Global AZ Media

Green Day + The Smashing Pumpkins and More at Chase Field
2024-09-18 17:00 - 23:30 (America/Phoenix) | Chase Field, 401 E Jefferson St, Phoenix, AZ, 85004, United States
Equal parts pop phenomenon and defiant pioneering punk juggernaut, Green Day is a band that defies category. But with millions of fans scattered across the world and an almost unbelievable career that’s been reinvented multiple times over the span of decades, the California band has proven it doesn’t need to be labelled to be successful. Alongside other intrepid bands like Bad Religion, Rancid and The Offspring, Green Day is credited for ushering punk music into the mainstream in the 1990’s.
With over 85 million albums sold and a spot in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, Green Day’s story becomes nothing short of miraculous when you consider the band’s origins. When Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt were just 14 years old, they formed a band called Sweet Children in 1986 working with a drummer named John Kiffmeyer. The band inked a deal with Lookout! Records two years later, releasing an EP called 1,000 Hours and changing their name to Green Day, a nod to the musicians’ love for marijuana. Kiffmeyer left the band soon after in 1990 and was replaced by drummer Tré Cool, a drummer who previously played in another California band The Lookouts. Cool has been an integral part of Green Day ever since.
In 1991, Kerplunk was released, which sold an incredible 50,000 copies initially in the U.S. Now considered one of the best-selling independent albums of all time, Kerplunk has sold almost 2 million copies internationally. The album’s success brought Green Day opportunities to tour across the United States and Europe and attention from major labels. After signing with Reprise Records, the band started working with Rob Cavallo, who’d go on to produce Dookie, Insomniac, Nimrod, American Idiot and Uno/Dos/Tre. The band admired the work Cavallo did with pop-punk band The Muffs, and claimed to have formed a tight bond and musical repour from the very beginning of the relationship. It was around this time when Green Day began to feel alienated by the northern California punk scene.
Not punk enough for traditional punk fans and not accessible enough to be considered a conventional rock band, Green Day’s success was built by forging a unique musical path on their own terms. The landmark album Dookie was released in 1994, a record Fuse Magazine called “the most important pop-punk album of all time.” With the massive popularity of singles like “Longview”, “Basket Case”, and “When I Come Around,” the album sold more than 10 million copies in the U.S., making Green Day became a bona fide musical phenomenon. Spots at festivals like Lollapalooza and Woodstock ‘94 and a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Album followed soon after. A year later in 1995, the band’s fourth studio album Insomniac was released, which was received warmly by critics.
The band took a couple of years off to regroup after the unexpected success they’d experienced and released Nimrod in 1997, which represented a major musical departure for the group. The acoustic folk single “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” became a major international success, appearing in many TV shows, films and countless high school proms and graduations. In 2000, Green Day released Warning and performed a free concert on the steps of San Francisco city hall to protest the practice of artists being evicted from their homes in the city. Three years later, the band recorded an entire album of 20 tracks, only to have the masters stolen from the studio upon completion. Rather than re-record the album, Green Day scrapped the album, deciding that it wasn’t their best work. The punk rock opera American Idiot was released in 2004 instead, stunning fans and critics alike not only by the album’s ambitious concept but also with its remarkable success. Selling over 6 million copies in the U.S., the album won the 2005 Grammy Award for Best Rock Album and is considered one of the most influential pieces of protest art from the Bush era.
21st Century Breakdown was released in 2009 after Green Day’s longest hiatus between albums. The album was a hit with critics and represented the group’s best chart performance ever. A stage creation of American Idiot debuted on Broadway a year later. A series of albums called ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, and ¡Tré! were released in 2012, and in June 2013, the band broke a record by selling 60,000 tickets for a show at the Emirates Stadium in the U.K. Green Day’s 12th studio album Revolution Radio was released in 2016 followed by a massive international tour.

The Smashing Pumpkins are one of the most iconic, and influential bands of all time, shaping alternative music and culture. Since forming in Chicago in 1988, the group have sold over 30 million albums worldwide and garnered two GRAMMY® Awards, two MTV VMAs, and an American Music Award. Their catalog includes seminal offerings such as the platinum Gish [1991], the quadruple-platinum Siamese Dream [1993], the diamond-certified Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness [1995], the platinum Adore [1998], and the gold Machina/The Machines of God [2000]. Rolling Stone cited both Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness among its “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” 2018 saw The Smashing Pumpkins unveil SHINY AND OH SO BRIGHT, VOL. 1 / LP: NO PAST. NO FUTURE. NO SUN. and launch the immensely successful Shiny and Oh So Bright Tour, which packed arenas. Maintaining this momentum, the band released their eleventh full-length double album CYR [2020], representing yet another evolution, and more recently, ATUM[2023], the sequel to 1995’s Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and 2000’s Machina/Machine of God. The band’s forthcoming 2024 album, AGHORI MHORI MEI, in the immediate aftermath of ATUM, sees a return to form for original members Billy Corgan, Jimmy Chamberlin, and James Iha, and harkens back to the band’s early 90’s canon; where guitars, bass, drums, and spiking vocals ruled.

Emerging from the blue-collar swamps of Berkeley, California, Rancid has now been a living, breathing punk rock band for over a quarter century.
Back in 1991, after the demise of their much beloved and still influential first band, Operation Ivy, founding members Tim Armstrong (vocals, guitar) and Matt Freeman (bass, vocals) decided to do the impossible — start an even better band. Thus, Rancid.
In 1995, Rancid released the classic platinum-selling “…And Out Come The Wolves.” . They followed with the even more ambitious “Life Won’t Wait” in 1998, and in 2000, Rancid released another album entitled “Rancid,” just to see if anyone was paying attention.
After “Indestructible” in 2003, Branden Steineckert (drums) joined to solidify Rancid’s current line-up. They subsequently released the albums “Let The Dominos Fall” (2009), “Honor Is All We Know” (2014), and “Trouble Maker” (2017).
Through it all, Rancid has remained fiercely independent, never losing their loyalty to community or each other. Their music confronts political and social issues, while balancing personal tales of love, loss, and heartbreak with attitude. Rancid gives their listeners a community where everyone can belong. By carrying on the traditions and spirit of the original punk rock bands that came before, Rancid has become a legend an inspiration to punk bands that have come after. They are the living embodiment of East Bay punk.

No Obligation, the second full-length release from The Linda Lindas further advances their unironic, joyful, and exciting trajectory of mashing up L.A. punk with post punk, garage rock, power pop, new wave and rock en español. Written and recorded by the band during spring breaks, winter breaks, and long weekends (Lucia and bassist Eloise Wong are still in high school, drummer Mila de la Garza just finished middle school, and Bela Salazar is patiently waiting for them to get done with it already), the new album has been in the works for the last two years whenever they weren’t at school or touring. “I don’t got no obligation,” roars Eloise in the opening, title track of the album – “just brush off all expectation.” From the first moment of their sophomore release it is clear that The Linda Lindas are here to defy expectations and challenge norms. Since going viral with their LA Public Library performance of their song “Racist, Sexist, Boy” the world has watched these four musicians scream about injustice, sing about growing up and exhibit the kind of altruism that is so meaningful to the punk scene.

Stephen Sanchez + The Brook & The Bluff at Arizona Financial Theatre
2024-09-17 20:00 - 23:30 | Arizona Financial Theatre, 400 W Washington St, Phoenix, AZ, 85003, United States
“Now, listen here folks…our story begins 59 long years ago at a club called “The Angel”…and that club was owned by a no good, rotten Mob Boss by the name of “Hunter”. And it was there that a young buck Troubadour would meet Hunter’s angel-faced gal…Evangeline. Drawn by forbidden love, the pair would spark up a secret romance that would land the two souls in…well…hot water. But, before the hot water folks, Angel Face is out now for your listening pleasure.”
The Troubadour Sanchez will return…

In recent years, The Brook & The Bluff’s incandescent harmonies, winning arrangements, and observational acumen have placed them firmly at the center of the indie-folk revival. They are now, by far, one of the most successful young bands at folk-rock’s amorphous contemporary edge, fusing the craft of the past with the ideas and avenues of the present. Renowned for their electrifying live performances, the band has made a name for themselves on the live circuit, playing electric sets at Bonnaroo, Hangout, Firefly, and Wonderfront. Having previously toured with Mt. Joy, Noah Kahan, and Rainbow Kitten Surprise, among others, they followed this up with a 2023 headline tour that saw sold-out shows in major markets across the country.

Last year, the group released their latest full-length record, Bluebeard. The album is a career defining record for the band and the early fan response suggests it will be a breakthrough moment for them. Singles “Long Limbs,” “Tangerine,” “Headfirst,”& “Hiding,” all tracks that show the depth of this album, a mix of indie folk, fused with touches of funk and deep grooves.

Slipknot + Knocked Loose at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
2024-09-15 19:00 - 23:30 | Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre, 2121 N 83rd Ave, Phoenix, AZ, 85035, United States
Released on June 29th, 1999, Slipknot’s self-titled debut was a smash, becoming a hit with critics and an instant classic with fans. It was, and is, a molotov cocktail signaling a revolution– embracing a creative direction that eschewed metal traditions in favor of fresh ideas. While the jaw-clenching riffs coupled with Ross Robinson’s venomous production were crucial to the album’s success, it was the care and attention to detail in the songcraft that moved the needle from “great” to “benchmark.” Not too shabby for a bunch of guys that only hoped to be heard. “We loved what we did with the first record but we didn’t even know if there was gonna be anything after that,” recalls guitarist Jim Root. “We just wanted people to hear it. Selling out of records and shows, having successful tours– those are goals for any band. But the dream scenario in some ways, came true for us.”
The infection spreads deeper and wider into 2024 and 2025, but Slipknot are not giving details as to what to expect. But it wouldn’t be Slipknot if they didn’t exceed fan expectations. “We have five OG members and lots of family in Slipknot,” recalls Clown. “We want to acknowledge what we are, where we came from and what we accomplished. We’re just Slipknot. We’re here to be. And we’re still walking uphill– it hasn’t leveled off. But you can definitely believe we’re already thinking about what’s next and next after that.”

As Knocked Loose chipped away at what would become their 3rd album, they felt the pressure from all sides. Internally, there was the need to challenge themselves as songwriters while retaining the merciless intensity and unflinching honesty that have always been their calling cards. Externally, there was a whole new set of eyes on the Louisville quintet, following a banner year in which they’d brought their underground-seasoned sound to some of the world’s biggest stages such as Coachella and Bonnaroo.
The creative process was arduous, writing close to 40 songs across a span of 4 years before locking in the 10 tracks that make up new LP You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To. In the end, vocalist Bryan Garris, guitarists Isaac Hale & Nicko Calderon, bassist Kevin Otten & drummer Kevin “Pac Sun” Kaine honed a diverse, cohesive and savagely intense album that both sums up the massive strides they’ve taken during their decade as a band, & asserts their boundless potential going forward.
There’s no ceiling for hardcore in 2024 — even an outfit as uncompromising as Knocked Loose can turn up in mainstream-adjacent spaces and win over new fans. But there’s a center to what they do that will never change: uncompromising heaviness, sonically & thematically. Everywhere Knocked Loose have been is here on this record — but so is everywhere they may yet go.

Bush + Jerry Cantrell at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
2024-09-14 18:00 - 23:30 | Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre, 2121 N 83rd Ave, Phoenix, AZ, 85035, United States
After three decades, well over 20 million records sold, a GRAMMY® Award nomination, 1 billion streams, and a procession of #1 hits, BUSH stand tall as rock outliers whose imprint only widens as the years pass. Turn on rock radio, and it won’t be long before you hear “Glycerine” or “Machinehead.” On the big screen, their music courses through blockbuster franchises such as John Wick. On the road, they regularly pack amphitheaters and ignite festival stages. In 1994, the group delivered their seminal debut, Sixteen Stone. It notably achieved a six-times platinum certification, remaining a pillar of modern rock. The triple-platinum follow-up, Razorblade Suitcase, bowed at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 and boasted “Swallowed,” which garnered a GRAMMY® nomination in the category of “Best Hard Rock Performance.” Their catalog spans the platinum The Science of Things [1999] through Black and White Rainbows [2017]. Most recently, 2020’s The Kingdom arrived to acclaim highlighted by “Flowers On A Grave” and “Bullet Holes.” Thus far, they have notched 25 straight Top 40 hits on the Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts, earning seven #1 entries – most recently, 2022’s “More Than Machines”. As indefatigable as ever, they’re still here too, which brings us to their ninth full-length offering, The Art of Survival. The twelve new tracks aren’t just the sound of a band surviving though; they’re the sound of a band bucking trends, breaking ground, and besting even their most celebrated canon.

His vocals, melodies, and riffs are as instantly recognizable as they are powerful, nuanced, and eclectic. Both a disciple of the hard rock tradition and a massive influence on subsequent generations of artists, Jerry Cantrell straddles the line between earnest salt-of-the-earth songwriter and beloved living legend.
His fourth solo album I Want Blood arrives with all the aggression and heavy, inexhaustible stomp its title suggests. The follow-up to the best-reviewed solo album of Cantrell’s career (2021’s Brighten) further expands his musical palette without sacrificing any of his inescapably infectious melodic hooks. “Vilified,” which opens the album, is an anthem, a mission statement, kicking off I Want Blood with attitude.
Cantrell’s mountain of work as a solo artist and chief songwriter, guitarist, and co-vocalist in Alice In Chains stands tall in influence and respect. He’s collaborated with Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne, Danzig, and Deftones (among others). He’s contributed to music heard in films by Academy Award-winner Cameron Crowe and Judd Apatow and entries in the John Wick and Spider-Man franchises. Rolling Stone named the multi-platinum Tacoma, Washington native one of the greatest guitar players of all time. His catalog mines the best of metal, rock, blues, and Americana.

Seattle’s Candlebox emerged just as the early-’90s grunge scene was winding down. The band’s take on the genre diluted the punk and indie elements inherent in its original form and was more rooted in the bluesy, classic-style hard rock that grunge had ostensibly replaced. They found mainstream success in 1993 with the release of their eponymous debut album, which was certified quadruple platinum and included the hit singles “You” and “Far Behind.” The band issued two more records before ceasing operations in 2000 but re-formed six years later. Since then, Candlebox has remained both active and prolific, releasing well-received efforts like Into the Sun (2008), Disappearing in Airports (2016), and Wolves (2021) that show how the more challenging aspects of grunge can be ironed out and polished into a sound that mainstream rock radio can embrace without reservation. The group said farewell with their 2023 album The Long Goodbye.
Candlebox were formed in Seattle in 1990 by singer/guitarist Kevin Martin, a native of Elgin, Illinois who’d grown up partly in San Antonio, and drummer Scott Mercado. Initially calling the band Uncle Duke, they added lead guitarist Peter Klett and bassist Bardi Martin (no relation to Kevin) and changed the group’s name to Candlebox, after a line in a Midnight Oil song. Their demo tape found its way to Madonna‘s Maverick label, which quickly resulted in a record deal in 1992. Candlebox’s self-titled debut was released in 1993, and while the first single, “Change,” began to build them a following, it wasn’t until 1994, when the follow-up, “You,” appeared, that Candlebox really started to take off. “You” gave them a breakthrough hit on mainstream rock radio, which set the stage for the success of “Far Behind,” essentially a power ballad for the grunge era. “Far Behind” was a major hit on both mainstream and alternative radio, and made the pop Top 20; its exposure helped Candlebox climb into the Top Ten on the LP chart and eventually sell over three-million copies.
By the time Candlebox returned with their second album, 1995’s Lucy, the backlash was already in full swing. Partly because of the group’s previous momentum, the lead single, “Simple Lessons,” earned some rock radio airplay, and the album itself went gold and barely missed the Top Ten. However, it was largely ignored or dismissed by much of the mainstream media, and was ultimately hurt by a relative lack of memorable songs. In 1997, founding member Mercado left the band and was replaced by original Pearl Jam drummer Dave Krusen. Candlebox’s third album, Happy Pills, appeared in 1998 and marked a return to the more basic sound of their debut. “It’s Alright,” “10,000 Horses,” and the title cut all landed some airplay, but the album sold poorly; by this time, countless bands were working in a similar style, and Candlebox’s early momentum had long since dissipated. Krusen departed in 1999, as did Bardi Martin; they were replaced by Shannon Larkin (ex-Ugly Kid Joe) and Rob Redick, respectively, but the group disbanded the following year. The original lineup of Martin, Klett, and Mercado re-formed for a handful of shows in 2006 to support the release of Rhino’s Best of Candlebox compilation. The overall positive reunion stirred rumors of a new studio album, culminating in 2008’s Into the Sun. In 2012, the band inked a deal with AudiNext/Fontana, which released their fifth studio album, Love Stories and Other Musings. In 2015, Peter Klett and Scott Mercado announced they were leaving Candlebox to devote more time to their other project, Lotus Crush. A few months later, Kevin Martin and Dave Krusen unveiled a new edition of the band, featuring new guitarists Mike Leslie and Brian Quinn, and bassist Adam Kury. Disappearing in Airports, the band’s first outing for Pavement Music, was released the following year. In 2018 the original lineup reconvened for a pair of shows celebrating the 25th anniversary of their debut album, and in 2021 the band unveiled their seventh full-length effort, Wolves.
After releasing the single “This Time Tomorrow” in 2022, Candlebox issued Live at the Neptune Theatre early in 2023, setting the stage for their final album, the aptly titled The Long Goodbye. ~ Steve Huey & James Christopher Monger, Rovi

Five Finger Death Punch + Marilyn Manson at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
2024-09-10 18:30 - 23:30 | Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre, 2121 N 83rd Ave, Phoenix, AZ, 85035, United States
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH have amassed over 7.6 billion streams and 3 billion video views to date and have sold over 1 million tickets between 2018 and 2020 alone. Signed to Better Noise Music, they’ve garnered 25 top 10 hit singles and 15 #1 singles and are one of the top global streaming acts in the hard rock space. Five Finger Death Punch has the longest run of leading consecutive entries in the history of Mainstream Rock Airplay, which began in 1981. Having become one of the most recognizable names in music, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH frequently play all major festivals and sell out arenas around the world. Since their debut album, The Way of the Fist came out in 2007 the band has released seven consecutive albums that were certified Gold or Platinum by the RIAA, as well as two chart topping Greatest Hits albums. In addition, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH has earned numerous national and international awards and honors over the last decade, such as the prestigious Soldier Appreciation Award by the Association Of The United States Army, an honor bestowed upon only one other recording artist before them: Elvis Presley. ‘AFTERLIFE’ 2022 – “AfterLife”, the first single off the album, peaked number one on the Mainstream Rock chart, along with “Times Like These” and “Welcome to the Circus”.

