The Rebel Lounge: Photos from 10 years of epic gigs at the Phoenix venue

Stephen Chilton, owner of The Rebel Lounge, isn't sure how many gigs the popular Phoenix concert venue has hosted over the past 10 years. It numbers at least into the thousands, he says.

“Off the top of my head? I wouldn’t know the exact number, but it’s definitely north of 3,000 shows,” Chilton says. “We’ve had a lot of bands come through.”

That’s putting it mildly.

Since its May 2015 debut, The Rebel Lounge has showcased local and touring artists from a multitude of genres during the last decade, including punk, indie, metal, hip-hop and otherwise. “We’ve had a little bit of everything, from poetry to death metal,” Chilton says. “We've had K-pop in here, all sorts of indie pop, some hip-hop, some EDM.”
The atmosphere of The Rebel Lounge changes almost nightly. One evening might bring a sweaty, full-throttle mosh pit. The next, dreamy synths or swirling shoegaze fill the room. But one thing stays constant: a steady stream of up-and-coming artists gracing the stage.

The 3,000-square-foot venue at Indian School Road and 24th Street has served as a launchpad for rising stars passing through Phoenix on their way to bigger stages. Acts like Chappell Roan, Charley Crockett, Turnstile, Japanese Breakfast, and Benson Boone all played The Rebel Lounge before hitting it big. Local favorites like The Venomous Pinks, Authority Zero, AJJ, and The Maine have also made the Rebel stage their home.

It’s a role that echoes the property's past life as The Mason Jar, the notorious Phoenix rock club that operated from 1979 to 2005 and helped shape generations of rock stars.
Chilton says nurturing emerging talent has always been the mission.

“When we opened, the goal was to really help and grow artists and that hopefully the next generation of superstars will have started at Rebel (Lounge),” Chilton says. “And looking back on that, a lot of great bands have come out of Rebel (Lounge) in the last 10 years. I think that's the biggest measure of it.”

Another metric of success for Chilton has been working with local promoters, concertgoers and music fans, including those who have flocked to popular dance events like the twice-monthly Emo Night Phoenix.
“We started Emo Night Phoenix right before Rebel opened 10 years ago, and it's still going strong,” Chilton says. “We've had a ton of great guest (DJs) like Jordan (Pundik) from New Found Glory or Buddy (Nielsen) from Senses Fail. We’ve also had lots of goth nights, too.”

Whether the soundtrack is raw emo, moody goth, hard-charging metal or hip-hop grooves, The Rebel Lounge has become a go-to spot for Phoenix’s music scene.

In celebration of its 10-year anniversary this month, Phoenix New Times has put together a photo retrospective spotlighting some of the most memorable rock shows, dance parties and events that have taken place at The Rebel Lounge since 2015, as well as the patrons who were there.