That includes concerts like the nostalgia-filled Hot Summer Nights tour featuring TLC and Shaggy, as well as shows starring gothy weirdo Aurelio Voltaire, punk legends Dwarves, and rock ‘n’ roll guitarist Nita Strauss.
There are even more notable shows taking place this weekend and you can read on to get all the relevant details. (And be sure to check out Phoenix New Times’ concert listings for even more live music around the Valley.)
Supersuckers
Friday, July 7Yucca Tap Room, 29 W. Southern Ave., TempeThe Supersuckers formed in 1988 in Tucson and have been getting listeners fired up via blistering rock ’n’ roll tunes fused with country punk and raucous guitar riffs for more than three decades, save for an extended hiatus in the late 2000s. Already known for their rowdy musical nature, the Supersuckers are due at the Rhythm Room this weekend and their members are as ready as ever to tear up a room with revved-up, fierce songs. As Eddie Spaghetti — a founding member who handles the bass and vocal duties — told Phoenix New Times in 2018, the Supersuckers have always excelled at not sucking despite being together for so long. “It feels great to be as good at our job as we are after all these years,” he says. “We know exactly what we need to do. There’s no fat to trim, no wasted movement.” With Freight and Mike and the Molotovs; 8 p.m., $18/$22 via ticketweb.com. Amy Young
Hot Summer Nights feat. TLC, Shaggy, En Vogue & Sean Kingston
Friday, July 7Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre, 2121 N. 83rd Ave.If there’s one constant to the summer concert season, it's nostalgia-filled package tours like Hot Summer Nights, which features hip-hop and R&B artists who experienced their biggest success back in the ‘90s and 2000s. Led by TLC, the ensemble that’s consisted of Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas since Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes’ untimely death in 2002, the tour also includes R&B/soul girl group En Vogue and Jamaican rappers Shaggy and Sean Kingston. Together, the lineup produced more than a dozen hits during their respective heydays, which means the crowd at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre will have plenty of songs to sing along with on a hot summer night in early July. 7 p.m., $25-$125 via livenation.com. Benjamin Leatherman
Aurelio Voltaire
Saturday, July 8The Rebel Lounge, 2303 E. Indian School Rd. Few things sum up the Aurelio Voltaire experience quite like the title to his 2011 album "Riding a Black Unicorn Down the Side of an Erupting Volcano While Drinking from a Chalice Filled with the Laughter of Small Children." It's morbid, nerdy, verbose, and almost theatrically pretentious: all qualities that the singer-songwriter gleefully embraces. Along with the defunct Dresden Dolls, Voltaire is the poster boy for the subgenre of dark cabaret (which is a sexier way of saying "goth theater kids"). Using a musical style that draws as much from classic European folk as it does from goth (imagine Django Reinhardt, Kurt Weill, and the Sisters of Mercy forced to work together at gunpoint), Voltaire pens songs about monsters and love and other spooky things. Voltaire’s geeky obsessions can be traced back to his early years, when his love for Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion epics inspired him to make animated films. He later traded in Jason and the Argonauts for Duran Duran, kindling a passion for New Wave and goth that lead him to become a musician. His latest album, 2022’s “The Black Labyrinth/A Requiem For the Goblin King” dovetails both interests, paying tribute to David Bowie’s music and the movie that was his defining film role. With She Lost Control and Neuron Spectre; 8 p.m., $16/$20 via seetickets.us. Ashley Naftule
Dwarves
Saturday, July 8Pub Rock Live, 8005 E. Roosevelt St., ScottsdaleFormed in the mid-'80s and inspired by the punk antics of GG Allin, The Dwarves have survived for more than 30 years by continually evolving their sound while always remaining entertaining. Their '86 debut, “Horror Stories,” leaned hard on the grimy garage-psych of bands like the Sonics, but by 1988's “Toolin' for a Warm Teabag,” they'd moved on to the atavistic punk of Allin. They even adopted many of his boundary-pushing antics, such as self-mutilation, on-stage hummers and punching audience members, while wisely avoiding Allin's shittiest behavior. The Dwarves' outrageous theatrics have greatly diminished over the years. Their performances now are simply those of a loud, raucous, fun-loving garage-punk band. With Get A Grip, 80*D and Overstand; 7 p.m., $20 via seetickets.us. Chris Parker
KJZZ Summer Party
Sunday, July 9The Nash, 110 E. Roosevelt St.Musician, vocalist, and songwriter Blaise Lantana has been bringing jazz music to the masses for going on 30 years, as she’s worked as the music director and weeknight host at KJZZ since 1995. This weekend, she’ll continue to serve up smooth sounds during the station’s annual summer party at popular downtown Phoenix jazz venue The Nash. Lantana will host the event and sing while backed by local jazz artists like guitarist Stan Storenson, drummer Buddy Bands, pianist Joel Robin, bassist Chris Finet, and saxaphone player Tony Vacca. They’ll serve up the songs of summer throughout the afternoon and will be joined onstage by a variety of special guests. 3 p.m., $10-$25 via thenash.org. Benjamin Leatherman
Nita Strauss
Sunday, July 9Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. 2nd Ave. Fans of Alice Cooper and fierce female rockers are likely familiar with Nita Strauss. The 36-year-old guitarist and former member of tribute band The Iron Maidens has been shredding axes in the legendary shock-rocker’s band since 2014 and has gotten the spotlight in recent years for her enormous talents. No less a source than Guitar World magazine has listed Strauss as one of its “10 Female Guitar Players You Should Know” in 2018. That same year, she released her solo debut album “Controlled Chaos” to critical acclaim and was tapped by the WWE to perform at WrestleMania. Strauss is currently touring in support of her latest solo record “The Call of the Void” and is scheduled to bring her band to Crescent Ballroom on Sunday night for a massive shred session. With Lions At the Gate, Aresnic Kitchen, and Zherra; 8 p.m., $26 via ticketweb.com. Benjamin Leatherman