Controversial rock frontman Marilyn Manson became a mainstream antihero in the 1990s — much to the chagrin of conservative politicians, religious leaders, and concerned parents — ruffling feathers and shocking the masses with his dark brand of glam-influenced industrial metal, outspoken social commentary, and incendiary live shows. The self-proclaimed “Antichrist Superstar,” he peddled a disquieting vision of society that focused on sex, drugs, violence, politics, and organized religion, which pushed many of his singles — including “The Dope Show,” “The Beautiful People,” and a cover of Eurythmics‘ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” — into the upper reaches of the modern rock charts during the late ’90s and early 2000s. During his band’s commercial peak, the conceptual triptych of Antichrist Superstar, Mechanical Animals, and Holy Wood won him a legion of die-hard fans while also attracting media attention and cultural notoriety. Following 2003’s The Golden Age of Grotesque, Manson entered his next era with a trio of releases that marked a downturn in mainstream popularity and sales. However, at the turn of the following decade, he staged a surprising late-era comeback with a string of critically acclaimed albums: The Pale Emperor (2015), Heaven Upside Down (2017), and We Are Chaos (2020).
Born Brian Warner, Manson was raised in Canton, Ohio. At the age of 18, he relocated to Tampa Bay, Florida, where he worked as a music journalist. In 1989, he became friends with guitarist and fellow outsider Scott Mitchell; the two soon decided to form a band, with Mitchell rechristening himself Daisy Berkowitz and Warner adopting the name Marilyn Manson. With the addition of bassist Gidget Gein and keyboardist Madonna Wayne Gacy, the group — originally dubbed Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids — began self-releasing cassettes and playing gigs, their gothic stage shows notable for Manson’s elaborate makeup and homemade special effects. Jettisoning their drum machine in favor of Sara Lee Lucas, the band’s sound began taking on a harder edge, and by 1992 they were among the most popular and notorious acts in the South Florida underground.
In 1993, Nine Inch Nails‘ Trent Reznor came calling, offering both a contract with his Nothing Records label as well as the chance to open for NIN the following spring; Manson accepted both offers, and the group’s debut LP, Portrait of an American Family, appeared during the summer of 1994. With new bassist Twiggy Ramirez replacing Gein, the group’s notoriety soared. Most infamously, during an appearance in Salt Lake City, Manson ripped apart a copy of the Book of Mormon while on-stage. The Church of Satan’s founder, Anton LaVey, also bestowed upon him the title of “Reverend,” further stoking conservatives’ fears. Manson’s cult following continued to swell, and the band broke into the mainstream with the release of 1995’s Smells Like Children EP, propelled by their enduring hit cover of Eurythmics‘ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).” Berkowitz quit a short time later and was replaced by guitarist Zim Zum, and the revised group saw their next LP, 1996’s conceptual opus Antichrist Superstar, debut at the number three spot on the pop album charts and sell nearly two million copies in the U.S. alone. Produced by Trent Reznor, the multi-platinum Antichrist Superstar became the band’s most influential and defining statement. As Manson’s popularity grew, so did the furor surrounding him. His concerts were regularly picketed by civic groups, and his music was the subject of widespread attacks from right-wing and religious fronts.
Manson continued to court controversy in 1998 with the glam-inspired Mechanical Animals, which included cover art depicting the singer as a naked androgynous alien. The album became the band’s first to top the charts and spawned the singles “The Dope Show” and “I Don’t Like the Drugs (But the Drugs Like Me).” While the resulting tour yielded a live album, Last Tour on Earth, the trek was cut short in early 1999 after the band was erroneously blamed for influencing the perpetrators of the Columbine High School massacre. Out of respect for the public, the band retreated from the spotlight and returned to the studio.
The third and final part of a thematic album triptych, Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) arrived at the end of 2000, just barely missing the Top Ten. One of Manson’s most sprawling conceptual pieces, the politically charged Holy Wood included the singles “Disposable Teens” and “The Fight Song.” The band returned to the road and toured to support the album during much of 2001. That December, Manson’s version of “Tainted Love” appeared on the Not Another Teen Movie soundtrack, becoming an unexpected European chart hit.
Freed from the mythology of his prior trio of albums, Manson found inspiration for his fifth effort in the sounds of burlesque, cabaret, and the excess of Weimar-era Germany. Longtime bassist Twiggy Ramirez amicably left the group before recording and his spot was filled by Tim Skold (ex-KMFDM). The result was 2003’s The Golden Age of Grotesque, which spent a week atop the album charts and ended up on several critics’ year-end Top Ten lists. The singles “This Is the New Shit” and “Mobscene” also became live staples for years to come, debuted on the accompanying Grotesk Burlesk tour. As the Grotesque period drew to a close, so too did the stints of longtime members Madonna Wayne Gacy and John 5, who left the group between album releases. The following year, another symbolic end to the era arrived in the form of a greatest-hits affair titled Lest We Forget. The collection covered the band’s career highlights — from Portrait’s first single “Get Your Gunn” to a 2004 cover version of Depeche Mode‘s “Personal Jesus” — and earned gold status in multiple countries. At this point, Manson began to branch out from music, displaying his watercolor paintings at art exhibitions, dabbling in filmmaking, and producing his own absinthe.
With the curtains closed on his peak mainstream period, Manson’s output also took an inward turn, thematically shifting from the grandiose concepts of his peak mainstream period to more personal statements. This next stage began with 2007’s Eat Me, Drink Me. Debuting a darker emotional perspective and an increase in singing, the record was written, performed, and produced entirely by Manson and Skold. Landing in the Billboard 200’s Top Ten, the set included the singles “Heart-Shaped Glasses” and “Putting Holes in Happiness.” Skold parted with Manson shortly thereafter and was replaced by returning member and right-hand man Twiggy Ramirez. Manson and Ramirez then began writing material for the band’s seventh studio album, The High End of Low, which arrived in spring 2009 and reached number four on the charts. In 2011, during preparation for the release of the band’s eighth studio album, longtime drummer Ginger Fish announced he had left the group. On his own, Manson forged ahead, premiering Born Villain, a short film directed by Shia La Beouf that served as support for his forthcoming album of the same name. One of his lowest-performing albums to date, Born Villain featured the track “No Reflection,” which managed to become his highest-charting single in almost a decade.
Despite the creative musical slump, Manson remained busy with other exploits, furthering his acting career with film and television roles, including a fortuitous appearance on the show Californication, where he met score composer Tyler Bates (Guardians of the Galaxy, John Wick, 300). The pair hit it off and began recording what would become Manson’s big comeback. His ninth album overall, The Pale Emperor was released in January 2015 on Loma Vista in the U.S. and Cooking Vinyl internationally. Favored by critics as one of the band’s best late-era efforts, the blues rock-inspired album peaked in the Top Ten of the Billboard 200 and topped the Hard Rock chart. Capitalizing on the creative momentum, Manson and Bates extended their partnership in 2017 with another collaboration. Originally titled Say10, Heaven Upside Down — Manson’s tenth album — featured the singles “We Know Where You F*cking Live” and “Kill4Me.” The set placed Manson back on the pop Top Ten and was supported by extensive touring, including a summer jaunt that reunited Manson with fellow shock-rock veteran Rob Zombie. At the start of their joint tour, Manson issued a cover of the song “Cry Little Sister” and a duet with Zombie covering the Beatles‘ “Helter Skelter.” More cover singles arrived in 2019, namely “God’s Gonna Cut You Down” and “The End” by the Doors.
The 2020s were ushered in by Manson’s 11th full-length, We Are Chaos, which was produced by outlaw country musician Shooter Jennings. Released that September, the set yielded the singles “Don’t Chase the Dead” and the title track. Months later, in January 2021, multiple allegations of abuse against Manson were made public. Subsequently, he was dropped by Loma Vista, his talent agency, and his manager of 25 years. He was also removed from scheduled appearances on television shows American Gods and Creepshow. ~ Neil Z. Yeung, Rovi

For all enquires: ilya@full-time.ninja   Kostolom is the epic second LP from the duo Alex Terrible and Jack Simmons’ band Slaughter to Prevail. The album expands on the dynamic extremes of their 2017 debut, Misery Sermon — pairing Alex’s dark, cathartic lyrics with Simmons’ pummeling riffs and tense, cinematic solos. “We wanted to make each song for us stand out in a different way,” the guitarist says. “On some of the songs, we focused on wanting to keep it uptempo, building to a breakdown as the focal point. Other songs it was about groove or the chorus — ‘how can we make this melodic?’ The albums we love the most have those dynamics, and we want to use them to make each part hit harder.”   The songs evolved over several years, the first demos constructed shortly before the release of Misery Sermon. And they finally finished the material in late 2020, with everyone (Alex, Simmons, bassist Mikhail Petrov, guitarist Dmitry Mamedov) having tracked their respective parts at home. (Evgeny Novikov recorded his drums at a nearby studio in Moscow.)   Alex’s words — largely sung in Russian, with occasional bursts of English — are also more balanced than the bleak song titles may suggest. “The lyrics,” Simmons says, “are quite personal to anyone who listens, I think — of personal struggle, keeping a positive mental attitude and going through the shit to have a better life and achieve your goals.”

Creed + 3 Doors Down at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
2024-09-04 19:00 - 23:30 | Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre, 2121 N 83rd Ave, Phoenix, AZ, 85035, United States
During the late ’90s, Creed emerged from a sea of post-grunge contenders to become one of the decade’s biggest-selling rock bands. At a time when many other Seattle disciples were lapsing into inactivity or experimenting with less commercial sounds, Creed carried the torch of straightforward, grungy hard rock without apology — and they were amply rewarded, selling millions upon millions of albums in just a few years’ time. That success didn’t translate into critical acclaim, however. Many reviewers slammed the band’s music as derivative, and frontman Scott Stapp was a frequent, easy target for publications like Rolling Stone. Based on their frequently spiritual lyrics, some observers deemed Creed part of a new breed of alternative-styled Christian bands, an affiliation that Creed actively tried to downplay. Neither critical jabs nor a potential secular backlash could derail the band, though, and they went into the new millennium as a seemingly unstoppable commercial juggernaut. Ultimately, it was Stapp‘s personal issues that brought an end to Creed’s heyday in 2004. The remaining members partnered with vocalist Myles Kennedy to form Alter Bridge, while Stapp briefly pursued a solo career before reconvening with Creed at the turn of the decade for 2009’s Full Circle. Disbanding again in 2013, they reunited in 2023, riding a wave of attention from sports fans and social media.
Creed took root in 1994 in Tallahassee, Florida. Founding members Scott Stapp and guitarist Mark Tremonti had been classmates in high school and both attended Florida State University, where Stapp studied law before dropping out to pursue music (a decision that led to conflict with his anti-rock & roll parents, as his father was a Pentecostal minister). Stapp and Tremonti began writing songs together, many of which obliquely addressed themes of Christian spirituality, and added a rhythm section consisting of bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips. As an alternative to the band’s original moniker (Naked Toddler), Marshall suggested the name Creed, having previously played in another band dubbed Mattox Creed.
Now boasting a new name and a muscled, modern rock sound, Creed went on to form their own label, Blue Collar, before entering the studio in 1997 with producer John Kurzweg. Recorded on a shoestring budget of $6,000 and initially self-released in a limited run, their debut album, My Own Prison, was soon picked up by Wind-Up Records — a fledgling imprint with distribution through Sony — and treated to a beefy remix that gave it a heavier, radio-friendly punch. The trick worked, as My Own Prison subsequently spun off no less than four number one singles — “My Own Prison,” “Torn,” “What’s This Life For,” and “One” — on Billboard’s mainstream rock radio charts, making Creed the first band to accomplish the feat with its debut album. My Own Prison proved to be extremely popular, moving over five million copies over several years’ time despite little MTV exposure or media coverage.
Although Creed saw a good deal of competition from their post-grunge contemporaries, the band’s sophomore album demonstrated their staying power. Released in the fall of 1999 (when tracks from My Own Prison were still peppering the Billboard charts and radio playlists), Human Clay turned out to be a blockbuster, entering the charts at number one and selling a whopping ten million copies over the next two years. The album’s leadoff single, “Higher,” spent a record-breaking 17 weeks at number one on rock radio, and the follow-up singles “What If” and “With Arms Wide Open” topped the chart as well. This gave the band seven consecutive chart-topping hits on rock radio. “With Arms Wide Open” also gave Creed their first number one pop hit; several months later, the song won a Grammy for Best Rock Song.
During the summer of 2000, bassist Brian Marshall made headlines for criticizing Pearl Jam‘s recent songwriting style during a radio interview; he later apologized, and Stapp distanced the rest of the band from Marshall’s comments on Creed’s website. Months later, as the band readied itself for an American tour, it was announced that Marshall was no longer a member of Creed. He was quickly replaced by touring bassist Brett Hestla (also of Virgos Merlot) and later formed a new band, Grand Luxx, with his old bandmates from Mattox Creed. That same summer, Stapp was goaded into a brief media feud with Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst, who launched into a profane tirade against Stapp at a summer festival that both bands were playing. Although Stapp later blasted Durst‘s business tactics (as senior VP at Interscope), claiming they stemmed from a “mobster mentality,” things soon reverted to normal as the band returned to the studio.
Creed worked on their new album for much of 2001; although Hestla remained in the touring lineup, Tremonti chose to handle the bass parts himself, preserving the band’s initial core. Weathered was then released in November 2001, entering the charts at number one and tying a record (among other number one debuts) by remaining there for eight straight weeks; during that two-month time, it also sold a staggering five million copies. The first single, “My Sacrifice,” was a Top Five pop hit that spent nine weeks atop the rock radio charts. “One Last Breath” also demonstrated the band’s crossover appeal by faring well on both charts.
Stapp was involved in a car accident in April 2002 and suffered both a concussion and vertebrae damage. Creed initially canceled the rest of their tour, but Stapp recovered quickly, allowing the band to reschedule most of their show dates during the summer. Stapp‘s health was slipping in other ways, however, as he developed an addiction to Percocet and began taking a host of other medications on the road, including Xanax and throat steroids. The tour concluded with an infamous performance in Chicago, during which an obviously intoxicated Stapp performed one song while lying on his back. Such problems quickly led to the band’s unraveling.
Wind-Up Records officially announced the breakup of Creed in June 2004. Over the course of ten years, the band had sold over 30 million albums worldwide and became one of the biggest touring draws of the ’90s. Founding members Mark Tremonti, Scott Phillips, and Brian Marshall went on to form Alter Bridge with ex-Mayfield Four frontman Myles Kennedy. Scott Stapp went on to issue a solo record, 2005’s The Great Divide, which included a collection of rock songs inspired by Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ.
Three years later, Stapp and Tremonti reconvened in Florida, where they began to reconcile past differences. Shortly thereafter, the two persuaded Scott Phillips and original bassist Brian Marshall to band together once again, thus cementing Creed’s reunion. They booked a series of shows for the summer of 2009 in support of the album Full Circle, which was released later that year. The band’s first concert recording, Creed Live, was released at the end of the year. Touring continued into 2012 and the group went on another extended break in 2013. Various solo and side projects occupied bandmembers over the next decade.
Late into their hiatus, “Higher” became an unexpected standard for American sports teams such as the Texas Rangers and Minnesota Vikings — Creed even appeared at a 2023 Rangers playoff game — while social media, whether ironically or not, embraced the band’s more inspirational singles. The surge generated by all that attention helped push the group back into the public discussion. Seizing the moment, Creed announced their official reunion and an extended 2024 tour. ~ Andrew Leahey & Steve Huey, Rovi

