The Inaugural Zona Music Festival Is About to Put the Phoenix Music Scene on the Map

The official announcement came in August: Downtown Phoenix was getting a new music festival, and it wasn’t going to be like anything we’ve had before.

Zona Music Festival, which takes over Margaret T. Hance Park on December 3 and 4, is bringing an eclectic lineup of about 50 indie, rock, and alternative acts, many of whom are Arizona-based musicians. Given the festival’s creator, Stephen Chilton of Psyko Steve Presents, that’s not a surprise.

Since 2000, Chilton has been one of the Valley’s most active concert promoters, helping to launch the careers of many local-turned-national acts. And now, he’s partnered with Downtown Phoenix Inc. for what he hopes is the first of many Zona festivals to come.

Chilton conceived of Zona in early 2020; he was starting to do some preliminary research when COVID-19 hit, which put the festival on the back burner. But after producing 8123 Fest for Tempe rockers The Maine in early 2022, it was time to pick the idea back up.

“It’s something that I’ve wanted to do for a very long time,” Chilton says, adding that after 8123 Fest, Zona felt like a natural progression.

“Some of [planning Zona] was modeling off what we did with 8123 Fest earlier this year and expanding on it. We had that as a little bit of a template. This is categorically very different, but that was kind of the starting place,” he adds.

The headliners – Beach House, Bleachers, and Tegan and Sara on Saturday, and Portugal. The Man and Japanese Breakfast on Sunday – are well-known names in the indie music world. Other acts on the bill, including soul/psychedelic outfit Chicano Batman, early-aughts notables Phantom Planet, and pop singer-songwriter Luna Aura have their own loyal followings.

But it’s the heavy representation of local artists that make Zona so special.

“Something I always want to do is include local artists wherever I can,” Chilton says. “It’s a big part of what we do.”

Sydney Sprague, a local singer-songwriter who’s been touring with her band with national acts this year, says, “It’s a really big deal for us. [Phoenix has] festivals, but I don’t think there’s been major support for the local bands in this way before. Steve has always been a champion for all of us.”

Camille Sledge of Phoenix Afrobeat Orchestra says that they leapt at the chance to be on the bill.

“Steve is our good friend and we always work with him,” she says. “If he tells us something’s legit or going down, we always jump on it.”

Sledge also says she’s delighted by the number of female artists on the bill, a fact that Chilton says was a deliberate choice.

“It’s just something we kind of thought a little bit more about and were more conscious of, tracking it as we booked. It was important that that representation be there,” he says. “But when you kind of think about it, it’s not hard. No one’s on [the lineup] for any reason other than we think they’re a great artist. We work with tons of great female artists.”

It all adds up to a diverse list of acts that has a little something for everyone.

“There’s a lot of art to putting a lineup together,” Chilton says. “It’s a hard balance to make it diverse enough to be interesting, but coherent enough to make sense. … How can we push boundaries enough to make it interesting but still make sure it’s a pleasurable experience and not a hodge-podge of a lot of different bands? It’s very curated, and if you like a lot of the bands on it, you’re probably going to like a lot of the other bands on it.”

Getting Ready

R.J. Price, chief growth officer for Downtown Phoenix Inc., the nonprofit organization devoted to making the city a vibrant urban center, says Margaret T. Hance Park is prepped and ready for Zona thanks to a revitalization project in recent years.

“Obviously, there’s been a lot of work done and preparations made in advance of the Super Bowl,” Price says. “The park can’t look much better than it does now, so that’s going to be great.”

Charlie Brand of Miniature Tigers, the indie band that started in Phoenix in 2006, says the group is planning a more rock-leaning sound for their Zona set on Saturday, December 3.

“We’ve had different incarnations as a band and flirted with different styles and genres, and we’re trying to go a little more rock with these shows, go a little more Nirvana or Weezer, letting it be a little raw and less put-together,” he says. “We still want to put on a good show, but I think we want it to be a little loose, like the whole thing could just come off the rails at any minute.”

A Win for Phoenix

Chilton says that Zona is far and away the biggest event he’s ever produced. But its success won’t just be a win for the veteran promoter, it’ll be a huge boon for the local music scene and Phoenix in general.

Nick Zawisa of Breakup Shoes, who are performing on Sunday, December 4, says, “I think it’s pretty special. All of my bandmates and I are born and raised and lived our lives and gone to school here, so getting to have a festival this large in Phoenix – I’m excited to attend in general, and getting to play and being part of the showcase of what talent has come out of Phoenix is a very unique and special experience.”

Robbie Pfeffer of Playboy Manbaby, who are playing Saturday, agrees.

“A big part of what has made us a band is being from Phoenix and being a part of the Phoenix, Arizona, community,” he says. “So having something that can really showcase all the really cool stuff that happens in Phoenix and in Arizona, I think it’s a really great time for that because we have so much to offer and it’s nice to have that on the national stage.”

Price says Zona is just one important part of helping recalibrate people’s perceptions of the city.

“For so long, we were pretty sleepy, and I don’t know that we had the cache or the pop nationally to do these kinds of things,” Price explains. “But over the years, a lot of great work has been done. And the city has evolved a lot. We don’t look the same, we don’t feel the same. Between Zona festival and having the Super Bowl just seven years after the last time we had it, I think those perceptions are about ready to change.”