Are Aliens could have been truly out of this world.

Ten Souls

Drummer Shane Ocell (Surf Through Death/Via Vengeance), guitarist Miles Naffah (Prefect and Chambers), singer Agnia del Carmen, bassist Pete Anthony Gonzales, Jr. (Goldwax Revival), singer-guitarist Joey Gutos

Just as with being the first band, closing out the Rock Lottery isn't always the most enviable task. The members of Ten Souls, who more or less made sense on paper even as they also did not seem like an obvious lineup, approached the dilemma with a short but mighty set. The opener, a Spanish language jam that read like Led Zeppelin meets Jefferson Airplane, was a white-hot infusion for an audience who had already been rocking for three hours at that point. The next song (more heartfelt college rock) slowed things down some, but there was real charm and personality being displayed. From there, they pivoted to a cover of Amy Winehouse's "Valerie" that, despite being basic in its general structure, had more chutzpah that helped endear the band. Finally, "The Mattress," which was like an indie dance version of Foo Fighters, may have been the single best song of the night, and proof positive that all you need is that one barn-burner to have truly excelled. Maybe this band didn't make for the perfect ending, but after long hours and lots of solid music, Ten Souls further affirmed why we need the Lottery and why we'll always come back for more.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the name of Pete Anthony Gonzales, Jr.