Critic's Notebook

The big reveal is inside.

Mitchell Hillman listens to more local music than just about anyone in the Valley. He presents his picks for best new songs in his column, Right Hear, Right Now. The Sink or Swim – “Arizona” The Sink or Swim have just unloaded their first single of 2017, and like the…

There’s a lesson here, kids.

You literally have no excuse not to go.

Sunday night, Ultra Music Festival let downtown know that its three-day party was over with a fireworks display at the end of DJ Snake’s set on the main stage. Condo dwellers breathed a sigh of relief knowing they would finally be free once again to roam the city.

New music from Phoenix artists.

Join us at Rebel Lounge on Wednesday, March 29.

In Pound For The Sound, we get technical with local musicians about what gear they use to create their signature tones.

North Phoenix gentlemen’s club Centerfolds Cabaret has been stripped of its liquor license for good. Owners of the embattled local strip joint, which closed in late January in the wake of a deadly altercation in its parking lot, have voluntarily agreed to have its license revoked because of the incident…

We wish they could all win.

RIP to the Sister Sledge singer.

“How often do you get an opportunity to truly use your craft to really be a voice for someone who doesn’t have one?” Trap House sounds humbled and sincere when he says this over the phone.

In Pound For The Sound, we get technical with local musicians about what gear they use to create their signature tones. Robin Vining is an extremely musical person.

There’s an astounding level of talent here.

Because it’s all about that bass.

Why let the NCAA have all the fun?

Chicano/O’odham hip-hop crew Shining Soul is most at home on the front lines. The Phoenix trio — MCs Bronze Candidate and Liaizon, along with DJ Reflekshin — first came up with staunch criticism of Arizona’s racist SB 1070 “papers please” measure in 2010, but on their latest, Politics Aside, they mostly…

In Pound for the Sound, we talk to musicians about their gear.

Get your local music fix inside.

You’ve heard the story before. Local genius becomes indispensable, then leaves.