(UPDATED) Summer Ends Music Festival Canceled Due to Weather

Update 2:Good news for tonight. From Luckyman Concerts’ Facebook page: “Tentatively to play, The Maine Taking Back Sunday Luscious Jackson Descendents (Official) & The Replacements” Update: According to a press release from Luckyman Concerts, which organized Summer Ends Music Festival, the city of Tempe shut down the festival at 2:30…

Why Cassette Store Day Exists

In spring of last year, Stephen Rose shot an email to Jen Long and Matt Flag about an idea he had. Each of the three headed independent labels that release cassette tapes: Rose had SEXBEAT, Long ran Kissability and had a hand in Transgressive Records alongside Rose, and Flag oversaw…

CSN Songs Have a “Scary” Relevancy Today, Graham Nash Says

Numerous significant events occurred in 1974: President Richard Nixon imposed the 55 mile per hour speed limit. The Six Million Dollar Man debuted on TV. The Symbionese Liberation Army kidnapped Patty Hearst, and Hank Aaron passed Babe Ruth as the all-time home run hitter. It also marked the first (and…

Why You’ll Have to Visit Arcosanti to Hear The Album Leaf

By definition, an “album leaf” is a musical piece written in dedication to a friend or admirer to be inserted in their album or autograph book. Whether it was intentional or not, Jimmy LaValle of The Album Leaf has inserted his own leaves into his latest project. The Album Leaf…

Cassette Store Day Provokes A Mixed Reaction in Phoenix

Sure, you know about Record Store Day, but some people don’t have $15 to drop on a 7″ single and maybe some people are just a little bit nostalgic for lo-fi. If that sounds like you, then get ready for Cassette Store Day, coming to you worldwide this Saturday September…

KDKB Switches Formats to Alternative Rock

If you tune into KDKB right now — 93.3 on your FM dial — you’ll hear something a bit different from the classic/hard rock station’s usual offerings of Ozzy, Metallica, Judas Priest, or AC/DC. At this exact moment, the local radio institution is broadcasting nothing but wall-to-wall Richard Cheese, including…

Neon Trees Cancels Phoenix’s Orpheum Theatre Concert

So few concerts come through downtown Phoenix’s majestic Orpheum Theatre that when one cancels, it’s always a shame. Unfortunately, that’s the case for October 5 Neon Trees show. The Provo, Utah, mega-poppers announced that they had to cancel several upcoming tour dates due to health reasons. Here’s the statement: “Neon…

John Mellencamp Playing Comerica Theatre July 29

The artist formerly known as John Cougar announced dates for his latest tour yesterday, and John Mellencamp will stop in Phoenix at Comerica Theatre on July 29. The tour is in support of his upcoming album Plain Spoken, which will be released September 23. The album is the Rock and…

Jimmy Eat World Signature Guitar Celebrates Seventh Anniversary

If you’re a diehard music fan in Arizona, you know that one of our state’s crown jewels is Jimmy Eat World. Active for over two decades now, and regarded as a forerunner of the mid-’00s pop-punk movement, Jimmy Eat World invokes as much, if not more, pride as references to…

Forty ’90s Albums That Still Hold Up

Steve Wiley is Up on the Sun’s resident Record Store Geek. He shares stories of great music and wacky characters from his continuing 27 years in Valley record stores and the always zany music biz. At the end of July, I wrote about Five Reasons I Don’t Write About New…

Allred Guitars Continues Grand Avenue Vitalization

Even if it still looks a little greasy to some, Grand Avenue near downtown just keeps getting better and better, what with the addition of Grand Avenue Pizza and the recently renovated ThirdSpace restaurant and bar. Soon to join the many quirky galleries and mechanic shops is Allred Guitars &…

How Deep Is Your Love: The Levels of Music Fandom

Steve Wiley is Up on the Sun’s resident Record Store Geek. Biweekly, he shares stories of great music and wacky characters from his continuing 27 years in Valley record stores and the always-zany music biz. I was hanging out at Revolver Records the other day, and Andy (friend, former hoodlum,…