A subsidiary of Universal, Republic Records signed the musicians and issued their major-label debut, The Better Life, in early 2000.
The Better Life became one of the biggest-selling albums of 2000, going platinum four times during its first year of release and spawning several singles. The band furthered its success with 2002’s Away from the Sun, which debuted at number eight on the Billboard Top 200 and, like its predecessor, climbed to multi-platinum status. 3 Doors Down toured steadily throughout 2003 and 2004 in support of Away from the Sun, and issued the live EP Another 700 Miles in November 2003 as a holdover between studio efforts. The group returned with a heavier album, Seventeen Days, in early 2005. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and went platinum in its first week of release. A self-titled album, which followed in May 2008, repeated its predecessor’s success when it too debuted at the top of the Billboard 200.
3 Doors Down toured throughout 2009, released a digital-only acoustic holiday album at the end of the year, and began to work on their next album in 2010. With Howard Benson serving as producer, the guys shuttled themselves between L.A. and Tokyo, recording the album in both cities and eventually emerging with 2011’s Time of My Life.

2024 has been a full circle moment for Finger Eleven. After 25 years, the Juno Award-winning band are criss-crossing America again with their long time labelmates Creed on the current Summer of ‘99 arena tour. They are working on their first new album in nearly a decade, and they sense that a big rock revival is brewing. Believe it or not, Finger Eleven have been around since 1990. Back in high school, founding members Scott and Sean Anderson (vocals and bass), and guitarists James Black and Rick Jackett formed the band with original drummer Rob Gommerman. They became Rainbow Butt Monkeys. With their blend of ‘90s alt and funk-rock, the Canadian upstarts signed to Mercury and released Letters From Chutney in 1995. But the quintet realized they needed a new name and shift in the direction. Thus Finger Eleven was born. They transitioned into a post-grunge and nu-metal influenced phase on their first two albums, Tip (1997) and The Greyest of Blue Skies (2000).
Their mainstream breakthrough came with their self-titled album. Produced by Johnny K (Disturbed, 3 Doors Down), this 2003 release marked a shift with the acoustic ballad “One Thing” which showcased a new side of the band and helped push album sales higher. They have two gold albums in the States and two gold and two platinum albums in Canada.

Def Leppard, Journey, and Steve Miller Band at Chase Field
2024-08-23 17:00 - 23:30 | Chase Field, 401 E Jefferson St, Phoenix, AZ, 85004, United States
Def Leppard are one of the most successful hard rock bands to ever wield six strings; their blend of glam rock, hair metal, and big pop ballads led to massive wave of success in the ’80s that the band has continued to ride over the ensuing decades. Emerging in the late ’70s as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, they gained a following outside of that scene by toning down their heavy riffs and emphasizing melody. After a couple of strong albums, they found crossover success with 1983’s Pyromania, and skillfully used the fledgling MTV network to their advantage. They reached the pinnacle of their career with 1987’s blockbuster Hysteria, then had another big hit, 1992’s Adrenalize, that defied the mainstream turn toward grunge. After that, the band settled into a pattern of touring exhaustively and releasing an album every few years, maintaining a steady audience and occasionally surprising fans with a new album, like 2008’s Yeah! or 2022’s Diamond Star Halos, that harked back to the sound of their glory days.
Def Leppard originated in a Sheffield-based group that teenagers Rick Savage (bass) and Pete Willis (guitar) formed in 1977. Vocalist Joe Elliott, a fanatical follower of Mott the Hoople and T. Rex, joined the band several months later, bringing the name Deaf Leopard with him. After a spelling change, the trio, augmented by a now-forgotten drummer, began playing local Sheffield pubs, and within a year the band had added guitarist Steve Clark to the lineup, as well as a new drummer. Later in 1978, they recorded their debut EP, Getcha Rocks Off, and released it on their own label, Bludgeon Riffola. The EP became a word-of-mouth success, earning airplay on the BBC.
Following the release of Getcha Rocks Off, 15-year-old Rick Allen was added as the band’s permanent drummer, and Def Leppard quickly became the toast of the British music weeklies. They soon signed with AC/DC‘s manager, Peter Mensch, who helped them secure a contract with Mercury Records. On Through the Night, the band’s full-length debut, was released in 1980 and instantly became a hit in the U.K., also earning significant airplay in the U.S., where it reached number 51 on the charts. Over the course of the year, Def Leppard relentlessly toured Britain and America, playing their own shows while also opening concerts for Ozzy Osbourne, Sammy Hagar, and Judas Priest. High ‘n’ Dry followed in 1981 and became the group’s first platinum album in the U.S., thanks to MTV’s strong rotation of “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak.”
As the band recorded the follow-up to High ‘n’ Dry with producer Mutt Lange, Pete Willis was fired from the group because of his alcoholism, and Phil Collen, a former guitarist for Girl, was hired to replace him. The resulting album, 1983’s Pyromania, became an unexpected blockbuster, due not only to Def Leppard’s skillful, melodic metal, but also to MTV’s repeated airing of “Photograph” and “Rock of Ages.” Pyromania went on to sell ten million copies, establishing Def Leppard as one of the most popular bands in the world. Despite their success, they were about to enter a trying time in their career. Following an extensive international tour, the group reentered the studio to record the follow-up, but producer Lange was unavailable, so they began sessions with Jim Steinman, the man responsible for Meat Loaf‘s Bat Out of Hell. The pairing turned out to be ill-advised, so the bandmembers turned to their former engineer, Nigel Green. One month into recording, Allen lost his left arm in a New Year’s Eve car accident. The arm was reattached, but it had to be amputated once an infection set in.
Def Leppard’s future looked cloudy without a drummer, but by the spring of 1985 — just a few months after his accident — Allen began learning to play a custom-made electronic kit assembled for him by Simmons. The band soon resumed recording, and within a few months, Lange was back on board; having judged all the existing tapes inferior, he ordered the band to begin work all over again. Recording sessions continued throughout 1986, and that summer, the group returned to the stage for the European Monsters of Rock tour. Def Leppard finally completed their fourth album, now titled Hysteria, early in 1987. The record was released that spring to lukewarm reviews, with many critics claiming that the album compromised Leppard’s metal roots for sweet pop flourishes. Accordingly, Hysteria was slow out of the starting gates — “Women,” the first single, failed to really take hold — but the release of “Animal” helped the album gather steam. The song became Def Leppard’s first Top 40 hit in the U.K., but more importantly, it launched a string of six straight Top 20 hits in the U.S., which also included “Hysteria,” “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” “Love Bites,” “Armageddon It,” and “Rocket,” the latter of which arrived in 1989, a full two years after the release of Hysteria. During those two years, Def Leppard’s presence was unavoidable — they were the kings of high school metal, ruling the pop charts and MTV, and teenagers and bands alike replicated their teased hair and ripped jeans, even when the grimy hard rock of Guns N’ Roses took hold in 1988.
Hysteria proved to be the peak of Leppard’s popularity, yet their follow-up remained eagerly awaited in the early ’90s, as the band took a break from the road and set to work on a new record. During the recording process, however, Steve Clark died from an overdose of alcohol and drugs. Clark had historically battled alcohol, and following their Hysteria heyday, his bandmates forced him to take a sabbatical. Although he did enter rehab, Clark’s habits continued, and his abuse was so crippling that Collen began recording the majority of the band’s guitar leads. Following Clark’s death, Def Leppard resolved to finish their forthcoming album as a quartet, releasing Adrenalize in the spring of 1992. Adrenalize was greeted with mixed reviews, and even though the album debuted at number one and contained several successful singles, including the Top 20 hits “Let’s Get Rocked” (notable for having one of the first ever CGI music videos) and “Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad,” the record was a commercial disappointment in the wake of Pyromania and Hysteria. After its release, the group added former Whitesnake guitarist Vivian Campbell to the lineup, thus resuming Def Leppard’s two-guitar attack.
In 1993, Def Leppard issued the rarities collection Retro Active, which yielded another Top 20 hit with the acoustic ballad “Two Steps Behind.” Two years later, the group released the greatest-hits collection Vault while preparing for their sixth album. Slang arrived in the spring of 1996, and while it proved more adventurous than its predecessor, it was greeted with indifference, indicating that Leppard’s heyday had indeed passed, and they were now simply a very popular cult band. Undaunted, Leppard soldiered on, returning to their patented pop-metal sound for Euphoria, which was released in June of 1999. Despite the success of “Promises,” the record failed to produce any additional hits, resulting in a return to adult pop balladry on 2002’s X. The two-disc Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection arrived in 2005, followed in 2006 by Yeah!, a strong collection of covers.
In 2008, the guys released their tenth studio album, Songs from the Sparkle Lounge, which debuted at number five and was supported by a lucrative summer tour. Material from that tour helped make up the bulk of 2011’s Mirror Ball: Live & More, a three-disc live album containing a full concert, three new studio recordings, and DVD footage. Another live album followed two years later: Viva! Hysteria found Def Leppard running through their 1987 blockbuster in its entirety on the first disc, and a collection of early, rarely played material on the second. In 2015, the band released Def Leppard, their 11th studio album and first collection of original music since 2008.
In February 2017, the group issued And There Will Be a Next Time, a live album culled from the Def Leppard supporting tour. Later that year, a Super Deluxe Edition of Hysteria came out in celebration of the record’s 30th anniversary. Further repackagings continued in 2018 with a box set of their ’80s albums titled The Collection, Vol. 1 and The Story So Far: The Best of Def Leppard, a multi-disc set that included the band’s first four studio albums and various rarities. The next year saw the release of The Collection, Vol. 2, a set of their ’90s records, and The Story So Far, Vol. 2: Hits & B-Sides, which picked up where the first volume left off with material from the band’s ’90s run and beyond. Def Leppard continued to tour on a regular basis and played a Las Vegas residency, then in 2020 issued a collection of their first two albums plus a live set and BBC sessions titled The Early Years 79-81. After this slew of live and reissued material, the band finally released another studio album in 2022, their 12th. Entitled Diamond Star Halos, it was heralded by the barnstorming, old-school promo track “Kick” and featured two collaborations with Alison Krauss. In 2023 the band issued Drastic Symphonies, a set of reimagined Lep classics and hidden gems recorded with London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

Photo by Brian Ach/Getty Images for Journey
JOURNEY is one of the most popular American rock bands of all time, creating some of the best-known songs in modern music. Since the group’s formation in 1973, the band has earned 19 top 40 singles and 25 Gold and Platinum albums and has sold nearly 100 million albums globally. Their Greatest Hits album is certified 15 times-Platinum, bringing Journey into the elite club of Diamond-certified award holders. The band continues to tour and record into the 21st century, performing concerts for millions of fans worldwide, and received the prestigious Billboard “Legends of Live” touring award. 2018’s massive co-headlining tour with Def Leppard was the band’s most successful tour to date, landing them in the Top 10 year-end touring chart with more than 1 million tickets sold. In 2017, Journey was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In March 2019, Journey released a live DVD/CD set from their concert at the Budokan in Tokyo, featuring the first-ever performances of the band’s “Escape” and “Frontiers” albums in their entireties. Journey received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame, and is the subject of the award-winning documentary, “Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey.”

Steve Miller was a mainstay of the San Francisco music scene that upended American culture in the late ’60s. With albums like Children of the Future, Sailor and Brave New World, he perfected a psychedelic blues sound that drew on the deepest sources of American roots music and simultaneously articulated a compelling vision of what music could be in the years to come. In the ’70s, he crafted a brand of pure pop that was polished, exciting and irresistible and dominated radio in a way that few artists have ever have. Hit followed hit: “Take The Money and Run,” “Rock’n Me,” “Fly Like an Eagle,” “Jet Airliner” among them. Those songs are instantly recognizable when they come on the radio. Their hooks the definition of indelible. Running through this catalog is a combination of virtuosity and song craft. His parents were jazz aficionados – not to mention close friends of Les Paul and Mary Ford – so, as a budding guitarist, Miller absorbed valuable lessons from that musical tradition. When the family moved to Texas, Miller deepened his education in the blues, then moving to Chicago, where he played with Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Buddy Guy and Paul Butterfield. Miller has now immersed himself in the blues once again. And, whether he was riding the top of the charts or exploring the blue highways of American music, he is performing with conviction and precision, passion and eloquence, making records that are at once immediately accessible and able to stand the test of time. – AD

Limp Bizkit at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
2024-08-16 18:30 - 23:30 | Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre, 2121 N 83rd Ave, Phoenix, AZ, 85035, United States
Limp Bizkit is an American nu metal/rap metal/rap rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Their lineup consists of Fred Durst (lead vocals), Sam Rivers (bass, backing vocals), John Otto (drums, percussion), DJ Lethal (turntables), and Wes Borland (guitars, vocals). Their music is marked by Durst’s angry vocal delivery and Borland’s sonic experimentation. Borland’s elaborate visual appearance, which includes face and body paint, masks and uniforms, also plays a large role in the band’s live shows. The band has been nominated for three Grammy Awards, have sold 40 million records worldwide and won several other awards.
Formed in 1994, Limp Bizkit became popular playing in the Jacksonville underground music scene in the late 1990s, and signed with Flip Records, a subsidiary of Interscope, which released their debut album, Three Dollar Bill, Y’all$ (1997). The band achieved mainstream success with their second and third studio albums, Significant Other (1999) and Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water (2000), although this success was marred by a series of controversies surrounding their performances at Woodstock ’99 and the 2001 Big Day Out festival.
Shortly after the release of Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water, Limp Bizkit went on a hiatus while Fred Durst recovered from being crucified by Slipknot. Borland left the group in 2001, but Durst, Rivers, Otto and Lethal continued to record and tour with guitarist Mike Smith. Following the release of their album, Results May Vary (2003), Borland rejoined the band and recorded The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1) (2005) with Durst, Rivers, Lethal and drummer Sammy Siegler before entering a hiatus. In 2009, the band reunited with Borland playing guitar and began touring, culminating with the recording of the album Gold Cobra (2011), after which they left Interscope and later signed with Cash Money Records. In 2014, a sixth studio album, Stampede of the Disco Elephants, was to be released but remained in development hell. Eventually, a new album called STILL SUCKS was recorded with all of the original band members and released digitally only in October 2021.
Fred Durst grew up in Jacksonville, where he took an interest in breakdancing, hip hop, punk rock and heavy metal. He began to rap, skate, beatbox and deejay. While mowing lawns and working as a tattoo artist, he developed an idea for a band that combined elements of rock and hip hop. Durst played with three other bands, Split 26, Malachi Sage, which were unsuccessful, and 10 Foot Shindig, which Durst left to form a new band. Durst told Sam Rivers, the bassist for Malachi Sage, “You need to quit this band and start a band with me that’s like this: rappin’ and rockin’.” Rivers suggested that his cousin, John Otto, who was studying jazz drumming at the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts and playing in local avant garde bands, become their drummer. Durst, Rivers and Otto jammed and wrote three songs together, and Wes Borland later joined as a guitarist.
Durst named the band Limp Bizkit because he wanted a name that would repel listeners. According to Durst, “The name is there to turn people’s heads away. A lot of people pick up the disc and go, ‘Limp Bizkit. Oh, they must suck.’ Those are the people that we don’t even want listening to our music.” Other names that were considered by Durst included Gimp Disco, Split Dickslit, Bitch Piglet, and Blood Fart. Every record label that showed an interest in the band pressured its members to change its name. Limp Bizkit developed a cult following in the underground music scene, particularly at the Milk Bar, an underground punk club in Jacksonville. The band’s local popularity was such that Sugar Ray, who had a major label contract, opened for a then-unsigned Limp Bizkit at Velocity with hip hop group Funkdoobiest. Milkbar owner, Danny Wimmer, stated that Limp Bizkit “had the biggest draw for a local band. They went from playing ten people to eight hundred within months. Fred … was always marketing the band. He would go to record stores and get people involved, he was in touch with high schools.” However, the band knew that to achieve national success, they would have to distinguish themselves in their live performances. Attracting crowds by word of mouth, the band gave energetic live performances, covering George Michael’s “Faith” and Paula Abdul’s “Straight Up”, and featuring Borland in bizarre costumes. Borland’s theatrical rock style was the primary attraction for many concert attendees.

