The biggest show in the Valley this week will be Paul McCartney’s gig at Talking Stick Resort Arena on Wednesday night. You can hit up the secondary market if you weren’t lucky enough to grab tickets before the concert sold out, but be prepared to spend upward of $300 per seat, though.
That same night, renowned rocker Todd Rundgren will be at Celebrity Theatre, while the late Ronnie James Dio will be, um, "resurrected" in hologram form for a show with his backing band at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Phoenix.
Other artists and acts with concerts scheduled around town this week include The Voice contestant Sarah Grace and her band The Soul, alternative R&B act Chase Atlantic, and post-punk group Priests.
Details about each of these shows can be found below. For even more live music happening around the Valley this week, hit up Phoenix New Times' online concert calendar.
Orquesta Akokan
Monday, June 24Musical Instrument Museum
Orquesta Akokán is coming off their well-received self-titled debut record on Daptone Records, with a sound firmly rooted in the mambo-centric, big band music of the pre-revolutionary Cuban era of the 1940 and '50s. The band was not a pre-existing unit, but put together to record the project. It was the brainchild of New York-based producer/guitarist Jacob Plasse and native Cuban vocalist Pepito Gomez, along with arranger Michael Eckworth, though their first attempt in the studio didn’t quite work out.
“We’d been writing music in the mambo style for a while and tried to record here in New York, but the results weren’t spectacular,” Plasse says. With Gomez going down to Cuba for a concert, he reached out to his childhood friend and saxophone player Cesar Lopez to gather cream-of-the-crop local players, a mixture of old hands and young musicians, most of whom had played in school and professional orchestras already.
The assemblage assembled at Havana’s Areito studios — also the name of a pre-revolutionary music label — and made Orquesta Akokán. And while this type of music was never quite “outlawed” after Fidel Castro’s revolution, its close association with the American and Mafia-run casinos made was sort of musica non grata for years. Hear it for yourself on Monday night at the MIM starting at 7 p.m. Tickets are $33.50 to $48.50. Bob Ruggiero
Night Swim feat. Quix
Monday, June 24Maya Day & Nightclub in Scottsdale
Think the pool party action is only limited to weekends? That ain’t necessarily so, as Maya in Scottsdale regularly hosts Night Swim events, which offer locals the chance to party and play in the joint’s outdoor pool after dark. The latest edition takes place on Monday evening and will be headlined by New Zealand-born DJ/producer Jono Schnell, better known as Quix, who specializes in mixes that are heavy on bass sounds and trap music. Doors open at 10 p.m. and admission is free. Benjamin Leatherman
Priests
Tuesday, June 25Valley Bar
This Washington, D.C., band nearly self-destructed while touring behind their 2017 LP Nothing Feels Natural, but managed to channel that aggression into their latest record, The Seduction of Kansas. The new album mixes furious dance-punk with a country-fried aesthetic that would be perfectly at home at a Lil Nas X show. The “genre queer” band Sons of an Illustrious Father open. Douglas Markowitz
Todd Rundgren
Wednesday, June 26Celebrity Theatre
Todd Rundgren's breakthrough album, Something/Anything?, was a winding double LP on which he wrote, produced, and performed nearly everything himself. That says a lot about 1972, but it says even more about Rundgren, who's been seen as something of a pop-rock prodigy ever since. If it seems he's never been quite as famous or iconic as he should have been to a broader audience, you might be looking at his career the wrong way.
The better question: How was he ever famous at all? The moment his career took off, he began indulging his prog-rockier tendencies, and aside from the fluky "Bang the Drum All Day," which came out on an album he actually called The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect, he never did much allowing for those fans who came for the hooks. That basically is the ever-popular tortured artist effect: When you're the only one banging on the drums and producing the albums and designing and coding the website, nobody's left to say, "Hey, I don't think Casey Kasem is going to play this." It didn't make for a ton of hits, but Todd Rundgren's need for control has produced a fascinating career. Dan Moore
Paul McCartney
Wednesday, June 26Talking Stick Resort Arena
What is there to say? It’s Paul McCartney. The once-and-forever Beatle seemingly never stops touring, and any one of his shows is bound to feature classic Fab Four hits, classics from Macca’s solo career, and some more contemporary tunes. Granted, Paul’s recent work hasn’t exactly been celebrated — absolutely no one asked for his awful geriatric love-jam “Fuh You” — but his rendition of the Kanye and Rihanna collab “Four Five Seconds” is a treat, as is his explosive treatment of “Live And Let Die.” The crowd is likely to skew older, but really, everyone should see Paul McCartney at least once before they die (or before he beats us to it). Douglas Markowitz
Dio Returns
Wednesday, June 26Orpheum Theatre
What could be more metal than rocking audiences from beyond the grave? Nearly 10 years after the death of Ronnie James Dio, his former bandmates are on the road again, and this time they're bringing along the Dio hologram. Music purists might say this is sacrilegious, but given Dio's unrivaled vocal skills and command of the stage, replacing him with a new lead singer would be the truer example of sacrilege.
With a year's worth of technical production behind it, a set list full of classic Dio works, and such guest vocalists as onetime Judas Priest frontman Tim "Ripper" Owens, this is a show that promises to please both the rock gods and the fans alike. Dio Returns will come to the Orpheum Theatre on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. Ticket prices range from $28 to $58. Michael Palladino
Sarah Grace and the Soul
Wednesday, June 26The Rhythm Room
Houston-born blues belter Sarah Grace was one of the breakout stars of NBC’s singing competition The Voice back in 2018. The 16-year-old’s formidable talents as a singer and musician led her to that season’s semifinals and nationwide fame (Mariah Carey even fawned over her in an episode). These days, Sarah Grace leads her blues-rock band, The Soul, which is currently touring the U.S. and stops at The Rhythm Room on Wednesday night. Shannon Trotter will open. The show starts at 8 p.m. and tickets are $12 in advance, $15 at the door. David Garrick
Chase Atlantic
Thursday, June 27Crescent Ballroom
Feeling moody? Head to the Crescent Ballroom to witness Australian trio Chase Atlantic sling dark and glam lyrics to anthemic, emotional alt-R&B. Their sound is very much like Post Malone but with a little more pop punch. That's probably because two of the members, Christian Anthony and lead singer Mitchel Cave, were in What About Tonight, a boy band created for an audition on The X Factor Australia. Cave's angelic voice contrasts a bit with their beach-bum, scumbro style, but that's what the kids want these days, so that's what Chase Atlantic is going to give them. The group are touring to promote their sophomore release, Phases (which drops this week), including gigs at Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo. Catch them at Crescent starting at 8 p.m. before they hit it big. Tickets are $18. Liz Tracy