Tempe bar and venue has closed after a decade. Here's a look at its EDM legacy

Ask Jacob Tyler Dunn what he remembers most about Tempe's Shady Park and the local photographer goes straight to its uniqueness.

“It was unlike any other place,” Dunn says. “It didnt fell like Mill Avenue or Scottsdale or downtown Phoenix. It was always its only thing and its own world.”

The Tempe bar, restaurant, and venue at 26 E. University Drive quietly closed earlier this month after nearly a decade in business.

It’s the final chapter for one of the Valley’s standout EDM hubs, a spot that packed its tree-lined outdoor patio and “bar park” with hundreds of gigs from both local and touring EDM heavyweights. In its first five years alone, Shady Park hosted names like REZ, John Summit, Markus Schulz and Deorro.
But in 2021, the venue’s EDM offerings brought it into conflict with Mirabella at ASU, a 20-story senior living high-rise billing itself as an “intergenerational community.” Noise complaints over DJ events sparked a years-long battle, waged both in and out of court, ultimately forcing Shady Park to pull the plug on EDM — the very thing fans loved most about the place.

Dunn, who photographed numerous EDM gigs at Shady Park for local concert promoter Relentless Beats, says the venue was special.”

“It was such a great place to be when you wanted to hear EDM. Everyone loved it and it had a special vibe that you couldn’t find elsewhere,” Dunn says. “You don’t know how good you've got it until it's gone.”

Shady Park’s beginnings

Shady Park was opened in 2015 by Scott Price, the Tempe restaurateur and entrepreneur behind local nightspots like C.A.S.A. and Sunbar. Located just off Mill Avenue, it was built to stand apart from any of the area’s bar offerings.

Part pizzeria and part vintage-inspired cocktail lounge, the venue’s real magic was out back. Its tree-lined, open-air “bar park” feature a recessed seating area, a weather-proof sound system and a stage that welcomed everyone from local bands to touring DJs.

Price modeled the design after out-of-the-way bars he’d stumbled across in Europe, places hidden in the woods with a sense of mystery. That vibe carried over. “It added a unique and clandestine feel to Shady Park,” recalls former bartender Rob “Fun Bobby” Birmingham.

“Scott really wanted it to be different than other (Tempe) places,” Birmingham says.

‘Shady was a favorite venue for everyone’

Live music followed soon after Shady Park’s debut, with its first EDM show happening in early 2016. The place soon became a dance music hotspot. Relentless Beats began bringing in touring DJs while EDM fans flocked to the place. Its weekly house music event, Treehouse Sundays, was especially popular.

Dunn says EDM gigs hit different at Shady Park.

“It had this intimate vibe with the DJ booth being on the ground right next to the audience,” Dunn says. “It wasn’t like a traditional nightclub.”

DJ/producer JUR, who performed at the venue on numerous occasions, described in a recent Facebook post how it was unique and attracted a huge following.
“The energy in the original Shady was palpable. It’s hard to explain the pilgrimage people would make to Shady just to go to Shady,” JUR stated. “It didn’t matter who was playing … whether it was a Friday night rager with Habby, or you were going to church for Treehouse Sundays to see Fisher just as he was making his meteoric rise behind ‘Losing It,’ or if you were just coming to see an all local show — the vibe and audience remained unchanged.”

Beyond the music itself, Dunn says Shady Park fostered something bigger: an entire community.

“There was like a big movement around Shady Park,” Dunn says. “There was this whole community of fans that really loved and appreciated it, just sprung up.”

For Valley-born tech-house artist Ekonovah, Shady Park wasn’t just another place to hang out, it’s where he met his fiancée and cut his teeth as a DJ. Earlier this month, he described on Facebook how Shady Park was a quintessential spot for local EDM culture.

“Shady was a favorite venue for everyone, it always felt like you could just show up and all your closest friends would inevitably be there,” he stated.

Dunn says one of the best parts of Shady Park shows was watching up-and-coming DJs and EDM artists rise through the ranks.

“You’d watch people grow and go on to succeed further,” Dunn says. “So many cool artists would come through who are playing arenas and big festivals now, but came through Shady Park years ago.”

A public battle over noise

Shady Park was forced to temporarily shut down in March 2020 after then-Arizona Governor Doug Ducey ordered the closure of businesses statewide at the beginning of the pandemic to halt the spread of COVID-19.

When it reopened almost a year later, it had a new neighbor: Mirabella at ASU. The 20-story senior living high-rise and “intergenerational community” opened in December 2020 across the street from Shady Park. And after shows resumed in the bar park, residents started to complain about the noise to city of Tempe officials.

By early 2021, the noise fight went public. Shady Park rallied fans on social media. Later that year, Price sank more than $1 million into step-pyramid roofing and other soundproofing in hopes of “[making their] neighbors happy.” It wasn’t enough. That November, Mirabella at ASU sued to stop the venue’s EDM gigs.

A few months later, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Brad Astrowsky sided with Mirabella, slapping Shady Park with strict noise limits that effectively killed its shows. The ruling sparked protests outside the senior community from frustrated fans and local musicians.

Then came a twist: in December 2022, the Arizona Court of Appeals overturned the decision, sending it back for reconsideration and giving Shady Park a legal win. The following year, Price and Mirabella struck a deal to resolve their dispute, dismiss the lawsuit and resume shows at Shady Park, reportedly after more sound-abatement upgrades.

But fans waiting for the comeback never got it.

The sounds of silence

In the months and years after Shady Park and Mirabella at ASU finally resolved their dispute, local EDM fans were left with one burning question: when would the shows return?

They constantly asked about it on Shady Park's social media or other online forums. The reply by the venue’s staff was always the same. Be patient. DJs will be back soon.

But the music never returned. Ever. Earlier this month, Shady Park closed for good.

The end came quietly. There was no farewell post or official statement by Price or his staff. Shady Park’s social media vanished while its website went offline.

Phoenix New Times was unable to reach Price or the staff at Diamond Juice Entertainment, Shady Park's parent company, for comment on the venue's closure, despite multiple requests.

Shady Park's fans and regulars were left gutted and could only mourn the loss.

Pat Riot, a local DJ and Shady Park regular, posted on X about how devastated he was at Shady Park’s closure and the impact it had.

“I was there all the time for tons of shows. So many memories made, so many artists performed there, so many people met and friends made,” he wrote. “This one hurts.”

Phoenix resident Schae LouiseAnn shared similar sentiments on Facebook following Shady Park’s closure.

“I owe so many of my favorite memories to that spot. We called it home because it was just that special to us locals, and even many well-known DJs from all around the world too,” she wrote. “There's truly no place like it and I'm forever grateful to have had the few years there that we did.”

As Jeff O’Neal, a local DJ and promoter, wrote on X, Shady Park’s shuttering marked a major loss for the Valley’s EDM scene.

“Shady Park was a place that can never be recreated. It captured a time and place in our hearts with the world’s best DJs headlining down to local popups that still packed the house,” O’Neal wrote.