Everyone likes to romanticize the working class. It’s easy to fool yourself into thinking you understand a perspective because you saw it in a netflix doc or read something from a best selling “culture” critic. But what if you’re on the other side of that story, focused on survival, watching the world pay attention to all the wrong things, waking up each day fighting to get to the next.
What if the sci-fi dystopian future happening this very minute, is your reality, and all you have is a guitar, cheap synthesizer, old computer and a tangled rusty voice?
That’s the constant starting-line embraced by N8NOFACE.
Originally from Tucson, N8NOFACE made his way to LA to double down on the visual, audio and live expression naturally running through his veins. While his influences range from Suicidal Tendencies to Stones Throw compilations of minimal wave music, his sound can be uniquely classified as the past, present and future heartbeat of the real LA. A dirty melding of 80s/90s nostalgic synthpunk combined with the amalgamation of chaos heard in grimy soundcloud rap tapes.
N8NOFACE screams for those left behind, presenting the hard truth of police brutality, mental health, and the untold stories of the voiceless. His 1-2 minute minimalist distorted dark synth movements challenge every listener to accept what the real world sounds like, and dares the complacent to be shocked out of their musical safety net of never-ending sameness.

Corey Feldman is an American Singer & Songwriter who has been entertaining audiences globally for almost 50 years. Corey released his 1st Single “Something in your Eyes” in 1989 for “Dream a Little Dream” soundtrack. He followed up with 1994’s LOVE LEFT became his 1st full LP release. Through the 90’s and 2000’s Corey landed multiple sync deals, had several successful American tours and continued to release solo projects and also released albums with his band Truth Movement. In 2013 Corey’s single “Ascension Millennium” went Viral and was picked up by MTV. This was a major turning point for Feldman as a musician. Corey continued to evolve musically, with his album “A2TC”. In 2014 Corey’s single “Everybody” (Feat. Doc Ice of Whodini & U.T.F.O) became his first of many DRT top 20 charting singles. By 2016 Corey scored his first Top 40 Billboard hit with“Go 4 it” peaking at No. 32. In May 2020 “U R Free” peaked at No. 17 on Billboard. By 2022 Feldman’s CiFi Records made some big announcements. Michael DeBarge is now C.O.O. of CiFi Records, and is now a joint venture with Midtown Radio & Records, Distribution is through Sony/Orchard. If that wasn’t enough Feldman announced his 1st Sony release titled “Without U” Peaked at #21 on Billboards Adult Contemporary Indicator Chart. Now Feldman and his band have just released a brand new single CALLED The Joke with a video directed by Fred Durst , & are preparing for a 24 city Arena tour opening for Limp Bizkit. COREYFELDMAN.NET

Halestorm & I Prevail at Arizona Financial Theatre
2024-08-16 18:00 - 23:30 | Arizona Financial Theatre, 400 W Washington St, Phoenix, AZ, 85003, United States
Led by charismatic vocalist/guitarist Lzzy Hale, Pennsylvania-based post-grunge/metal quartet Halestorm are one of the most successful hard rock groups of the early 21st century. With an aggressive yet hook-heavy sound that has become a fixture of American rock radio, Halestorm have toured restlessly, playing hundreds of shows per year and sharing the stage with nearly all of the popular American hard rock acts of their era. In 2013, the band took home a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance for the single “Love Bites (So Do I),” which appeared on their sophomore studio effort, The Strange Case Of…. Subsequent efforts Into the Wild Life (2015), Vicious (2018), and Back from the Dead (2022) have shown the group to be equally adept at muscular hard rockers and piano-driven power ballads, and their sound has branched out to include elements of dance music and pop-country.
Siblings Elizabeth and Arejay Hale, the core members of Halestorm, formed the group in late 1997 near York, Pennsylvania, with Arejay on drums and Elizabeth on vocals and keyboard. Wanting to expand their sound, the duo invited their father, Roger, to play bass with the band. Shortly after their first professional gig in 1998 at the Blue Mountain Coffee House in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Halestorm added various guitar players and released an EP, 1999’s (Don’t Mess with The) Time Man. More lineup changes occurred, but Halestorm finally solidified with Elizabeth (who was by then going by Lzzy) on vocals and guitar, Josh Smith on bass, Arejay on drums, and Joe Hottinger on guitar. The band caught the attention of producer David Ivory as well as Atlantic Records — both were involved in the group’s major-label debut, 2006’s One and Done, a five-song EP recorded live at a show in Philadelphia. They would finally make their full-length studio debut in 2009 with the eponymous Halestorm, all the while maintaining a rigorous touring schedule that would see them playing upwards of 250 shows a year.
The following year, Halestorm released the concert recording Live in Philly 2010, and Reanimate: The Covers EP appeared in 2011, featuring the band’s takes on songs by Heart, Guns N’ Roses, and Lady Gaga. Their sophomore album, The Strange Case Of…, followed in 2012, and the single “Love Bites (So Do I)” earned the group a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance. Reanimate 2.0 was released in 2013, this time finding the band tackling Fleetwood Mac, Daft Punk, and Marilyn Manson. Halestorm’s eclectic third studio long-player, the Jay Joyce-produced Into the Wild Life, was released in April 2015, and was preceded by the single “Apocalyptic.” The live EP Into the Wild Live: Chicago arrived in 2016, followed in early 2017 by their third covers set, Reanimate 3.0, which featured songs by Whitesnake, Metallica, and Soundgarden. Vicious, the band’s fourth studio long-player, followed in July 2018 and earned the group a Best Rock Performance Grammy nomination for the single “Uncomfortable.” 2020 saw Halestorm issue Reimagined, a six-song EP that featured stripped-down versions of five fan favorites and a cover of “I Will Always Love You.”
Two years later, they unveiled their fifth long-player, Back from the Dead. Produced by Nick Raskulinecz with co-production by Scott Stevens, the 11-song set included “The Steeple” and “Back from the Dead,” the latter of which became Halestorm’s sixth single to reach number one on the Active Rock charts. A deluxe edition of the album with seven new tracks arrived later that December. ~ Marisa Brown, Rovi

An explosive American post-hardcore quintet with cross-genre tendencies, I Prevail emerged in the early 2010s and found success the following year with a metallic rendering of Taylor Swift‘s “Blank Space.” The band earned a pair of Grammy nominations in 2019 with their chart-topping sophomore full-length Trauma. They returned in 2022 with True Power, which injected electronic, pop, and hip-hop elements to their attack.
Based out of Southfield, Michigan, I Prevail formed in 2013 around the talents of Brian Burkheiser (vocals), Eric Vanlerberghe (vocals), Steve Menoian (guitar), Jordan Berger (guitar), and Lee Runestad (drums). Employing a blistering blend of metalcore, pop-punk, and post-hardcore that invokes names like Bring Me the Horizon, We Came as Romans, and A Day to Remember, the band issued their debut EP Heart vs. Mind through Fearless Records in December 2014. A hard-hitting cover of Taylor Swift‘s “Blank Space,” which elicited over two million views on YouTube, helped further establish the band as a rising force within the hardcore scene. They later proved their original songwriting capability with the release of their 2016 debut album, Lifelines. Featuring a re-tooled lineup that consisted of Burkheiser, Vanlerberghe, Menoian, and new guitarist Dylan Bowman, the LP debuted at number one on the Billboard alternative, hard music, and rock charts. The following year, the group parted ways with Runestad and bassist Tony Camposeo, recruiting replacements Gabe Helguera and Eli Clark. They got to work on their follow-up album while touring with the Word Alive, We Came as Romans, and Escape the Fate.
In 2019, the band returned with sophomore effort Trauma, which included the singles “Bow Down” and “Breaking Down.” At the end of the year, they received a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Album and “Bow Down” entered the fray, competing for Best Metal Performance. The following year saw the band release a stripped-down acoustic version of the moody Trauma single “Hurricane.” After “DOA,” a collaborative single with rapper Joyner Lucas, I Prevail issued a live version of their previous album under the title Post Traumatic, recorded around the world in 2019 and 2020. In 2022, they released their third LP, True Power, which continued to push their genre experimentation in fresh directions, incorporating cinematic electronic production, rap verses, and even shimmering pop ballads.

Hollywood Undead hail from the streets of Hollywood, California, mixing brash hip-hop, rock, and minor metalcore touches with cocky posturing. With their colorful pseudonyms and unique hockey goal tender-inspired masks, the band debuted in 2008 with Swan Songs, but didn’t hit their commercial stride until the release of their 2011 sophomore effort, American Tragedy, which cracked the Top Ten on the Billboard 200 chart. Subsequent outings like Notes from the Underground (2013), Five (2017), the two-volume New Empire (2020), and Hotel Kalifornia, performed just as well, if not better, cementing the group’s reputation as one of rapcore’s leading lights.
Owing much of their popularity and exposure to the social networking website MySpace, the group started as the musical project of J-Dog and Tha Producer in June 2005. They uploaded some new music to their profile and very quickly started amassing song plays and online friends with tracks about drinking, sex, and emo kids. “The gang,” as the guys liked to refer to themselves, grew to include six members: J-Dog and Tha Producer alongside Charlie Scene, Johnny 3 Tears (formerly called the Server), Funny Man, and Da Kurlzz. As the band’s online profile steadily increased, MySpace head honcho Tom Anderson wasn’t immune and wound up featuring Hollywood Undead’s song “No. 5” on MySpace’s first compilation album, in addition to giving them the distinction of being the first act signed to the site’s new record label (distributed by Interscope) in 2005.
Swan Songs finally appeared in 2008 on A&M/Octone Records. A year later, that label released an album of B-sides, live tracks, and covers titled Desperate Measures. In 2010, vocalist Aron “Deuce” Erlichman left the group; he was replaced by Daniel “Danny” Murillo, a former contestant on American Idol and lead singer of Lorene Drive. After shows with Avenged Sevenfold on The Nightmare After Christmas Tour, Hollywood Undead released their sophomore album, American Tragedy, in April of 2011, and the album debuted in the Top Five of Billboard’s Top 200. The following November, A&M/Octone Records released a remix version of the record called American Tragedy Redux, which featured mixes by Andrew W.K., Borgore, and KMFDM, among others.
In January of 2013, after embarking on The Underground Tour, Hollywood Undead released their third studio album, Notes from the Underground, which proved to be their highest-charting outing to date, landing at the number two spot on the Billboard Top 200 and soaring to number one on the Canadian albums chart. Their hotly anticipated fourth studio album, Day of the Dead, arrived in March 2015, and was preceded by the singles “Usual Suspects,” “Gravity,” “How We Roll,” and the explosive title cut. The band returned to the studio in late 2016 to record its fifth studio album, Five. With their contract with Interscope finished, Hollywood Undead set up their own label, Dove & Grenade Media, in collaboration with BMG to release the album. The first single, “California Dreaming” — a scathing look at the inequalities between the two sides of Los Angeles culture — was released in mid-2017, with the full-length Five arriving later that October. In 2018 the Undead released the standalone single “Gotta Let Go,” a summery blast of feel-good nostalgia about letting go of pain. The EP Psalms also arrived that year. Two years later, the band released their sixth album, New Empire, Vol. 1. A deliberate attempt to change their sound, it was heavier than before, with more electronic elements. The like-minded sequel, New Empire, Vol. 2., arrived in 2020. In 2022, the band issued their eighth full-length effort, the confident and earworm-friendly Hotel Kalifornia.

Trauma and tragedy transfer from one generation to the next. As difficult as it may be, we still possess the power to break the cycle and start anew. Fit For A King ponder the pain of these cycles and the possibility to end them on their seventh full-length offering, The Hell We Create [Solid State]. The Texas quintet—Ryan Kirby [vocals], Bobby Lynge [guitar], Daniel Gailey [guitar], Ryan “Tuck” O’Leary [bass], and Trey Celaya [drums]—explore this ebb and flow with a deft, yet delicate balance of sharp metallic intensity and soaring melodic energy. “The album is a reflection of the events that happened throughout the pandemic,” recalls Ryan. “In short, my wife and I adopted children and had to homeschool them. She almost died from a stroke. The Hell We Create is by far the deepest and most personal record we’ve ever written.” In 2011, Fit For A King emerged out of Texas with a searing signature style rooted in metal and hardcore and uplifted by hypnotic hooks. Following the breakout LP Creation/Destruction [2013], they earned four consecutive Top 5 debuts on both the Billboard Top Christian Albums Chart and the Top Hard Rock Albums Chart with Slave to Nothing [2014], Deathgrip [2016], Dark Skies [2018], and The Path [2020]. The latter marked their first #1 on the Top Christian Albums Chart and Top 10 on the Billboard Top Album Sales Chart. Plus, the band collaborated with fellow heavy-hitters such as August Burns Red and We Came As Romans.

Megadeth at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
2024-08-08 18:30 - 23:30 | Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre, 2121 N 83rd Ave, Phoenix, AZ, 85035, United States
Released by UMe on September 2, 2022, The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead! further establishes MEGADETH as a band that has both defined and repeatedly redefined heavy metal since its formation. The album follows up 2016’s Grammy®-winning Dystopia, which debuted at #3 on the Billboard Top 200 (MEGADETH’s highest chart position since its 1992 classic Countdown to Extinction).
MEGADETH has crafted a record with a visceral energy, heaviness, and sometimes paranormal pace that few would expect from such a seasoned band with so little to prove. The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead! melds the ultra-frenetic riffing, fiercely intricate guitar solos, and adventurous spirit of the quartet’s groundbreaking early output with the musicality and melodicism of its ‘90s songwriting, all laced with signature virtuosity and precision – plus, of course, Mustaine’s singular vocal snarl and wry, take-no-shit lyrical vitriol.
MEGADETH recently wrapped up the European leg of their 2023 Crush The World Tour. The thrash metal pioneers will soon be taking their iconic music to stages across the United States as they continue to cement the latest electrifying chapter in a career that has constantly challenged and surprised. Their journey remains one of resilience, artistic integrity, and unbridled passion, leaving an indelible mark on the world of metal.
“I don’t think we’re nearing the end, not even close,” Dave Mustaine concludes.

