It includes gigs by Childish Gambino, Travis Scott, Tom Morello, Skrillex, Smashing Pumpkins, and Lil Ugly Mane, Ministry, Skrillex, Magic Sword, and others. As you’d expect, there are also plenty of holiday offerings in the mix, including yuletide shows from Brian Setzer and local radio stations
Details about each of these concerts and events can be found below in our list of the best shows happening in the Valley in December. And for even more live music happening around the Valley, hit up Phoenix New Times' online concert calendar.
Andrea Bocelli
Sunday, December 2
Talking Stick Resort Arena
One of the most talented vocalists of our time, the Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli earned his first Billboard No. 1 album last month with Si. For those not familiar with Bocelli’s work, his version of “Ave Maria” is a beautifully sung rendition of the classic that showcases the singer’s range and power. Aside from the new album, Bocelli did some work with Ed Sheeran on his song “Perfect Symphony” and performed it with him live in June. Julio Lugo
Live 101.5's Jingle Bash feat. Camila Cabello
Monday, December 3
Comerica Theatre
Between her hit song “Havana,” earning the MTV Artist of the Year and Video of the Year awards, and touring with Taylor Swift, Camila Cabello has had a banner year, despite some frostiness with her old band, Fifth Harmony. In a recent interview with Marie Claire, she revealed that creative differences in appearance and music urged her to leave the band in 2016. That didn’t stop the remaining members from dissing her in a stunt at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards, but the pop star has managed to rise above the controversy. Her last album was Camila, released earlier in 2018. Cabello’s headlining Live 101.5's Jingle Bash this year, which will also feature sets by off-kilter EDM producer Dillon Francis, dance/electronic artist Lauv, DJ trio Cheat Codes, and rapper Bryce Vine. Julio Lugo
Redd Kross
Thursday, December 6
Last Exit Live
Influential proto-alternative band Redd Kross started in 1978, when bassist Steve McDonald and his older brother, Jeff, were 11 and 14, respectively. They had grown up in the Los Angeles suburb of Hawthorne, where they, led by Jeff, discovered underground music from magazines like Creem and Rock Scene. They'd already experienced stadium rock at a young age. By the time they started their own act, they had discovered a punk band whose members lived and practiced nearby: Black Flag.
The Flag, a fairly new band at the time, took these kids under their wings. And Redd Kross's first show, as "Red Cross" – the band's name before it was legally forced to change its name by the medical organization – was at an eighth-grade graduation party in someone's living room.
From those humble beginnings, Redd Kross took its glam-rock influences and infused them with a wide variety of musical styles and a punk attitude defined by irreverent humor and a skepticism about fitting in; the result was one of the most secretly influential bands of the era. You can hear the impact of Redd Kross in generations of musicians, including Sonic Youth, the Melvins
Stephen Steinbrink
Thursday, December 6
The Rebel Lounge
Before he was Olympia, Washington's Stephen Steinbrink, he belonged to Phoenix. He makes some of the best indie pop available these days with his glorious vocals, melodic guitar lines, and a dreamy soundscape that closely approaches The Shins at their best moments. The exception here is that every one of his songs seems like one of those "best moments." His albums are amazingly consistent, including his latest, Utopia Teased, which came out earlier this year on Western Vinyl. Steinbrink returns to the Valley on December 6 for a show at The Rebel Lounge. AJJ frontman (and fellow “local boy made good”) Sean Bonnette shares the bill. Mitchell Hillman
CupcakKe
Courtesy of Pub Rock
Friday, December 7
Pub Rock Live
CupcakKe’s known by many names, including Queen
Alice Cooper
Jim Louvau
Saturday, December 8
Celebrity Theatre
When it comes to tradition during the holiday season, Phoenix isn't known for snowmen, hot cocoa, or sledding. But one thing that can always be counted upon is the tradition of Christmas Pudding — Alice Cooper's Christmas Pudding, to be exact. And it's a tasty recipe.
After nearly five decades and 30 records, Cooper has perfected his craft of putting on shows and making music. Now in his mid-60s, he's reaping the career rewards and has gone from rock 'n' roll's official villain to a charitable hero in the Valley of the Sun. In November 1995, Cooper and his wife, Sheryl, a professional dancer, began the
The variety
6LACK
Saturday, December 8
The Van Buren
Originally from Baltimore, east Atlanta is where 6LACK (pronounced “black”) honed his skills as an artist. He battle-rapped in high school and even went against one of today’s biggest names, Young Thug, way before stardom. 6LACK was nominated for two Grammys in 2017: Best Urban Contemporary Album for his project Free 6lack and Best Rap/Sung Performance for his song “PRBLMS.” His successes even earned him the attention and praise from Jay-Z and Beyoncé according to an interview on Sway’s Universe. Time will tell if he receives the same praise and hype for his newest project, East Atlanta Love Letter. Julio Lugo
Smashing Pumpkins
Friday, December 7
Mesa Amphitheatre
For Smashing Pumpkins fans, the future's so shiny and bright they gotta wear shades. Billy Corgan, James Iha, Jimmy Chamberlain, and the rest of Smashing Pumpkins' reunion tour ensemble have announced that they'll be bringing their Shiny and Oh So Bright Tour back to the Valley in December.
