If you listen to Beaumont, Texas, trio Purple’s debut album 409, released earlier this year, it will take no time to see that Purple’s sound hits you like a bolt of lightning shot out of a Jim Beam bottle with a thunderclap punk rock chaser. The unlikely bedfellows of garage rock,…
Serving the Self Clap Your Hands singer likes the new album, and that’s enough for him. A decade ago, bassist Tyler Sargent began mailing out copies of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s self-titled debut from his home in Pennsylvania. It wasn’t long before the indie pop band caught the attention…
’80s Again Bogan Via looks to the past on its new album while moving on to L.A. Like the ornamental desert flower from which the band gets it name (but not its spelling), Bogan Via’s Bret William Bender and Madeline Miller seemingly are everywhere this spring, but for a limited…
One of the biggest tropes about living in the Valley of the Sun is that once summertime arrives, there’s little to do that’s truly worth doing, save for waiting out the heat or maybe getting the heck outta Dodge. Like with most tropes, however, there’s a certain degree of truth…
To say Wynonna Judd is a positive person these days is an understatement. We caught up with her as she was putting the finishing touches on her 8th solo recording in Los Angeles about a week ago. The platinum (many times over) selling singer, who just turned 51 on May…
Tempe will do the mash at the end of October — the Monster Mash, a new festival announced by Lucky Man Concerts today. On Friday, October 30, and Sunday, November 1, a slew of classic rock and modern-ish bands will come to Tempe Beach Park. …
Toby Keith has employed a few personas over the course of his two-decade career. The Oklahoma-born singer started off as a tuneful neo-traditionalist before hitting it big as a political firebrand in the wake of 9/11, and paved the way for today’s “bro country” super stars with a series of…
Oklahoma has songwriters Rogers and Hammerstein to blame for the rest of the country’s perception that it’s only a place full of waving wheat and wind sweeping down the plain. Luckily, the Panhandle State can also claim ownership to the intricate, layered sounds of the alt-rock trio Other Lives, who…
The dreadful process of transitioning into the summer heat comes with a small silver lining for country music lovers throughout the Valley. Known as the Country Megaticket, Ak-Chin Pavilion will be showcasing a who’s who of current country music superstars on eight separate dates throughout the summer and into the…
On a night where Mother Nature let the final vestiges of spring blow breezes through the interior amphitheater of the Ak-Chin Pavilion, power-pop balladeers The Fray and Train had the audience dancing at a feverish and frolicking pitch. While the two occasional chart-toppers accomplished the same goal of keeping fans…
When Will Butler struck out on his own with his debut solo effort, Policy, it was expected that the Arcade Fire synth whiz would explore much of the same territory as his band. In some ways, he did. In discussing Arcade Fire, it’s imperative to talk about the nature of…
Like the characters in many of their songs, HoneyHoney lead singer/banjo player/violinist Suzanne Santo and vocalist/guitarist Ben Jaffe also experienced a profound period of searching and minor desperation in the quest to finish their forthcoming album, 3. It isn’t uncommon for musicians to take years between album releases, but rarely…
After a lull of about two weeks, the Phoenix music scene has come alive this week, with a series of big-ticket concerts leading the charge, as well as welcoming two new music venues, Valley Bar and Rebel Lounge, into the fold. There are many musical options for your enjoyment this…
U2 left fans awestruck on Friday night as they kicked off their two-night stand at US Airways Center in downtown Phoenix. To say the iNNOCENT+eXPERIENCE tour was a spectacle would be an understatement, as the world’s biggest band brought a visual and sonic freight train that hit the Valley in…
It has been less than a year since the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion obliterated the Crescent Ballroom with their raucous road show, blasting an eager crowd with its high-energy hybrid of punk-ass blues, noise, soul, garage, and straight ahead punch-you-in-the-face rock ’n’ roll. If you were there, you’ll be back…
New genres seemingly can appear out of nowhere. Take the case of Miami Horror. When Illumination, the band’s debut album, was released five years ago, the words “indie electronic” were used to describe the Australian quartet. When pressed about the difference between indie and non-indie electronic music, band leader Benjamin…
Earl Sweatshirt and I have a history — a three-day history. I have spent the last three days obsessed with Earl Sweatshirt, waiting for his call to record an interview before his show and then again when I thought we had rescheduled. I’m not saying this to give him, ahem,…
If you were under the age of 40 you probably didn’t enjoy REO Speedwagon show last night at Talking Stick Resort. With that said if you were over 40 and attended last night’s show you had a blast watching Kevin Cronin and company execute a well constructed blast from the…
We’ve been fortunate in that this past weekend in the Valley felt like, well, it wasn’t the Valley. This is but the calm before the storm. Summer is coming. The Southwest remembers. Here are our picks for this weekend. If you’d like more options, mosey on over to our comprehensive…
Many are the bands profiled in these pages who ask what a bunch of musicians has to do to get a cover story around here. Sometimes it’s by sheer popularity. Sometimes it’s sheer luck, a slow news week when some guitarist turns out to be more visually appealing than a…
Apache Lake Music Festival recently announced the dates of this year’s festival, October 23 and 24. With the announcement also comes the lineup speculation. ALMF in the past has pegged certain bands like Dry River Yacht Club, Japhy’s Descent, Sara Robinson and the Midnight Special, and Banana Gun to name…
One of the stand out acts of last month’s tremendous FestivALTAZ was without a doubt Family of the Year. Tonight they return to the valley supporting Lord Huron at Tempe’s Marquee Theatre. The band has released some singles deeply rooted in acoustic and folk rock the likes of popular tunes,…