Heavy metal quartet Mudvayne formed in Peoria, IL, in 1996, its members adopting the unusual pseudonyms sPaG (M. McDonough) (drums), Gurrg (G. Tribbett) (guitar), and Kud (Chad Gray) (vocals). The group’s original bassist was replaced after two years by Ryknow (Ryan Martinie). During their development, the bandmembers began the practice of applying bizarre makeup. After self-releasing their first album, Kill, I Oughta, they were signed by Epic Records and recorded their major-label debut, L.D. 50, which was released in August 2000 shortly after the end of their first national tour opening for Slipknot. The album later went gold and earned Mudvayne the first-ever MTV2 Video Award at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards. Mudvayne continued touring and reissued their self-released debut EP, Kill, I Oughta, in November 2001 as The Beginning of All Things to End. A year later the band returned with its official follow-up, The End of All Things to Come, which was recorded at Minneapolis’ Pachyderm Studios with Tool producer David Bottrill. With a new album came new personas, this time as space aliens. The bandmembers changed their names accordingly, taking the new monikers of Chüd (Kud), Güüg (Gurrg), R-üD (Ryknow), and Spüg (sPaG). They embarked on a European tour, arriving back stateside in July to join the Summer Sanitarium shed tour, featuring such heavyweights as Metallica and Linkin Park. In 2005, the band released Lost and Found, their third album for Epic. In September 2007, Mudvayne announced they would allow fans to vote on the band’s website to determine the track selection for the compilation By the People, for the People, released the following month. The all new full-length New Game arrived in November 2008, followed six months later by an eponymous 2009 effort. ~ William Ruhlmann, Rovi

All That Remains have built an unbreakable axis between pit-splitting metal and anthemic melodies. This signature balance has defined the platinum-certified band’s output since day one. It’s why the quintet— Philip Labonte [lead vocals], Jason Richardson [lead guitar], Mike Martin [rhythm guitar], Anthony Barone [drums], and Matt Deis [bass]—have notched multiple Top 10 Active Rock Radio hits, sold out shows worldwide, and generated over half-a-billion streams. By sticking to their guns, All That Remains have continued to thrive on their own terms. Among many accolades, signature hit “Two Weeks” received a Platinum certification, while “What If I Was Nothing” and their cover of “The Thunder Rolls” by Garth Brooks each reached Gold status. Meanwhile, 2008’s Overcome went gold, and For We Are Many cracked the Top 10 of the Billboard 200. They have scored five Top 10 debuts on the Billboard Top Rock Albums Chart, landing four in the Top 5. During 2022, the group launched a successful sold-out anniversary tour in celebration of their seminal LP The Fall of Ideals—which Revolver hailed as “one of metalcore’s most essential records”. They’ve weathered the changing tides of a fickle business, unspeakable tragedy, and all manner of conflict only to come out stronger than ever on the other side. This strength surges through on “Divine”, their very first full independent single offering, embodying everything All That Remains are.

ATEEZ at Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ
2024-07-25 19:30 - 23:30 | Mortgage Matchup Center, 201 E Jefferson St, Phoenix, 85004, United States
ATEEZ is a South Korean group that has taken the world by storm immediately after their debut in October 2018. Known for standout performances, the octet have turned storytelling into a full musical experience. The eight members of ATEEZ are HONGJOONG, SEONGHWA, YUNHO, YEOSANG, SAN, MINGI, WOOYOUNG, and JONGHO. Establishing themselves as top artists early on in their career with a sold out global tour only four months after their debut, they continue to break their own records. With a unique narrative that starts from the very first release in the ‘TREASURE’ album series and continues through the ‘FEVER’ and ‘THE WORLD’ masterpieces, the group combines bestseller narratives with personalized music that speaks to their generation. Beyond the multitude of titles they’ve earned throughout the years as the ‘Next Generation Act’ and ‘Best World Performer’ in award ceremonies, ATEEZ have attained the distinction of becoming a ‘million seller’ group with the release of their 8th EP. In 2024, they dominated on the global stage, taking over festivals around the world with performances at Coachella (US) and Summer Sonic (JPN), even set to headline at Mawazine (MAR). Their second studio album, ‘THE WORLD EP.FIN : WILL’ broke their personal record on the global charts, debuting at No.1 on the Billboard 200 for the week of December 11 and charting for six weeks. In their newest release, ATEEZ captures their brightest moments with GOLDEN HOUR : Part.1 and the lead track ‘WORK’.

Stick Figure at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, CA
2024-07-16 17:00 - 23:30 | Greek Theatre, 2700 N Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, 90027, United States
With a distinctive sound developed through tireless attention to musicality and artistry, Stick Figure has redefined American reggae music with his latest album, Wisdom, released on September 9th, 2022. As with his previous releases, Wisdom was written, produced and recorded by Scott Woodruff, a self-taught musician, at Stick Figure-owned Great Stone Studios in Oakland, CA, former home of Green Day. Wisdom is Stick Figure’s seventh album and follows the unprecedented success of 2019’s World on Fire, which peaked at number 34 on the Billboard Top 200, #6 overall Top albums, #1 Independent, and #1 Reggae album. World on Fire has sold over 300,000 copies including streaming equivalents, according to Nielsen soundscan data. Stick Figure’s catalog has now sold well over one million copies and been streamed over three billion times. Wisdom is a journey and a search for what matters in life–a search for meaning, purpose, place and belonging. Wisdom is a code to live by where we can accept that it is ok to start over, to make mistakes, to love, and to feel pain. It is a reminder to focus on the little things that bring joy and know that all of it is a part of our individual story. It also shows us that we should have some fun doing it all! In signature Stick Figure style, Wisdom can bring peace and happiness in the dark moments as well as in the good times, and the benefits of the music can stay with the listener long after the record has stopped spinning.

For more than two decades, SOJA have elated audiences across the globe with their fresh yet timeless take on roots reggae, a sound born from their shared passion for making music that transports and inspires. On Beauty in the Silence—their first new album in four years—The Grammy Award-Winning band deepens that communal spirit by collaborating with artists from all corners of the reggae world, including the likes of UB40, Slightly Stoopid, Stick Figure, and Rebelution. Fueled by the sheer force of their connection and chemistry, Beauty in the Silence ultimately makes for a much-needed antidote to fractured times, infusing so much warmth and wisdom and unstoppable joy into each and every track. Jacob Hemphill (lead vocals, guitar) – Bobby Lee (bass, vocals) – Ryan Berty (drums) – Kenny Bongos (percussion) – Patrick O’Shea (keyboards) – Hellman Escorcia (saxophone) – Rafael Rodriguez (trumpet) – Trevor Young (lead guitar, vocals)

Born and raised in Philly, crash landed in Charleston, Kevin and John Shields are breaking into previously uncharted waters with their quirky indie hip-hop group, Little Stranger. Between John’s melodic singer-songwriter magnetism, Kevin’s in-your-face delivery, and an overall undeniable groove, this duo is sure to get any audience up and moving. Stylistically reminiscent of Gorillaz and Odelay-era Beck, Little Stranger delivers a fresh take on melodic hip-hop. Every track brings the uniqueness and strangeness that their name implies. For the past few years, the duo has perfected their live performance by playing over 100 shows per year prior to the coronavirus shutdown. The group also puts a big focus on creating arresting visual experiences through their music videos, their own eccentric television program (LSTV), and in-house graphics. Between their out-of-the-box creative endeavors and an ever-increasing arsenal of new tunes, Little Stranger is poised to make 2024 another slam dunk.

A Day To Remember at Desert Diamond Arena
2024-07-10 18:30 - 23:30 | Desert Diamond Arena, 9400 W Maryland Ave, Glendale, AZ, 85305, United States
Over the course of the past several years, each of A Day To Remember’s releases have hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Rock, Indie and/or Alternative Charts. They’ve also sold more than a million units, racked up over 800 million Spotify streams and 500 million YouTube views, two Gold-selling albums and singles (and one Silver album in the UK) and sold out entire continental tours (including their own curated Self Help Festival), amassing a global fanbase whose members number in the millions. All of which explains why Rolling Stone called them “An Artist You Need To Know.” In other words, their creative process has worked and worked well. But for new album Bad Vibrations, the Ocala, Florida-based quintet switched gears and headed for uncharted territory.
“We completely changed the way we wrote, recorded and mixed this album,” says vocalist Jeremy McKinnon. “It was one of the most unique recording experiences we’ve ever had. We rented a cabin in the Colorado mountains and just wrote with the five of us together in a room, which was the polar opposite of the last three albums we’ve made. We just let things happen organically and in the moment. I think it forever changed the way we make music.”
Bad Vibrations debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on the Top Album Sales Chart. It was also the #1 album in Australia, #6 in the UK and #7 in Germany.
On Aug 20 the band debuted their new single ‘Degenerates’.

The Story So Far have returned with their new album I Want To Disappear. Comprised of ten songs, it contains everything that’s brought them international acclaim and success since their inception. The current lineup features Parker Cannon (vocals), Kevin Geyer (lead guitar, keys), Ryan Torf (drums, rhythm guitar, and keys) and Will Levy (guitars). “We’re always just trying to make something that we love and that feels like it’s relevant to where we are in life,” says Torf. “We’ve already done so much in the past, but we wanted this to feel like the present thing that we are. We tried to make something that we connected with, and that hopefully our fans will like as well. But first and foremost, it’s just something that we’re proud of and feel good about.”

Four Year Strong have carved out their own niche in the music community by merging the infectiousness of pop-punk with the aggression of hardcore and never shying away from breaking with creativity-limiting conventions. This is evident on the band’s fifth full-length Brain Pain, a collection of songs that retains the qualities of the band that fans have grown to love while pushing forward the band’s effort to continually redefine their sound. “One thing we’ve struggled with in the past is writing in a way that’s personal to us that our wide range of fans can find a way to relate to as well,” vocalist/guitarist Dan O’Connor explains. “On this record we really tried to find the thing that connects us to our younger fans or the people who have been listening to us for a long time who still see us as younger kids despite the fact that we’re now in our thirties.”
The band — which also features vocalist/guitarist Alan Day, bassist Joe Weiss and drummer Jake Massucco — began conceptualizing the ideas for Brain Pain two years ago and for the past year-and-a-half have focused on bringing those thoughts to fruition. “We probably had 40 song ideas to get the creative juices flowing and some of those grew into the songs that are on this record,” Day explains, adding that it was important for the group not to rush the album or go into it with any musical or logistical limitations.

Avril Lavigne at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
2024-06-02 19:00 - 23:30 | Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre, 2121 N 83rd Ave, Phoenix, AZ, 85035, United States
Grammy-winning Canadian pop/rock singer/songwriter Avril Lavigne became an international star in the 2000s with her punk-influenced pop anthems and anti-starlet image. First appearing in 2002 with the spunky debut single “Complicated,” she touted a skatepunk image that purposely clashed with the polished glamour of mainstream pop. Lavigne, who was 17 at the time, quickly rose to teen idol status, selling several million copies of her debut album, Let Go (the best-selling album by a female artist in 2002), while inspiring a genuine fashion craze with her penchant for tank tops and neckties. As the decade progressed, so did her marketable sound, which took a contemplative turn on the chart-topping sophomore effort Under My Skin before reaching an aggressively upbeat tone for 2007’s The Best Damn Thing. A pair of hit albums later, Lavigne took a three-year hiatus from the spotlight to focus on health issues related to Lyme disease, returning in 2019 with her mature sixth album, Head Above Water. In 2021, she made her debut for Travis Barker‘s DTA label with the pop-punk single “Bite Me” from 2022’s Love Sux.
Born into a devout Christian household in the small town of Napanee, Ontario, Lavigne sharpened her vocal talents in church choirs, local festivals, and county fairs. She began playing guitar and writing songs in her early teens, focusing her early efforts on country music and contributing vocals to several albums by local folk musician Steve Medd. Arista Records caught wind of the singer and brought her aboard at the age of 16, with CEO Antonio “L.A.” Reid personally taking Lavigne under his wing. She quit high school, relocated to Manhattan, and set to work with a handful of prime songwriters and producers, but the partnerships only produced country songs, not the rock music in which Lavigne had become increasingly interested. Arista relented and instead sent Lavigne to Los Angeles, where she fashioned her melodic, edgy debut alongside such writing teams as the Matrix. Released in 2002, Let Go was the polished product, and its four high-charting singles — “Complicated,” “Sk8er Boi,” “I’m with You,” and “Losing Grip” — led the album to multi-platinum status within its second month of release. Lavigne became the youngest female musician ever to have a number one album in the U.K., and she supported the wildly popular LP (which eventually gained eight Grammy nominations) with a tour of Europe, Asia, North America, and Australia.
Compared with the antics of other teen idols of her day, Lavigne was a new kind of superstar, one whose appeal didn’t rely on sexy videos or suggestive music. She further distinguished herself by bypassing the assistance of professional writing teams during the creation of her second album, choosing instead to collaborate with singer/songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk, Evanescence‘s Ben Moody, and Evan Taubenfeld (who had previously worked with Lavigne as her touring guitarist). Released in May 2004, Under My Skin was more serious than its predecessor, dealing with such issues as premarital sex (“Don’t Tell Me”), depression (“Nobody’s Home”), and the death of Lavigne’s grandfather (“Slipped Away”). The album debuted at number one in more than ten countries, went platinum within one month, and further established Lavigne as a pop icon. Incidentally, a song that was co-written by Lavigne and ultimately cut from the final track list — “Breakaway” — was later given to Kelly Clarkson, who used it as the title track and lead single for her Grammy-winning sophomore album.
Lavigne married her boyfriend of two years, Sum 41‘s Deryck Whibley, in July 2006, just one month after the animated film Over the Hedge announced her cinematic debut (Lavigne voiced the part of Heather, a hungry opossum). She also appeared in Richard Linklater‘s fictional adaptation of Fast Food Nation, which was released that November. Nevertheless, she spent most of the year working on her third album, enlisting former blink-182 drummer Travis Barker to play drums, and cherry-picking a variety of producers (including her husband) to helm the recording sessions. The Best Damn Thing appeared in April 2007, and its lead single, “Girlfriend,” marked a return to the bratty, spunky punk-pop of her first album. “Girlfriend” soon became the subject of controversy as the ’70s power pop band the Rubinoos sued Lavigne, claiming that her tune reworked their 1979 song “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend.” No amount of bad publicity could hurt the singer, however, as “Girlfriend” became her biggest U.S. single ever and The Best Damn Thing topped album charts worldwide.
Lavigne filed for divorce from Whibley in October of 2009. The dissolution of their union featured heavily on her next album, 2011’s Goodbye Lullaby, which included tracks produced by Whibley.
Lavigne returned to the studio just weeks after the release of Goodbye Lullaby and began work on her fifth album. In 2012, she started working on material with Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger and eventually the pair began dating; she married Kroeger on July 1, 2013. By that point, she had released the platinum-certified “Here’s to Never Growing Up,” the first single from her eponymous fifth album. Released in October, Avril Lavigne featured eight songs co-written by Kroeger, who also duetted with her on the record’s third single, “Let Me Go.”
In early 2015, Lavigne released “Fly,” an empowering ballad written for the Special Olympics World Summer Games. That same month, she also revealed that she had been diagnosed with Lyme disease. Soon after, she separated from Kroeger. For the next few years, as she healed, Lavigne remained out of the public spotlight. In 2018, she returned with the single “Head Above Water,” which was inspired by her battle with Lyme disease; it unexpectedly made the Christian radio Top Ten. Despite this success, the accompanying album, Head Above Water — which appeared in February 2019 — was a secular pop album, albeit one with an inspirational bent. While it was her worst-charting long-player to that point, it still reached Canada’s Top Five, the U.K. Top Ten, and number 13 on the Billboard 200.
After re-recording Head Above Water‘s “Warrior” as “We Are Warriors” to raise funds for pandemic relief efforts in 2020, Lavigne returned to the studio to record her seventh album with producers including Barker, Machine Gun Kelly, Mod Sun, and Goldfinger‘s John Feldmann. In the meantime, she was featured on the Mod Sun single “Flames” in early 2021, and with Barker on Willow Smith‘s “Grow” mid-year before signing with Barker‘s Elektra Music Group imprint, DTA Records. Her own single, “Bite Me,” appeared before the end of 2021. That punk-infused anthem landed on her seventh full-length, 2022’s Love Sux, which also featured “Love It When You Hate Me” with Blackbear and “I’m a Mess” with Yungblud. The album hit number three in Canada and cracked the Top Ten of the Billboard 200.