Despite getting off to a rocky start thanks to some he-said/she-said drama between Corgan and founding Pumpkins bassist D'arcy Wretzky, the Pumpkins’ tour has turned out to be a victory lap. It kicked off in Glendale this past summer with a show that was surprisingly engaging and full of energy, overcoming some of its weirder idiosyncrasies. What could have just been a desperate cash grab revealed itself to be a stirring reminder about why the Pumpkins matter in the first place.
Long story short: If you're a Pumpkins fan and you didn't catch their show at Gila River, you owe it to yourself to snatch up tickets to their upcoming show in Mesa before they sell out. Ashley Naftule
Magic Sword
Saturday, December 8
The Rebel Lounge
Magic Sword is a synth-rock band based in Boise, Idaho, whose members dress as space knights from a galaxy far, far away. It’s the kind of high-fidelity synth rock that embodies everything glorious about 1980s epic science-fiction movies. Soundwise, think Wendy Carlos’s work for Tron, Tangerine Dream’s soundscapes for The Keep, and Mike Moran’s score to Time Bandits.
The band’s three members (The Keeper, The Seer, and The Weaver) keep their identities secret, but there’s nothing alienating about their presence. Concertgoers are encouraged to join the fun, with merch like light swords on offer. Yes, the theatrics are a gimmick, and so, perhaps, is the retro synth sound of the music. But in an era when many bands only go halfway with a gimmick, Magic Sword commits to the whole experience, which is reflected in its unusual, powerful, and unforgettable shows. Tom Murphy
Lil Ugly Mane
Saturday, December 8
Crescent Ballroom
Perhaps no one has done more for the revival of southern horrorcore than Travis Miller, known by several names but most famously as the rapper Lil Ugly Mane. At first a noise musician in Richmond, Virginia, he became associated with SpaceGhostPurrp and Raider Klan, the Miami collective that pioneered the subterranean sound of
Miller has unfortunately lived some of that darkness himself. He has spoken with candidness about his struggles with mental health, and his rap project with Wiki, Secret Circle, splintered when fellow member Antwon was accused of sexual misconduct. His work has gotten similarly dark: The more recent Ugly Mane releases are darker, showing even more influence from noise music, substituting the
Monday, December 10, and Tuesday, December 11
The Van Buren
Many of the concertgoers that will flock to The Van Buren during this annual two-night event put on by radio station Alt AZ 93.3 are certain to be clad in ugly sweaters of some sort, considering it’s the theme and all. You might even catch many of the musicians onstage sporting an awful-looking pullover during their performances. Speaking of which, this year’s lineup will include sets by Young the Giant and Barns Courtney on Monday, December 10; and from LANY, Flora Cash, and
Koo Koo Kanga Roo
Tuesday, December 11
The Rebel Lounge
Koo Koo Kanga
With these guys, it's just iPods and costumes as they lead crowds in sing-a-longs concerning the best sounding letters in the alphabet and the joys of eating sandwiches without the crusts. Kind of like a really demented and even
Skating Polly
Angel Ceballos
Wednesday, December 12
The Rebel Lounge
The stepsister duo Kelli Mayo and Peyton Bighorse met when their parents started dating. Soon, the pair were writing music together with instruments lying around the family home. “I was 12 or 13, and I was kind of like a moody teenager who thought I was too cool to hang out with my little sister,” Bighorse recalls. Obviously, she got over it pretty quickly, because in 2009, by the time she was 14, and Mayo was 9, the two had started Skating Polly in Oklahoma City.
“We just started bonding over music, and when we weren’t writing songs together, or drawing comics for our band,” Mayo says, “we’d go on walks to the park and each take an earbud and listen to Sleater-Kinney, The Dandy Warhols, Nirvana, or The Clash.” Along the way, while making their self-described “ugly pop,” the sisters have received acclaim from some of their musical heroes, including Exene Cervenka of X and Kat Bjelland of Babes in Toyland. Peyton and Mayo, known for being multi-instrumental, bring an assured, raw emotional range to their music rather than prettily truncating it. Sativa Peterson
OK Go
Friday, December 14
Mesa Arts Center
JMSN
Saturday, December 15
Crescent Ballroom
When Christian Berishaj writes music, he disconnects. The iPhone is turned off, the email and texts and phone calls reach an electronic dead end, and the Los Angeles-via-Detroit artist seeks out space. Berishaj has no time for bullshit, and he will tell you so. Having undergone a series of musical iterations — first as multi-instrumentalist Love Arcade, which signed to Columbia Records, then later under the moniker Christian TV, which signed with Universal Motown — he struck out on his own and formed his own independent record label, White Room Records.
