You submitted nominations for the best and brightest emerging Valley creatives, and the results are in. Presenting the 2015 Big Brain finalists. Leading up to the announcement of winners at Artopia on May 9, Jackalope Ranch, Chow Bella, and Up on the Sun will introduce the finalists. Up today is…
The first thing I have to say is that Quail Run Park is a pretty cool venue and has the perfect layout for many festivals to come (I hope), as it hosted two festivals this weekend. It’s also conveniently located immediately off the 202. The entire setup was a pretty…
1. The golf cart taxi service is worth its weight in gold For those who weren’t in Crazy Coyote, Roadrunner or Premier, you had a hell of a long walk from your campsite to the concert grounds. Felt like grabbing a water bottle from your trailer? Forgot your American flag-printed…
“Festival” is a strong word for what transpired at Hayden Lawn on Arizona State University’s Tempe campus Saturday. But that is certainly not to say that The Underground Foundation’s fourth annual Clusterfest was not a rousing success for the ASU student club concert promoters. There were multiple (two) stages, grass,…
Contrary to what you might have heard, Coachella is more than just a fashion parade for B-list celebrities and trust fund kids. It also still features music! Here are reviews and recaps of some of the first weekend’s most memorable sets, from Jack White, Run the Jewels, FKA Twigs, Steely…
By: Marc Ballon Hawaiian Sierra Blackford really wanted to go to Coachella. It wasn’t easy. The 23-year-old singer-songwriter juggled three jobs as a waitress, playing gigs at local bars and working in a slipper store to save enough for her concert tickets, heavily discounted airfare (She knows somebody in the…
It was time to break the seal. When used for their intended purpose, port-a-potties are hardly a pleasant experience for either sex. But they can be especially tricky for women. Men only have to squat half the time–women have to for both excretory functions, and it can get a little…
Timothy Norris There’s never just one way to get into Coachella. Cash, of course, is always king. But there are still myriad ways to ensure that your exposed flesh is burning along with the rest of us in the Indio sun. In that case, it’s nice to know that bartering,…
Following in the footsteps of his pastor father, Joel Marquard, of Dear and the Headlights fame, decided to record a gospel album in his late 20s. Marquard’s father was responsible for picking out the hymns and songs for each service at their church and now his own 12-piece traditional gospel…
Phoenix Pride is back this year for another weekend-long celebration that promises even bigger crowds than last year. It’s no secret that the world has grown a bigger conscience when it comes to the understanding and acceptance of the LGBT community, and with that many openly gay, bisexual, transgender etc…
By Andy Hermann We get it, Coachella. You’ve got over 100 acts and only about 36 hours to cram them all onto your six stages, so there’s bound to be some overlap. And for the most part, you do a good job of putting acts head-to-head that have little chance…
Local concert guru Charlie Levy has something cool in the works for downtown Phoenix — and, no, its not an attention-grabbing festival à la Viva PHX or Los Dias de la Crescent. Instead, its a brand new music venue. Levy, who co-owns the Crescent Ballroom and runs concert promotions company…
Nobody makes sullenness seem so stylish as New York’s brooding post-punk band Interpol. As part of the so-called post-punk revival in the early- to mid-2000s, the quartet (now a threesome) helped re-popularize a genre largely forgotten by the huddled masses. Alongside the Strokes, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and the White…
Lots of good stuff to do this weekend as festival season in Arizona comes to a close with a strong finale. This weekend we have Country Thunder down in Florence, and Quail Run Park in Mesa will host two consecutive days of concerts — FestivALT AZ on Friday and UFEST…
When Drew Cooper strolls into the Hotel Congress on a dimly-lit late afternoon, he’s got a canvas bag, festooned with a pink block print of an owl, over one arm and a rambunctious, wildly endearing toddler in the other. His iPhone speaks volumes about his preferred aesthetic though, a mix…
The Sidewinder Music Festival, a country music event scheduled for April 25-26, has been postponed, organizers announced today. The reason given in a statement to New Times was “strategic restructuring.” Etzel Entertainment President Tom Etzel said in the press release, “All of our corporate and community partners have been very…
S.O.S. Band vocalist Mary Davis’ entire musical life has been about timing — good times, bad times, taking the time to do things right, and watching the hit songs she recorded continue to stand the test of time. Davis and her band rose quickly to the top, dropped just as…
To characterize the musical stylings of the Reverend Horton Heat as simply rock ‘n’ roll is akin to saying the founder and leader of the popular rockabilly band, Jim Heath, likes playing the occasional live show. For more than the past quarter-century, the Dallas-based Heath and his two bandmates have…
Do not come to the Swans concert expecting to hear a parade of songs from the latest album, or preceding ones for that matter. Swans leader Michael Gira doesn’t dwell in the past. Instead, he strives for the next “invigorating, energizing” sound to move his world. “It’s more about internally…
Mitchell Hillman listens to more local music than just about anyone in the Valley. He presents his picks for best new music in his column, Right Hear, Right Now. Strange Lot – “Into The Night” Strange Lot have just released the first single from their forthcoming full length album Another…
Every Wednesday is Heritage Hump Day! That’s because every Wednesday from now to the end of the year or before someone really big stops us, Heritage Hump Records (a temporary subsidiary of Onus Records) and New Times will be bringing you a limited edition collector’s item of a much beloved…
Brett Eldredge sounds like a damn maniac. He’s not listing off conspiracy theories, nor is he divulging dark stories of Hollywood debauchery: Rather, he’s laying out in detail what he’s going to do once his latest hit, “Mean to Me,” reaches number one on the country charts. “I’ve made the…