Formed in 2003 in the suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland, All Time Low started out as a high school cover band before morphing into a melodic pop-punk act influenced by predecessors like New Found Glory and blink-182. An enduring presence in the late-2000s scene, they were a Warped Tour mainstay from their breakthrough sophomore set, So Wrong, It’s Right (2007), to their chart-peaking sixth LP Future Hearts (2015). Following a late-career dip into pop with 2017’s Last Young Renegade, they returned to their pop-punk roots in the early 2020s with Wake Up, Sunshine and Tell Me I’m Alive.
Singer/guitarist Alex Gaskarth and guitarist Jack Barakat were All Time Low’s co-founders, with bassist Zack Merrick and drummer Rian Dawson rounding out their energetic pop-punk sound and rowdy live shows, which often included silly string and beach balls. Honing their skills between homework and other teenage commitments, the guys managed to tour across the East Coast and the South during school breaks. They issued a four-song EP, 2004’s The Three Words to Remember in Dealing with the End, with help from local label Emerald Moon, and followed its release with a full-length album, The Party Scene, one year later.
Touring across the country that summer, the guys found themselves on bills with similar acts like Motion City Soundtrack, the Early November, and Plain White T’s. Along the way, All Time Low also bumped into fellow pop-punkers Amber Pacific, who brought the young band to the attention of their label, Hopeless Records. The label was immediately impressed, and All Time Low had officially become part of the Hopeless family by March 2006, just a few months shy of the members’ high-school graduation. Finally done with schoolwork and able to concentrate full-time on music, the group issued Put Up or Shut Up — a seven-song EP that mostly featured new recordings of older material — that July.
All Time Low supported the EP’s release with a handful of Warped Tour dates before hitting the road again with Amber Pacific. So Wrong, It’s Right appeared in 2007, marking the band’s first full-length release for Hopeless. After being named 2008’s Band of the Year by Alternative Press, All Time Low returned with their second album, Nothing Personal, in July 2009. Debuting at number four on the Billboard charts, Nothing Personal helped make All Time Low one of the top emo-pop acts in the business. Two CD/DVD packages, MTV Unplugged and Straight to DVD, were released the following year, tiding fans over while the guys returned to the studio to begin work on their major-label debut for Interscope Records.
Dirty Work, featuring the single “I Feel Like Dancin’,” was released in 2011. The album reached number six on the Billboard charts the week it was released, and the band hit the road. In 2012, All Time Low announced they had parted ways with Interscope and released a new song, “The Reckless and the Brave,” on their website in June. Soon after, they re-signed with Hopeless and began work on a new album. Don’t Panic was released in November 2012, then reissued almost a year later with four newly recorded songs and four acoustic versions under the name Don’t Panic: It’s Longer Now! In 2015, All Time Low returned with their sixth record, Future Hearts, which found them reuniting with their Dirty Work producer, John Feldmann. In 2016, they released Straight to DVD 2: Past, Present & Future, a sequel to the 2010 live album. In February 2017, All Time Low issued the single “Dirty Laundry” in anticipation of their seventh studio long-player, Last Young Renegade, that arrived in June of that year. Renegade was their first effort issued on Fueled by Ramen and featured the singles “Nice2KnoU” and the pop-focused “Life of the Party.” Their fifth consecutive Top Ten record, the set’s unabashed pop polish proved divisive and, after the era came to a close, the band got to work on a course-correcting follow-up.
In 2018, the summery and anthemic one-off single “Everything Is Fine” offered a taste of things to come with album number eight, which landed in early 2020. Wake Up, Sunshine saw All Time Low returning to their pop-punk roots after a brief pop foray on 2017’s Renegade. Featuring appearances by blackbear and the Band Camino, the upbeat LP reached number on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums chart, buoyed by singles like “Some Kind of Disaster” and “Monster,” the latter of which was re-released in December 2020 with guest vocals from Demi Lovato. The following year saw the band team up with English indie rockers Pale Waves for the single “PMA” before returning with 2022’s “Sleepwalking.” That pop-leaning track appeared on their ninth album, 2023’s Tell Me I’m Alive. Later that year, the band teamed up with Avril Lavigne on the fiery standalone single “Fake as Hell.” ~ Corey Apar

Royal & the Serpent’s dramatic alt-electro-pop is the brainchild of Los Angeles-based singer and songwriter Ryan Santiago. She introduced her assertive sound and distinctively girlish yet bluesy voice with the single “Temperance” in 2017. The project reached the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart with “Overwhelmed” from her debut EP Get a Grip in 2020. A featured spot on the Knocks‘ “Sound the Alarm” beside Rivers Cuomo resulted in an appearance on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Songs chart the following year. Royal & the Serpent’s third EP, IF I DIED WOULD ANYONE CARE, saw release in 2022.
With inspirations spanning big band, early rock & roll, Janis Joplin, and Stevie Nicks, the New Jersey native established Royal & the Serpent after settling in Los Angeles to work on developing her sound. She ultimately recorded her first single, 2017’s “Temperance,” with producer Ken Nana of MIKNNA. In 2018, she co-wrote and was featured on “Wicked” by producer Tommee Profitt, a spooky, theatrical track that was used for the trailer for the crime film The Girl in the Spider’s Web. Royal & the Serpent returned with the single “Together” in early 2019 before signing with Suicide Squeeze, which issued “Weddings & Funerals” that April. That year, she also delivered a pair of singles (“Salvador Dali” and “IDK”) in collaboration with Marky Style.
Royal & the Serpent’s June 2020 Atlantic Records debut, “Overwhelmed,” reached number 20 on the Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, and she released the corresponding debut EP, Get a Grip, in October. Another EP, Searching for Nirvana, followed in June 2021. A month later, Royal & the Serpent was featured alongside Rivers Cuomo on the Knocks track “Sound the Alarm.” It landed in the Top 30 of Billboard’s Dance/Electronic Songs chart. Confrontational Royal & the Serpent single “PHUCKBOI REJECTS” and her third EP, IF I DIED WOULD ANYONE CARE, followed on Atlantic in early 2022. Another single, “Better,” followed off the EP. Also that year, she paired with GG Magree for the emotionally raw, punk-infused single “Bitch.”

Black Veil Brides at Marquee Theatre
2024-05-24 18:00 - 23:30 | Marquee Theatre, 730 N Mill Ave, Tempe, 85281, United States
Before the birth of the BVB Army, the thousands of lyric tattoos, and the gold and platinum records that followed, Black Veil Brides was simply a dark vision dreamt up by an only child in Ohio.
He loved Batman and KISS. Then, the striking visage of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, on the cover of his dad’s dusty CD (released a dozen years before he was born) kicked open the door for Andy Biersack. Sweeney Todd cleared the way for The Phantom of the Opera, Misfits, and all that followed, culminating in the birth of Andy Black and the ascension of Black Veil Brides.
The Bleeders EP, Black Veil Brides’ inaugural release in a new partnership with Spinefarm Records, celebrates one of the singer’s first loves. The EP boasts the title track alongside a loving rendition of Sweeney Todd’s “My Friends” and a faithful cover of U2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday.”
The group’s cinematic scope and unwavering commitment to self-expression strikes a familiar chord with their fellow “bleeders” who seek refuge (and revenge) in the power of the dark and imagination.
There are over 160 million views of “Knives and Pens,” an early demo committed to music video before Andy (who moved to Hollywood at 18 and lived in his car) met his band of brothers. The RIAA-certified platinum single “In the End,” itself close to 170M views, further proves the group whose merch dominated Hot Topic before they’d even made their debut album was built to last.
A treacherous DIY headlining outing in 2009 paved the way for the next 15 years of performances and beyond, a history that includes the triple-co-headlining smash Trinity Of Terror Tour; multiple mainstage runs on Vans Warped Tour; treks supporting Avenged Sevenfold and Mötley Crüe; and just about every major rock and metal festival in North and South America, Europe, and Australia.
Guitarists Jake Pitts and Jinxx joined the fold before the creation of BVB’s debut album, 2010’s We Stitch These Wounds. The duo played in an earlier band with drummer Christian Coma, who came aboard for their first Billboard Top 20 album, Set the World on Fire, featuring gold single “Fallen Angels.” Metalcore milestone Wretched and Divine: The Story of the Wild Ones followed in 2013.
A no-frills fourth album, 2014’s Black Veil Brides, gave them another Top 10 debut. 2018’s Vale went to No. 1 on Billboard’s Hard Rock chart. 2021’s The Phantom Tomorrow, the band’s first album with bassist Lonny Eagleton, produced the No. 8 Rock single “Scarlet Cross,” their highest charting yet.
Bleeders offers a taste of what will become Black Veil Brides’ most visceral, theatrical, and unrelenting era yet. They combine a unique identity with an unquenchable creative thirst. They’re an object of devotion for those who sing their anthems in unison, a diverse BVB Army who never surrenders.
Black Veil Brides and their audience slash away at the darkness together, bleeders one and all.

GHØSTKID emerges in 2024 as an entity untamed, unfiltered, and resonating with the haunting echoes of raw, unapologetic music. Formed from the depths of Sebastian “Sushi” Biesler’s unyielding creative spirit, the band boldly ventures into new realms of expression, weaving a tapestry of darkness, aggression, and unflinching honesty. GHØSTKID prepares to unleash their forthcoming album in early 2024!
Joined by an assembly of kindred spirits and musical conspirators – Jappo Van Glory (guitar), Chris Canterbury (guitar), Stanislaw Czywil (bass) and Steve Joakim (drums) – GHØSTKID’s journey unfolded, amplifying the convergence of metal, industrial, goth and pop. From the ferocious intensity of “HEAVY RAIN” to the emotive depths of “VALERIE” each track embodies a visceral narrative, weaving tales of anguish, passion, and unrelenting determination. The band’s upcoming opus delves fearlessly into the dark recesses of the human psyche confronting the gritty truths of life, love, and the raw essence of being.
Prepare to be engulfed in a cacophony of unbridled ambition and unfiltered emotion. GHØSTKID transcends mere auditory experience; it’s a visceral, transformative journey – a convergence of haunting melodies and unapologetic aggression, echoing in the corridors of your soul long after the music fades.

Hailing from Orlando, FL this Hard Rock act shows us a side of darkness that brings a sentiment of anguish mixed with a sincere notion of understanding. The band’s new single “Paper Crown (feat. Bryan Kuznitz of Fame On Fire,)” premiered on Octane is the newest release of the band’s growing discography. “Dancing Dead” and “Drown” are hair-raising tracks, immersing fans in a fear-stricken world. Conceptual ideology aside, the band brings hard hitting instrumentation and a vocal power that stands to cement the act as a fresh mainstay of the hard rock and metal genres for years to come. “The confines of Florida have seen some absolutely epic bands make names for themselves, but it’s time to look to the future. There is a quickly rising band that is making all the right moves in all the right places.” Says New Noise about the band. They have recently shared the stage with Famous Last Words, Limbs, Until I Wake and The Word Alive. Fans can catch the band supporting Black Veil Brides & VV this fall. “Dark Divine is new to the scene but garnering a lot of attention quickly and rightfully so. They are hands down one of the best young bands out there, and we are certain the BVB Army and VV fans will love them.” Andy Biersack / Black Veil Brides frontman says regarding their upcoming tour. Dark Divine’s debut ‘Deadly Fun’, produced by Zach Jones (Chelsea Grin, We Came As Romans, Fit For A King) out now via Thriller Records.

Dustin Kensrue at El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles, CA
2024-05-18 19:00 - 23:30 | El Rey Theatre, 5515 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, 90036, United States
“Death Valley Honeymoon” out now https://dustinkensrue.start.page/
Dustin Kensure was still a teenager when he formed Thrice, the dynamic and multifaceted rock band who have been bending and blending genres for the past quarter century. Before the group’s touring schedule took him around the world, he spent his childhood in Southern California, regularly heading into the desert to visit his paternal grandparents in Palm Springs. While there, he would wander for hours through the rocky hills and sandy washes near their home, and the landscape, colors, and stories of that sun-baked wilderness left a lasting impression.
Decades later, Kensure summons the spirit of the American southwest with his third original studio solo album, the evocative and eclectic Desert Dreaming. It’s a transportive album that blurs the lines between genre and geography, balancing the influence of old-school country western icons like Marty Robbins and Gene Autry with the sharp songwriting of a modern musician who’s spent 25 years on the road, onstage, and in the writing room. Kensure approaches these songs like a western novelist, filling them with details of the desert—the sound of coyotes howling in the distance, the smell of sage and lilac in the dry wind, the lure of hidden treasure in the hills—and punctuating the recordings with pedal steel guitar, train beats, and the strongest melodies of his career.

Nestled in between Los Angeles and San Diego lies Orange County, CA: a culturally, economically, and environmentally diverse community with an identity all of its own. The Brevet, hailing from the heart of Orange County, continues to create an ever-evolving sound that pushes stylistic boundaries. Just as Orange County is home to snow-capped mountains, pristine beaches, and bustling city centers, The Brevet’s alternative rock sound draws authentically from folk, surf, and R&B influence, but doesn’t shy away from thundering rhythms, blistering guitars and progressive synths.

brother bird is a project from Nashville-based singer/songwriter caroline. And while another year is her most romantic-sounding collection yet, drawing from the The Cranberries melodic vibe, the shoegaze influence of Mazzy Star, and the guitar tones of Big Thief, under the surface lies a common muse: waiting for something to happen. And under all the pretty, soothing sounds on the record lies the particular style of caroline. “I would say I’m a happy person and playfully sarcastic. But I get the most raw and honest I can be in my lyrics. My music is kind of like a vessel.” And it starts with a song that’s as raw and honest as they come, “i’m sorry.” It flew right out of the stagnant space caroline found herself in, surprisingly fast and near the end of the writing and recording process — almost as if shaking her creative bottle knocked something important loose. “It sounds more and feels more romantic, but if you zoom out a little bit, I don’t know that it is. I feel close to the words, and I’m still kind of figuring out why,” caroline says.
The tracks something better & quitter are twin flames embodying that style: confessional, with a touch of satire and a drizzle of dissatisfaction. Okay, more than a touch — caroline’s friends and collaborators had to be reassured she was okay after hearing them. “It feels like everyone has all these really impressive things to say, and I’m holding on to things I did years ago,” caroline says, naming imposter syndrome as an inspiration.

Sleep Token at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO
2024-05-12 18:30 - 23:30 | Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 18300 WEST ALAMEDA PARKWAY, MORRISON, CO, 80465, United States
SUNDOWNING: “Sundowning, or sundown syndrome, is a neurological phenomenon associated with increased confusion and restlessness in patients with delirium or some form of dementia. The term ‘sundowning’ was coined due to the timing of the patient’s confusion. For patients with sundowning syndrome, a multitude of behavioral problems begin to occur in the evening or while the sun is setting…”
From June to November, through 12 tracks and passing seasons, Sleep Tokenreveals an evenly-spaced, precisely-timed sequence of recordings that stand as both individual touchstones and carefully aligned musical pieces, all informed by a common emotional thread plus a flow of graphics and videos specific to each song; the end result is a digital and physical release of the album on November 22, with format choices embracing a bespoke box-set containing a variety of exclusive elements, including early recordings.
Starting with “THE NIGHT DOES NOT BELONG TO GOD,” the opening track on the album, the singles will be issued, in sequence, every two weeks at sundown (GMT). “The Night…” arrives on summer solstice when the sun is highest in the sky in London, descending throughout the subsequent singles releases.
Sleep Token Tickets

Sleep Token + Empire State Bastard at Arizona Financial Theatre
2024-04-30 20:00 - 23:30 | Arizona Financial Theatre, 400 W Washington St, Phoenix, AZ, 85003, United States
SUNDOWNING: “Sundowning, or sundown syndrome, is a neurological phenomenon associated with increased confusion and restlessness in patients with delirium or some form of dementia. The term ‘sundowning’ was coined due to the timing of the patient’s confusion. For patients with sundowning syndrome, a multitude of behavioral problems begin to occur in the evening or while the sun is setting…”
From June to November, through 12 tracks and passing seasons, Sleep Tokenreveals an evenly-spaced, precisely-timed sequence of recordings that stand as both individual touchstones and carefully aligned musical pieces, all informed by a common emotional thread plus a flow of graphics and videos specific to each song; the end result is a digital and physical release of the album on November 22, with format choices embracing a bespoke box-set containing a variety of exclusive elements, including early recordings.
Starting with “THE NIGHT DOES NOT BELONG TO GOD,” the opening track on the album, the singles will be issued, in sequence, every two weeks at sundown (GMT). “The Night…” arrives on summer solstice when the sun is highest in the sky in London, descending throughout the subsequent singles releases.