With that independence, Berishaj built his own wheelhouse. As JMSN, Berishaj has been labeled as R&B, featuring atmospheric, aerated vocals and layers of hall reverb that draw immediate comparisons to the likes of The Weeknd and How to Dress Well. Music critics and fans alike simply labeled the first JMSN record, Priscilla, as "dark," created in a drugged-out vein that could be just at home in a truck stop strip club's champagne room as a low-lit bedroom. K.C. Libman
Childish Gambino
Saturday, December 15
Gila River Arena in Glendale
When comedian, actor, singer, songwriter, DJ, producer, and director Donald Glover signed to Glassnote Records in 2011, few fans, music writers, critics or bloggers could have imagined the impact the young celebrity’s rapper alter ego would have after only three studio albums, three EPs and a dozen singles. Easily the most influential, his single "This Is America" debuted in May 2018 at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 after Glover performed the song on Saturday Night Live while simultaneously unleashing the single and the remarkable Hiro Murai-directed music video, which quickly went viral. In the four months since the single dropped, the video has already garnered a staggering 400 million views on YouTube and more than 220 million plays on Spotify. He’s scheduled to perform at the Gila River Arena in Glendale on December 15, which is a makeup date for a show that was originally scheduled for September. All tickets will be honored. Daniel Rodrigue
Advanced Placement Tour feat. The Regrettes
Saturday, December 15
The Rebel Lounge
If you take one message away from listening to Los Angeles rockers The Regrettes, it should be this: Don’t fuck with The Regrettes — they clearly do not have time for your bullshit. The band’s garage punk is hardly straightforward. A lot of its fuel comes from the spirits of
It’s as clear in older songs like “Seashore” from 2016 as it is in recent offerings like “A Living Human Girl.” The former kicks off with this: “You’re talking to me like a child / Hey, I’ve got some news, I’m not a little girl / I won’t give you a little twirl.” The latter, from Feel Your Feelings Fool!, is another take-me-or-leave-me anthem, which launches with more
Brian Setzer Orchestra
Saturday, December 15
Celebrity Theatre
Ex-Stray Cat Brian Setzer has found life after rockabilly by stepping forward into the past with a dazzling big band that rips up the roots of swing, jazz, and early rock 'n' roll.
A warmly kitschy vibe pervades the Setzer crew’s annual Christmas really-big-show, which sees the nattily dressed guitarist-singer leading a brass-heavy ensemble in a compendium of classics from decades past, plus some Stray Cats stuff and a sprinkling of Christmas standards tricked out
This is a visually spectacular extravaganza, done up all purdy and nice on a stage strewn with Christmas trees, giant wrapped gifts, a golden arch framing vintage video clips (hot rods, sock hops, dancing Santas), and a glimmering jukebox center stage. The Texas Gentlemen will be along for the ride. John Payne
Ministry
Sunday, December 16
Marquee Theatre in Tempe
For many fans of heavy music, it just doesn’t get better than Ministry. The guitars, samples, and heavy percussion — along with the screamy, sneering vocal delivery of a guy who may be the first cousin of Satan himself — have made Ministry one of the greatest underground musical exports from Chicago.
For this fan, January 31, 1990, was the true game changer. That’s when Ministry played the Americana Ballroom in Phoenix and totally destroyed the place. Chain link fence was set up in front of 75 percent of the stage, and Al Jourgensen was the ringleader of evil for the night. That’ll likely be the case again on Sunday, December 16, when Ministry performs at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe.
A lot has happened with Jourgensen and company over the last three decades, even if there haven’t been many remarkable records. But the good Ministry stuff is good enough to transcend many of the less-than-memorable records that have happened in the meantime. And really, 1996’s Filth Pig had some really fun moments. Hell, if you like Ministry, you probably like all of their records, even if recent releases mostly have been box sets and “best of” compilations. Tom Reardon
Tom Morello
Sunday, December 16
Crescent Ballroom
Don’t we all remember the joys of facing off against Tom Morello as a boss in Guitar Hero III? Even if you’d never even heard of the guy, his angular, atonal guitar playing was immediately distinctive, and dueting on Rage Against the Machine’s “Bulls on Parade” was truly memorable.
