Your guide to Final Four music, festivities and other fun in Phoenix

Madness is descending upon the Valley — no, not those summer heat hallucinations. Not yet at least.

The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament takes over the American psyche each spring, with 68 college teams duking it out in single-elimination games to see who takes home the national championship. It’s a storybook of heroes, collapses, cinderella upsets, heartbreak and excitement.

State Farm Stadium in Glendale hosts the Final Four, in which the last four teams left standing compete in two semifinal games on Saturday and the final on Monday. It's the latest mega sporting event to call Phoenix home.

The Final Four offers a defending national champion (UConn), a football powerhouse making its first appearance (Alabama) and two programs steeped in tradition that haven't made it this far in the tourney in more than 40 years (Purdue and North Carolina State).

But beyond the trio of games, there are Final Four festivities open to everyone across the Valley, including concerts, interactive games for the kids, open team practices and more. You don't need to be a college basketball fan to enjoy them.

This year’s Final Four will mark the second time the Valley has hosted the event, the first being in 2017. That year’s festivities generated an estimated $324.5 million in economic impact and attracted tens of thousands of fans from outside Arizona, according to a study from ASU's W.P. Carey School of Business.

“We've been working on preparations for well over a year,” said Jay Parry, CEO of the Phoenix Local Organizing Committee. “The first time we hosted, the Final Four was a really big success for the state. Our goal with this event is to take it to the next level and make it a fantastic experience for all of our residents as well as all the visitors.”

“It really is a four-day celebration, and we've got something for everyone,” Parry added.

Here’s your ultimate guide to take advantage of all things March Madness this weekend.

Big artists at the March Madness Music Festival

Hance Park near Downtown Phoenix will host some big-name artists performing Friday through Sunday. Each day has a different musical theme: electronic-pop on Friday, megastars on Saturday and rock/folk/blues on Sunday.

Friday, April 6: AT&T Block Party, 4:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.

EDM dance-pop artist and producer ZEDD headlines the night’s performances at Hance Park. You can also catch singer and actress Reneé Rapp, one of pop culture’s newest stars, and Gen Z eclectic pop phenom Remi Wolf earlier in the evening.

Saturday, April 7: Coke Studio Live, 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The Jonas Brothers, the Disney boy band turned pop rockers, are the sole performers on Saturday.

In addition, you can check out the Coke AI Studio where you can form a band, write a song and film a music video with the help of artificial intelligence technology.

Sunday, April 8: Capital One Jamfest, 2:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The final day of the concert series is a stacked lineup of roots-based Americana. Grammy Award-winning band Mumford & Sons headlines the stage. Earlier in the evening, you can see acclaimed rock duo The Black Keys and Denver-based octet Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats. Kicking off music for the day is Leon Bridges, the soulful R&B singer from Fort Worth, Texas.

Watch the Final Four teams practice

On Friday at State Farm Stadium, you can catch open team practices of the four contenders for free at the Reese’s Men’s Final Four Friday. The event will also feature interactive activities and entertainment for fans of all ages, according to the organizing committee. Top senior student-athletes from around the country will also be playing in the Reese’s NABC All-Star Game on the court.

Head to Downtown Phoenix for some fun

The Final Four Fan Fest, sponsored by Capital One, will be held at the Phoenix Convention Center in downtown from April 5 to 8. The committee describes the event as a “sports wonderland of interactive games” with special celebrity and athlete appearances here and there. Tickets are $8 and can be purchased online or at the door for $13.

Entry is free for people with Capital One cards, Final Four ticket holders, kids 12 or under (included with adult ticket), military personnel and their 3 guests (only on Saturday), and anyone with a ticket from the Diamondbacks, Suns, Mercury, Coyotes or Rising.

Hours are noon to 8 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and noon to 6 p.m. on Monday. You can find a daily schedule of events on the NCAA’s website at ncaa.com/mens-final-four/fan-fest#daily-schedule.

On Sunday, kids can also participate in the Men’s Final Four Dribble presented by Buick, where registrants can dribble from Heritage Square to the convention center in a parade-like event. Participants also get a special Final Four basketball and T-shirt. Registration is currently full, but you can register your kids for the waitlist online.

See yourself some desert-style hoops

The committee has placed four new 13-foot installations that feature a basketball hoop atop a saguaro cactus across the Valley. One was unveiled in Scottsdale, while two are in Downtown Phoenix and another is in Glendale.

Two of the statues were graphically designed by Hispanic and Indigenous artist Paul Molina of the Gila River Indian Community. They are located near the Marshall Way Bridge in Old Town Scottsdale and at Westgate Entertainment District in Glendale.

Two additional Cactus Basketball Hoops with Men’s Final Four visual elements will greet visitors at the entrance of Phoenix Convention Center. A fourth sits inside the Men’s Final Four Fan Fest.

“The Cactus Basketball Hoops perfectly capture Arizonans’ love for saguaros and basketball,” Parry said in a prepared statement. “Like the saguaro, our community will stand tall as it strives to set a new standard for hosting the Men’s Final Four.”