What’s in a name? Calling your band Empire State Bastard is a statement-of-intent: riff after motherfucking riff, battering ram rhythms and feral vocals from death metal growls to black-hearted howls. The band: Simon Neil (Biffy Clyro) + Mike Vennart (Oceansize, Biffy live guitarist), probe almost every dark crevice imaginable of metal and genre-adjacent extremity. The pair would spend downtime on tour sharing the heaviest, most avant-garde or confrontational music they found. When embarking on their own sonic wasteland, Simon already had the band name, leaving Mike with a particularly grotesque challenge: what music could he write to live up to it? The result: “a spectrum of wide-ranging versions of pure sonic annihilation. I’d written songs which didn’t directly relate to each other, but I like to think they all make friends with each other.” Simon’s contribution to ESB is almost exclusively vocals: his voice more varied than ever, from shrieks and gasps to guttural death growls. Underpinning the duo is a drum performance akin to a runaway train, pulverising and grooving in equal measure. Mike programmed the initial drums, but the pair had a dilemma – who can play like Slayer legend Dave Lombardo? Simon’s solution? “Let’s just ask Dave fucking Lombardo!” He quickly accepted. So what’s in a name? Simon coined it, Mike defined it: “I set about making the most fucking poisonous vile music I possibly could, just unabridged hatred in musical form.” That’s Empire State Bastard.

LORDS OF ACID + PRAGA KHAN at Nile Theater
2024-04-28 18:30 - 23:30 | The Nile Theater, 105 West Main Street, Mesa, 85201, United States
The iconic pioneers of Sextreme Disco LORDS OF ACID, featuring stunning new vocalist GIGI RICCI, are set to embark on a thrilling journey across North America with their highly anticipated MAKE ACID GREAT AGAIN TOUR! z
Renowned for their boundary-pushing sound and unabashed exploration of taboo themes, LORDS OF ACID have carved out a unique niche in the electronic music scene since the late 1980s. With hits like “I Sit on Acid” and “Pussy,” they have captivated audiences with their provocative lyrics and infectious rhythms.
“The upcoming Lords of Acid ‘Make Acid Great Again’ tour, starting on April 26 in the US and including several dates in Canada, marks our long-awaited return to the stage after the cancellation of our previous tour due to the global pandemic. This tour embodies our resilience and dedication to our fans as we eagerly look forward to reconnecting with our audience and delivering unforgettable performances. It is a testament to the timeless power of music to inspire and unite, and we are greatly anticipating embarking on this journey together, spreading joy, excitement, and an unbridled spirit of creativity wherever our music takes us. ” – LORDS OF ACID
PRAGA KHAN and co-composer OLIVER ADAMS, the team behind the unforgettable “Mortal Kombat” album, which is celebrating its 30th Anniversary, are set to kick off each night of the tour with an electrifying set that will transport audiences back to the golden age of electronic music. With hits like “Injected with a Poison” and “Breakfast in Vegas, they have captivated listeners with their infectious beats and boundary-pushing sound.
“As the opening act of the Lords of Acid tour, I will be performing for the last time in the USA. Two years ago, I bid farewell with a memorable series of sold-out concerts in Belgium. Now, for the final time, I will be performing our songs with my musical partner, Oliver Adams, in the USA and Canada. After 35 years of touring all over the world, I have decided to retire completely from live concerts as Praga Khan. On the MAGA tour, Oliver Adams and I will be performing some of our classics, as well as songs from the legendary Mortal Kombat album, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. This promises to be an unforgettable evening in honor of our legacy and the iconic Mortal Kombat soundtrack.” – PRAGA KHAN
The “Make Acid Great Again” tour will kick off on April 26, 2024 in Pomona, CA before hitting the Las Vegas SICK NEW WORLD FESTIVAL, then will traverse major cities across the country, including New York, San Francisco, Orlando, and Chicago. Audiences can expect a spectacle of pulsating beats, mesmerizing visuals, and an atmosphere charged with the raw energy that only LORDS OF ACID and PRAGA KHAN can deliver.
Tickets for the “Make Acid Great Again” tour are on sale now, and fans are encouraged to secure their spot for what promises to be a euphoric journey through the heart of electronic music.
Don’t miss your chance to witness history in the making as LORDS OF ACID and PRAGA KHAN unite to “Make Acid Great Again.” For ticket information and tour updates, visit http://www.lordsofacid.com and follow LORDS OF ACID and PRAGA KHAN on social media.

From his first single, “I Sit On Acid”, released in 1988, to the present, Belgium’s Praga Khan remains one of the most innovative acid house musicians in circulation. Thanks to extensive experimentation with drugs, Crowley-ian sex magic, and esoteric paths of self-deprivation and mutilation known only to himself, this orgiastic orchestrator created the LORDS OF ACID to further encapsulate the seductive messages and raw sex of his ever-evolving musical vision. From the raw carnality of their 1991 release Lust to the electro-thrash of 2012’s Deep Chills, Lords of Acid has re-defined the pure pleasures of drugs, hedonism, and deviant sex for thirty years. Now, despite numerous lineup changes, world tours, over 2.5 million album sales, and every possible point of crisis and conflict a band can face, Lords of Acid is returning to the unsuspecting again, this time with a new crew of deviants, dilettantes, and sonically transmitted diseases.

Gigi Ricci was born in Belgium to an Italian mother and a Belgian father.
Even though her early childhood was shaped by the marital problems of her parents, Gigi had always been an energetic and cheerful child. Always excited, and adventurous. Gigi loved to be surrounded by creative people as that formed a big source of inspiration, which is understandable since her father grew up in a music-loving gypsy family. “I can’t imagine my daddy other than singing whilst simultaneously playing the piano. My mama… she loved to dance. Dancing was in her blood. I inherited my interest in music and dance from my parents,” says Gigi.
When her parents decided to divorce, Gigi chose to move with her mother to a trailer park. As a teenager, Gigi became fascinated by the gypsy life, the unique atmosphere, its culture, the glitter and glamour, their freedom, and their joie de vivre. The gypsy and t the artist, and the partying hedonist. Gigi describes her teenage years in the trailer park as follows: “Life in the park was a great adventure. There was always something going on; karaoke, barbecues, bingo nights, live performances, disco parties, campfire evenings, and lots of friends. There was an intense feeling of unity, cosines, and freedom, the youthful, rash type of freedom”.
When a fortune-teller told Gigi that she would become famous abroad, Gigi was convinced that a music career was meant for her. She decided to go out into the wide world and ended up in Amsterdam, the dissolute metropolis that guarantees freedom, acceptance, and diversity.
Back in Belgium, Gigi meets the well-known fashion photographer “Dave Grønnesby” who asks her to consider a career as a fashion model. Not much later, Gigi makes her debut on the catwalk and grows into one of the fashion world’s rising stars. Gigi said: “I quickly felt that this was not for me. I was a wild child, a free spirit. The modeling world, on the other hand, is very superficial, which can be felt as a model. As a model, you are like a mannequin without an opinion. You can feel that as a person you don’t really matter”.
Not much later, her first great love, music, started to take over again. Gigi bought herself a home studio and started recording demos that she distributed on social media. She was pleasantly surprised that she received great feedback. When a mutual acquaintance introduced her to “Praga Khan” from “Lords of Acid” the ball started rolling. Praga was looking for a new singer for the new Lords of Acid album and asked Gigi if she would be interested.
“I immediately said yes! In the meantime, we have already recorded several new LOA demos, and we have been playing live gigs all over Belgium. A spicy detail is that my dad had a relationship with a former singer of the band. So, their music was not unknown to me”, says a mischievously smiling Gigi.
Lastly, we can remark that Gigi’s favorite music genre is rock, metal, and punk, her favorite color is dark red, and her hobbies are fitness and tattoos. As for her favorite food, she sticks to lobster and oysters. She celebrates her birthday on April 22nd, hence her zodiac sign is Taurus.

Slaughter To Prevail at The Hollywood Palladium
2024-04-26 18:00 - 23:30 | The Hollywood Palladium, 6215 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, 90028, United States
For all enquires: ilya@full-time.ninja   Kostolom is the epic second LP from the duo Alex Terrible and Jack Simmons’ band Slaughter to Prevail. The album expands on the dynamic extremes of their 2017 debut, Misery Sermon — pairing Alex’s dark, cathartic lyrics with Simmons’ pummeling riffs and tense, cinematic solos. “We wanted to make each song for us stand out in a different way,” the guitarist says. “On some of the songs, we focused on wanting to keep it uptempo, building to a breakdown as the focal point. Other songs it was about groove or the chorus — ‘how can we make this melodic?’ The albums we love the most have those dynamics, and we want to use them to make each part hit harder.”   The songs evolved over several years, the first demos constructed shortly before the release of Misery Sermon. And they finally finished the material in late 2020, with everyone (Alex, Simmons, bassist Mikhail Petrov, guitarist Dmitry Mamedov) having tracked their respective parts at home. (Evgeny Novikov recorded his drums at a nearby studio in Moscow.)   Alex’s words — largely sung in Russian, with occasional bursts of English — are also more balanced than the bleak song titles may suggest. “The lyrics,” Simmons says, “are quite personal to anyone who listens, I think — of personal struggle, keeping a positive mental attitude and going through the shit to have a better life and achieve your goals.”

Kublai Khan TX is an American metalcore / heavy hardcore band from Sherman, Texas, previously called Kublai Khan. The group formed in the summer of 2009 and have released four full-length albums. Kublai Khan self-released their first EP, Youth War in 2010. In February 2014, Kublai Khan signed to Artery Recordings. On April 29, 2014, the band released their debut full-length album titled Balancing Survival and Happiness. The album was listed in Alternative Press’s “The Best Albums Of 2014 so far” list. On November 27, 2015, Kublai Khan released their second full-length album titled New Strength. In July 2017, Kublai Khan signed to Rise Records, and on September 29, 2017, they released their third full-length album titled Nomad. Kublai Khan play a style of metalcore reminiscent of the early 90s metallic hardcore scene. The band employs heavy, slow breakdowns, heavily downtuned guitars and raspy vocals.

98KUPD Presents UFest 2024
2024-04-26 16:00 - 23:30 | Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre, 2121 N 83rd Ave, Phoenix, AZ, 85035, United States
Legends and innovators of the Southern California punk scene, The Offspring have seen massive global success.
The story began when their punk pop sound became a popular sensation in 1994. The Offspring released their self-titled debut album in 1989. Four years later, their 2nd album, Ignition, became an underground hit, setting the stage for the huge success of their 3rd album 1994’s Smash which paved the way to radio success. The Offspring were played on both alternative and album rock stations, confirming their broad-based appeal.
Five successful gold and platinum albums followed: Ixnay on the Hombre; Americana; Conspiracy of One; Splinter; Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace; and Days Go By. The band’s 10th album was their first in 8 years. But 2021 was the year that SoCal legends released their blistering new album Let the Bad Times Roll. Album highlights include the title track which takes a critical eye at the state of America in recent years, the devastating urgency of The Opioid Diaries, and the horn-fueled skank of “We Never Have Sex Anymore” a song that nods to the band’s cheeky humor.
The Offspring have sold more than 40 million albums worldwide, won countless awards, and have toured consistently, playing more than 500 shows in the last decade alone. The band’s music has had a lasting impact across film, television, and gaming and continues to make its mark on pop culture today.

CHEVELLE is the understated musical powerhouse who have continually delivered rock anthems for the past 24 years. 7 number one hits, 17 songs reaching the top 10 charts, over 4 million records sold in the USA and many more worldwide. Platinum and gold albums across their 8 studio records and successful live CD and two live DVD releases completes their extensive body of work to date. It’s all credit to their continuing dedication to be true to their craft, the genre and their fans. Chevelle’s last two album releases, La Gargola and The North Corridor both debuted #1 on the Billboard rock charts and #3 and #8 respectively, on the Billboard top 200 charts. With no signs of this Chicago alternative rock trio slowing down any time soon, their numerous chart-topping releases have certainly earned this band a place in American rock music history. After more than two decades together, numerous releases, and countless worldwide tours, the band consisting of brothers, Pete Loeffler [guitars, vocals] and Sam Loeffler [drums], have confidently sailed through decades of uncharted waters and have emerged with a collection that’s equally intricate and intimate.
Their next album release, set for 2020, will be sure to add another chapter to the extensive catalog of this successful music career.

In 2006, Motionless In White materialized out of Scranton, PA with an inimitable conjuration of sharp metallic rock, industrial, magnetic melodies, and larger-than-life visual imagery. The quintet—Chris Motionless [Vocals], Ricky Olson [Guitar], Ryan Sitkowski [guitar], Vinny Mauro [drums], and Justin Morrow [bass]—quietly clawed their way to the forefront of hard rock, gathering nearly half-a-billion cumulative streams and views to date. Following the success of Creatures [2010] and Infamous [2012], Reincarnate [2014] sunk its teeth into the Top 10 of the Billboard Top 200, bowing at #9 and capturing #1 on the Top Rock Albums Chart. Both Graveyard Shift [2017] and Disguise [2019] cracked the Top 5 of the Top Hard Rock Albums Chart and Top Rock Albums Chart. Along the way, they sold out headline tours and supported everyone from Slipknot and Korn to Breaking Benjamin. Not to mention, Motionless In White have collaborated with Jonathan Davis of Korn, Maria Brink of In This Moment, Dani Filth of Cradle Of Filth, Tim Sköld of KMFDM, Caleb Shomo of Beartooth, and more. The five-piece kept busy throughout 2020 with the Deadstream event performance of Creatures for its decade-anniversary, a cover of The Killers’ “Somebody Told Me,” and the standalone single “Creatures X: To The Grave.” Now in 2022, Motionless In White are set to return with their new album Scoring The End of the World which sees them perfecting the poetically pummeling sound they patented.

They’ve been a band — and a vital one at that — for more than 30 years. But ask rock icons P.O.D. what still inspires them after all this time, and they’ll tell you they still operate as if they’re perpetual underdogs. Yes, with every new album they release, with every show they play, these musical lifers still feel they have something to prove. “We’re still here and we’re still creating some of the best music we’ve ever made,” says guitarist Marcos Curiel. “When it comes to heart, grit and soul, P.O.D. is your band.” Adds vocalist Sonny Sandoval: “We’re always still proving who we are — always having that punk-rock mentality.”
Their new single “DROP”, via Mascot Records, features a vicious vocal cameo from Lamb of God singer Randy Blythe. “‘DROP’ is another one of a kind, unparalleled banger that sets this band apart from everyone else,” says Sandoval. “When you hear it, you know it’s P.O.D.!

Bad Wolves refuse to follow. Instead, the platinum-certified Los Angeles band—John Boecklin [drums], Daniel “DL” Laskiewicz [lead vocals], Doc Coyle [lead guitar, backing vocals], Max Karon [guitar], and Kyle Konkiel [bass, backing vocals]—circumvent convention by stretching the boundaries of hard rock with earthquaking heaviness, enigmatic experimentation, and enthralling melodies. Bulldozing boundaries is nothing new for the boys though… Bad Wolves arrived with the rarity and the force of a lightning bolt in 2018. This collective of tried-and-true musicians rallied around an unconventional vision for heavy music, grafting rafter-reaching hooks to pit-splitting riffs and mind-bending rhythms with a penchant for unexpected twists and turns. Their full-length debut, Disobey, bowed in the Top 25 of the Billboard 200 and delivered a platinum single and a gold single. On its heels, they showed no signs of stopping with N.A.T.I.O.N. [2019]. However, Dear Monsters kickstarted another season in 2021 as “Lifeline” netted their sixth #1 at Active Rock Radio. Reaching a critical high watermark, Billboard hailed the latter as “Bad Wolves’ most diverse and far-reaching album to date,” and Hysteria raved, “The band has served up something truly monumental.” Nearing 1 billion total streams, they sold out headline shows on multiple continents and toured with everyone from Papa Roach and Hollywood Undead to Volbeat.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE FOR MERCH www.burythedarkness.com Based out of Tempe, Arizona, Bury The Darkness, comprised of — Frankie Ghiloni [Vocals], Marc Rosenfeld [Lead Guitar], Brandon Brantley [Bass], Brennan Davis [Rhythm Guitar], Devin Bowers [Drums] — are a hard hitting Modern Metalcore band carving their path after releasing their debut single during the strains of a global pandemic. After the success of their debut single the band went on to collaborate with fellow Arizona Metal band Dropout Kings on their single ‘Gone But Not Forgotten’. Bury The Darkness are here to stay with bouncy guitar riffs and anthem like choruses. Their debut album ‘Dead Inside’ produced by Ryan Daminson (Asking Alexandria ,Memphis May Fire, The Word Alive) Out Now!