Morello may be most famous for his work in that fiercely political rap-rock band that dominated the ‘90s with classic albums such as Evil Empire, but he’s got other stuff too. His other projects include rock group Audioslave with the late Chris Cornell and his solo political folk moniker The Nightwatchman. He’s also played with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and most recently formed a rap-rock supergroup called Prophets of Rage with members of RATM, Cypress Hill, and Public Enemy. He’s currently touring behind his solo album The Atlas Underground, which features collabs with GZA, Vic Mensa, Big Boi, Killer Mike, and more. Douglas Markowitz
Brother Ali
Tuesday, December 18
Crescent Ballroom
Brother Ali commands the stage like a political figure, only one who's less concerned with appearance and more concerned with the impact of his speech. In the nihilistic rap world of uncountable monies, untraceable guns, and impregnable bitches, Ali has remained a lyricist with purpose, whether it's political, social, or personal.
Ali has a remarkable presence that is composed and venerable yet friendly and approachable. He's humble but still utterly confident and self-assured, which reflects in his powerfully uplifting lyrics. His delivery is almost like a pastor's sermon: fiery, impassioned and with a soulful voice that hangs on his most important words, but amazingly, he rarely sounds preachy or condescending. His passion for hip-hop is palpable, "The music is still alive," he says, "because it's making us alive."
And that's really what Brother Ali seems to want – to enliven people, to make them question themselves, but still allow them to love themselves, to perpetually push into spaces of uncertainty and grey area, because that's where life really occurs. Noah Hubbell
Travis Scott
Tuesday, December 18
Talking Stick Resort Arena
“If you build it, they will come.” So goes the famous quote from Field of Dreams. For Travis Scott, possibly the third most high-profile rapper in the country behind Drake and Kanye, the statement should read, “If you rebuild it,” because he’s spent the last year trying to revive, in his own unique way, the beloved Houston amusement park AstroWorld. Hailing himself from Space City, Scott has talked extensively about the joy given to him by the park, which was built by Texan legend Judge Roy Hofheinz, sold to Six Flags, and closed unceremoniously in 2005. He channeled those feelings into his latest album, ASTROWORLD, in which he applies his hedonistic, cloud rap style to this beloved setting, and into a festival in Houston. The album has earned rave reviews and the single “Sicko Mode” has peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. That’s not all: Scott is planning on taking ASTROWORLD on the road. He’ll be here this month at Talking Stick Resort Arena for what will be an out-of-this-world spectacular.
Straight No Chaser
Thursday, December 27
Mesa Arts Center
A cappella music is a strange thing. It conjures up either images of old-man barbershop
They’re all past college age, but still young and pretty enough to ensnare hordes of female fans. What also helps is the accessibility of their music, which is about half renditions of standards like "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and half reworkings of current pop hits. They're not sarcastic or parodic like many college groups, but
Jerry Riopelle
Friday, December 28
Talking Stick Resort
Queue up any YouTube rip of a Jerry Riopelle song and you’ll find shining accolades from a number of Arizonans. Riopelle’s so revered here that December 31 is Jerry Riopelle Day in Phoenix, as bestowed upon him for his riotous New Year’s Eve shows that he has played since the mid-’70s. Starting with a now-fabled set at the Celebrity Theatre and leading up through 2013, Riopelle’s kickoff parties are a thing of yore, even if they’re specific to a certain age demographic, but a Phoenician institution and tradition nonetheless.
Hailing from L.A. as a producer in the golden age of recording, Riopelle’s now a Scottsdale resident for part of the year and a fixture around the Valley. Don’t know any Jerry Riopelle songs, you say? Play “Easy Driver” and that hummed opening will definitely come back to you, although it might be one of your parents’ favorites more so than your own. That’s where the conundrum with Riopelle lies — he’s a seminal part of Arizona music history, fiercely beloved by those within the borders but translates questionably outside of them. Though Riopelle is playing just a few days shy of New Year’s Eve, some of that magic that’s made him a legend will definitely still shine through. K.C. Libman
Decadence Arizona 2018
Sunday, December 30, and Monday, December 31
Rawhide Event Center in Chandler
Got anything scheduled for New Year's Eve just yet? If you’re an electronic dance music fiend, regular clubgoer, or
This year’s lineup will be headlined by such EDM heavyweights as Skrillex, Marshmello, Above & Beyond, Rezz, and NGHTMRE. Others scheduled to perform include 4B, DJ Diesel, Drezo,
Editor's Note: The original version of this story had incorrect venues for Stephen Steinbrink and Redd Kross. It has since been corrected.
