This set of concert recommendations won’t apply to everyone, because we don’t have one that takes place in an airport on your way back to your parents’ house. But if you’re sticking around, like me, you’ve got some options. Like Up on the Sun on Facebook or follow us on…
Last night Willie Nelson & Family played to a sold-out crowd at Celebrity Theatre–and it was quite the family affair. Not just because Nelson had about half of his own immediate family members on stage, but because the intimate setting embraced a crowd that was as comfortable with other Willie…
Country music legend, activist, author, poet, actor–Willie Nelson fits into any one of these categories. He helped shape outlaw country towards the end of the 1960s, by bringing country artists who felt restricted by the Nashville sound together with “hippie” rock musicians, and his classic, low-key voice, timeless melodies, and…
It happened. Whatever else you can say about this year’s inaugural True Music Festival in Scottsdale, the ambitious one-day festival went off mostly hitch-free, bringing The Flaming Lips, Wiz Khalifa, and Bassnectar, among others, to town for a very appreciative audience. This is that audience–sweatshirted, in large groups, and, if…
‘Twas the week before Christmas, and all through the venues, most people weren’t really doing all that much. But they were doing something, and here are five shows that will give you something to do whether you’re in the spirit or not. (View our complete concert calendar here.)…
It’s a big weekend for shows, to say the least. Or, to rephrase, a weekend that’s filled with big shows. You’ve got the nu-metal gods of Korn headlining KUPD’s holiday show tonight while Snoop Lion Snoop Dogg Nemo Hoes Snoopadelic doing his DJ thing in Scottsdale on Saturday. And, of…
When opportunity knocks, local rock and rollers The Black Moods are usually the first ones to answer. On Saturday, December 14, at the True Music Festival, the Black Moods will be part of a group of artists ranging from the psychedelic sound of the Flaming Lips all the way to…
It’s probably a good idea to avoid people who quote Doors lyrics in everyday conversation — unless, of course, it’s John Densmore, timekeeper for the legendary group. He earned that right, having to live with those words and Jim Morrison’s predilection for acting them out onstage and in real life…
The psychedelic and theatrical harmony of The Flaming Lips has stood the test of time. Since forming in Oklahoma City 30 years ago the band has bridged the generations by appealing to everyone from the counterculture of the past to the rave-heavy subculture of today. It seems fitting then, that…
Yeezus. Yeezy. Kanye. Ye. Call him what you will, but if last night is any indication Yeezus will go down as one of the best tours of all time, with or without Grammy nominations. Kanye West made sure to mention that his latest record only received two nominations for a…
Phoenix Afrobeat Orchestra really packed the people in to the partitioned Crescent Ballroom on Sunday night having easily more than 200 people arrive ready to dance for their fifth show ever, and their first since June. The group, which describes itself as a “musical collective,” consists of 14 musicians–and among…
Few people can flip through their rock ‘n roll rolodex and put together a show quite as well as Valley legend Alice Cooper. After all, Cooper is the king of shock rock, and he paved the way for a legion of acts trying to get a rise out of mothers…
Aydin Immortal is rock ‘n’ roll, and Wolvves is more fun than any other band in Phoenix. Those are the two most important lessons the 25 to 40 people who showed up to Funny World on First Friday learned when they saw the Phoenix-based skate-punks headline a local house show,…
Last week Phoenicians had a chance to celebrate a not-exactly routine Christmas with Alice Cooper. This week you’ve got Korn. I can’t promise any metal Christmases at all next week, so make of that what you will. (View our complete concert calendar here.)…
BeyonceUS Airways CenterSaturday, December 7 Have you ever met Mrs. Carter? She’s a sweet southern belle with a voice not to be reckoned with. Despite all the glitz and glamour, Mrs. Carter is a badass, sexy woman at heart, one who happened to promise me this: “I’ll be your naughty…
For more than 20 years singer and guitarist Aaron Lewis’ powerful, rolling baritone voice has carried fans on a personal journey into his life through songs of acceptance, consequences, depression, love, and family–both with the alternative metal band Staind and most recently his solo country ballads. Friday night, in the…
The smell of burning incense permeated the air at Comerica Theatre last night as the Almost Acoustic Christmas concert kicked off its annual event. Fans filed inside the auditorium in large groups until the place was packed from top to bottom with energetic country music lovers. The line-up was loaded…
First they ignore you, then they’re frightened by you, then they’re fond of you, then you create a youth center for at-risk teens.” – Alice Cooper. His annual Christmas Pudding show and more make up this weekend’s 5 must-see Phoenix shows…
It’s that time of year again, and with the holidays comes the annual Almost Acoustic Christmas concert at Comerica Theatre on December 5. A staple in the Christmas season, and one of the more buzzed about events among Valley country fans, Almost Acoustic Christmas plans on beefing up the artists…
The Black Bottom Lighters are the biggest thing on the Valley reggae scene since white guys learned how to dreadlock their hair. The six-piece Glendale-based desert reggae crew has been jamming together for more than two years in their current form, and that’s all it’s taken to grab the ear…
Justin Timberlake US Airways Center Monday, December 2, 2013 (View the full slideshow.) Pop megastar Justin Timberlake made his eagerly awaited return to Phoenix Monday night and quickly proved why the media has paid obsessive attention to him since his Mickey Mouse Club Days. Over the course of his three-hour…
What follows is nothing but an unabashed love note to Jonathan Richman. He first captured my heart when I saw the movie Repo Man — Jonathan wasn’t in Repo Man, but there is a cover of his song “Pablo Picasso” on the soundtrack. The lyrics of this particular track, like…