Jinjer at Marquee Theatre
2024-04-25 18:00 - 23:30 | Marquee Theatre, 730 N Mill Ave, Tempe, 85281, United States
Through their relentless hard work, non-stop touring and critically acclaimed /chart-breaking releases gaining over 250M streams/views across all platforms globally – JINJER are truly one of modern metal’s hottest and most exciting bands around today. The band has become synonymous with doing things their own way and breaking every rule in the Heavy Metal handbook- which they made loudly clear on their hugely successful fourth studio album: WALLFLOWERS.
In less than12 years, the four-piece Progressive Groove metal wrecking machine known as JINJER have carved their very own place in the Metal landscape. Hailing from Donetsk but now based in Kiev, this Ukrainian musical oddity formed in 2009 but consider the official start of the band with the addition of the incredible vocalist and Femme Fatale Tatiana Shmayluk in 2010. The band labored intensively and honed their sound in practice rooms and local stages relentlessly, culminating in their now cult debut album release INHALE, DO NOT BREATHE in 2012 and winning Best Ukrainian Metal Band in 2013. They would be awarded this prize again a few years later.
While most bands from a country not exactly known for it’s Heavy Metal exports would be content to enjoy the recognition gained in those first few years, it was clear that JINJER craved more and were willing to go the distance to make this happen. It was this attitude and clear vision that saw the band quickly write and release their second album CLOUD FACTORY in 2014, and venture into the international touring market for the first time, booking their own shows and building their reputation face to face, fan to fan and more importantly under their own terms.
It was this intensity that caught the attention of Napalm Records, who quickly signed JINJER, leading to the release of their critically acclaimed third album KING OF EVERYTHING in 2016, as well as the game changing single video for PISCES, which gained the band new fans, millions of views/streams and countless reaction videos on Youtube. KING OF EVERYTHING showcased the musical prowess and growth of the entire band while opening the floodgates to a bigger International touring circuit which JINJER gladly took advantage of. By the end of nearly two years of non-stop touring in Europe, JINJER added new territories such as Israel, Philippines, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, America, Canada and most of Latin America, while sharing the stages and touring with the likes of Arch Enemy, Cradle Of Filth and DevilDriver.
Somewhere between touring vans, visa applications, and flights to new tour destinations, JINJER buried themselves in the rehearsal room to compose 5 brand new tracks for what would become the MICRO EP, written not only for the fans but for themselves, as they needed something new to keep their sanity on the road. Released in January 2019 and coinciding with their European Tour start together with Soilwork and Amorphis, the MICRO EP spawned the instant fan favorites APE and PERENNIAL, climbing to the top of many industry charts and radio station lists worldwide and once again showcased the musical growth and songwriting talent of the band, as well as Tatiana’s amazing vocal range.
In October 2019 JINJER turned on the heat even more with the release of their third album MACRO. Once again written and recorded between non-stop touring, MACRO’s sheer intensity and straight up technical brilliance propelled them to a whole new level in the metal scene, spawning eight videos including the huge hits JUDGEMENT (& PUNISHMENT), RETROSPECTION and HOME BACK, and once again raising the bar and gaining massive respect by fans, press and peers alike.
America and Europe, the band started 2020 off with high hopes with sold out performances in Tel Aviv, Australia and Latin America. Unfortunately due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they played their final show in Mexico at the Hell & Heaven Festival which not only ended their touring plans abruptly but was probably the last metal festival on the planet. Still, never ones to ever give up, JINJER rallied together and in September 2020, they played 6 shows in Europe becoming the very first international band to cross borders to perform live during the pandemic. In November 2020, JINJER released their very first live album and concert video ALIVE IN MELBOURNE, which was filmed one week before the lockdown hit, giving not only their fans but themselves some hope that better days were on the way.
In August 2021, to the surprise and delight of fans, JINJER released their most ambitious album to date: WALLFLOWERS, presenting a methodical and premeditated next step in the band’s already imposing career, but moreover, mirroring the personal adversities they’ve faced during the worldwide events over the last few years. WALLFLOWERS is not only an upgrade to the progressive groove metal sound that all JINJER fans crave, but also a sonic pressure cooker of technical musicianship, emotional fury and an intense soundtrack befitting the harrowing state of the world today. From the blast beat laden banger COLOSSUS, to the 90s grunge vibe of DISCLOSURE! and dynamically blazing MEDIATOR, to the dark and gloomy psychedelic ride of WALLFLOWER and blistering urgency of tracks such as VORTEX and AS I BOIL ICE – the unbridled heaviness and personality proved to be another standout addition to JINJER’s already widely celebrated catalog, and a new standard for creativity in Modern Metal as a whole.
JINJER closed 2021 with over 70 concerts including many summer festivals, a short tour of mainland Europe and a hugely successful two month North American Tour, proving to the band and their fans that Metal music is here to stay … and so are JINJER …
to be continued.

Sessanta with Primus, Puscifer and A Perfect Circle at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
2024-04-16 19:30 - 2024-04-17 23:30 | Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre, 2121 N 83rd Ave, Phoenix, AZ, 85035, United States
A post-punk Rush spiked with the sensibility and humor of Frank Zappa, Primus’ songs are often secondary to showcasing their instrumental prowess. Led by elastic bassist and sole constant member Les Claypool, their music is willfully weird and experimental, but it’s not alienating; the band was able to turn its goofy weirdness into pop stardom. At first, Primus were strictly an underground phenomenon, but in the years between their third and fourth albums, their cult snowballed. Released in 1991, Sailing the Seas of Cheese found mainstream success and spawned the alt-rock hit “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver.” Pork Soda (1993) and Tales from the Punchbowl (1995) received platinum and gold certification, respectively. Citing creative stagnation, the band ceased operations after the release of 1999’s Antipop but re-formed as a touring entity in 2010. Since then, Primus has remained active, releasing idiosyncratic efforts like Primus & the Chocolate Factory with the Fungi Ensemble (2014), The Desaturating Seven (2017), and the EP Conspiranoia (2022), with the core trio of Claypool, guitarist Larry LaLonde, and drummer Tim Alexander.
Primus is all about Les Claypool; there isn’t a moment on any of their records where his bass isn’t the main focal point of the music, with his vocals acting as a bizarre sideshow. Which isn’t to deny guitarist Larry LaLonde or drummer Tim “Herb” Alexander any credit; no drummer could weave in and around Claypool‘s complicated patterns as effortlessly as Alexander, and few guitarists would willingly push the spotlight away like LaLonde does just to produce a never-ending spiral of avant noise. This means that they are miles away from being another punk-funk combo like the Red Hot Chili Peppers; Claypool may slap and pop his bass, but there is little funk in the rhythm he and Alexander lay down. Formed in El Sobrante, California, in 1984, the band saw multiple lineup changes before releasing their 1989 live LP, Suck on This, and 1990 debut studio album, Frizzle Fry. Their heady blend of art-rock, funk, and heavy metal found favor with the masses the following year with the release of the gold-selling Sailing the Seas of Cheese. 2003’s Pork Soda fared even better, earning the band their first platinum certification.
After touring for a year — including a headlining spot on Lollapalooza 1993 — Claypool revived his Prawn Song record label in 1994 and released a reunion record by Primus’ original lineup under the name Sausage. In the summer of 1995, Primus released their fifth album, Tales from the Punchbowl. It was another success, going gold before the end of the year. In the summer of 1996, Primus announced they were parting ways with their drummer, Tim Alexander. He was replaced by Brian “Brain” Mantia, who made his debut on The Brown Album, was released in the summer of 1997. The covers EP Rhinoplasty followed in 1998, and a year later, Primus returned with Antipop. Antipop was a departure from previous Primus albums, as different producers were used on almost every track (including such notables as Rage Against the Machine‘s Tom Morello, Limp Bizkit‘s Fred Durst, Tom Waits, South Park creator Matt Stone, and former Police drummer Stewart Copeland), and it featured such guest artists as Metallica‘s James Hetfield and former Faith No More guitarist Jim Martin. After a supporting tour wrapped up in 2000, Mantia left the band to join Guns N’ Roses. Claypool talked about reuniting with former drummer Tim Alexander in the press, but shortly afterward announced that Primus was going on indefinite hiatus. During the ensuing break, Claypool focused on recording the debut album by his side project, Oysterhead (who also included Copeland and Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio), as well as releasing his two-part solo outing, Live Frogs: Set 1 and Set 2.
The band focused on touring in 2010, when Alexander once again left the band. Claypool and LaLonde turned to former drummer Jay Lane; the band went back into the studio to work on a new full-length. In 2011, Primus released their seventh album, Green Naugahyde. Three years later, the band followed up with Primus & the Chocolate Factory with the Fungi Ensemble, an album that found the band reuniting with drummer Alexander to cover the iconic soundtrack to the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. In 2017 they returned with yet another literary-influenced album, The Desaturating Seven, which was inspired by Italian author Ul de Rico’s children’s book The Rainbow Goblins. Included on the album was the single “The Seven.”
In 2022, the band issued their first new music in five years with the politically charged three-song EP Conspiranoia, which featured the 11-minute title track. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & James Christopher Monger, Rovi

Photo By Adam Messler
When he’s not fronting Tool and A Perfect Circle, Midwest-bred singer/songwriter Maynard James Keenan exorcises his solo demons with a third project dubbed Puscifer. As an outlet for the darker and more personal musings that don’t quite fit into the Tool and APC molds, Puscifer blends introspective reflection and sophomoric humor in a way that is distinctly Keenan, apparent in the titles of releases such as the 2007 debut V Is for Vagina, 2013’s Donkey Punch the Night, and 2015’s Money $hot. By 2020, in light of world events, Keenan and company buckled down and got a little more serious for their fourth set, Existential Reckoning.
While one might imagine Keenan would have enough going on to keep him busy as vocalist for Tool and A Perfect Circle, in 2007 he decided to branch out with a project called Puscifer. Described by Keenan as “the space where my Id, Ego, and Anima all come together to exchange cookie recipes,” Puscifer first appeared as the name of a fictional band Keenan fronted in a cameo on the HBO sketch comedy series Mr. Show in 1995. It wasn’t until 2003 that Keenan actually recorded under the name, when he teamed up with Danny Lohner for a track called “Rev 22:20” for the Underworld soundtrack. Four years later, he set to work on an entire Puscifer album. Organized less as a traditional “rock band” and more as a musical collective in which Keenan could work with a rotating lineup of like-minded artists, Puscifer’s early recording projects featured a large cast of noted musicians, including Tim Alexander from Primus, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk from Audioslave and Rage Against the Machine, former King Crimson member Trey Gunn, violinist Lisa Germano, pop singer/songwriter Jonny Polonsky, and actress and vocalist Milla Jovovich.
The first product of Puscifer’s new life was a single issued in early October 2007; the A-side was “Cuntry Boner,” a gleefully offensive song originally recorded by Electric Sheep (a short-lived punk band featuring Adam Jones and Tom Morello years before they would respectively join Tool and Rage Against the Machine), while the flipside was a cover of the Circle Jerks‘ “World Up My Ass.” Later the same month, Puscifer’s debut album, V Is for Vagina, was released; like the single, it was issued in the United States by Keenan’s own Puscifer label, and it featured ten original songs, many of which were dominated by slow but potent dance grooves rather than Tool‘s prog metal textures. Keenan said the group had no immediate plans to tour, but he was collaborating with several filmmakers on short movies based on the songs, which could be shown at live performances. In April 2008, a remix album titled V Is for Viagra: The Remixes was released and featured contributions from members of Nine Inch Nails, Telefon Tel Aviv, Ministry, and Slipknot, among others.
Keenan returned the following year with the EP “C” Is For (Please Insert Sophomoric Genitalia Reference Here) before releasing the full-length Conditions of My Parole in 2011. The EP Donkey Punch in the Night arrived in 2013 with a pair of new tracks, as well as covers of Queen‘s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and Accept‘s “Balls to the Wall.” Money $hot, the band’s third studio LP, followed in 2015 and featured the single “Grand Canyon.” A remix collection, Money $hot Your Re-Load, arrived the next year. To close out the decade, Keenan revived both A Perfect Circle and Tool, which kept him busy into 2020. That year, along with longtime collaborators Carina Round and Mat Mitchell, Puscifer issued their fourth long-player, Existential Reckoning. More subdued and with fewer jokes than usual, the album took aim at American society in a year consumed by pandemic and political turmoil, which could be heard on the singles “Apocalyptical” and “The Underwhelming.” It reached number seven on Billboard’s Top Alternative Albums chart and was followed by the 2021 concert recording Existential Reckoning: Live at Arcosanti. A third set from the era, Existential Reckoning: Re-Wired, was released in 2023 and featured reimagined versions of album tracks from the likes of Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Phantogram, Justin Chancellor (Tool), Scott Kirkland (the Crystal Method), and many more. ~ Mark Deming & Neil Z. Yeung, Rovi

American rock supergroup A Perfect Circle was formed in the late ’90s by Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan and former Tool guitar tech Billy Howerdel. On their debut, Mer de Noms, A Perfect Circle were seen as an extension of the alt-metal-fused-with-art-rock style popularized by Tool in the early to mid-’90s. Despite comparisons, however, A Perfect Circle quickly developed into its own entity, focusing on lighter and more melodic sounds that were combined with a theatrical, ambient quality incorporating occasional strings and unconventional instrumentation on later albums like Thirteenth Step and Eat the Elephant. Over the decades, members of Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Smashing Pumpkins, and Queens of the Stone Age have played a role in the band’s revolving lineup under the core songwriting duo of Keenan and Howerdel.
After the release of Ænima in 1996, Tool found themselves in the midst of an extended legal battle with former label Freeworld Entertainment. When the dust settled two years later, the band reached a 50-50 joint venture agreement for future recordings and, feeling a little burned out, decided to take some time off. It was at this point that Keenan joined up with Howerdel and Paz Lenchantin to form A Perfect Circle. Keenan had met Howerdel in 1992 when Tool opened for Fishbone. Howerdel had been Fishbone‘s tech at the time and he played Keenan a few of his songs. Keenan was impressed and the two talked of collaborating in the future. However, the opportunity wouldn’t present itself until the end of the decade. With Keenan on vocals, Howerdel on guitar, and Lenchantin on bass, the trio recruited ex-Failure and Enemy member Troy Van Leeuwen on guitar and ex-Vandals and Guns N’ Roses member Josh Freese on drums.
The quintet rehearsed together but didn’t announce the formation of a new band until performing for the first time on August 15, 1999, at a benefit concert at the Viper Room in Los Angeles. Howerdel, who had been composing songs for years, as well as working with bands such as the Smashing Pumpkins and Nine Inch Nails, became the band’s chief songwriter and producer. A Perfect Circle released their debut album, Mer de Noms, in 2000. Featuring the hit singles “Judith” and “3 Libras,” Mer de Noms debuted in the Top Five of the Billboard 200 and eventually went platinum. The band opened Nine Inch Nails‘ Fragility Tour in 2000, but soon attracted their own headlining audience. The band took a short break between albums, allowing Keenan to hop back to Tool for the release and promotion of 2001’s Lateralus.
In the meantime, preparation for A Perfect Circle’s sophomore effort continued. Lenchantin and Van Leeuwen — both involved with other projects at the time — were swapped out for Jeordie White (Marilyn Manson) and Danny Lohner (Nine Inch Nails), respectively. Keenan returned to the fold in early 2003. Months later, Thirteenth Step arrived, debuting at number two on the Billboard 200. Moodier and more expansive, the set included Top Five rock chart singles “Weak and Powerless” and “The Outsider.” Lohner made way for James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins) as the band embarked on an international tour.
Concluding the trek, A Perfect Circle issued the covers album eMOTIVe in 2004. The politically charged, anti-war collection featured interpretations of songs like John Lennon‘s “Imagine,” Marvin Gaye‘s “What’s Going On,” and Depeche Mode‘s “People Are People.” The album was also notable for the inclusion of new track “Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drum” and “Passive,” a holy grail for fans written by Keenan, Howerdel, Lohner, and Trent Reznor for their scrapped Tapeworm project.
Shortly after the release of eMOTIVe’s companion DVD set aMOTION — which bundled the band’s music videos along with a remix CD — A Perfect Circle went on a hiatus that would last over a decade. During their downtime, Keenan recorded albums with Tool and his solo project, Puscifer, while Howerdel started a new band, Ashes Divide. While rumors of the band writing songs cropped up now and again, A Perfect Circle returned (to the stage, at least) in 2010, and released a new song, “By and Down,” on their 2013 greatest-hits compilation Three Sixty. However, it would be another half-decade before an official return.
In late 2017, the group reunited for a tour of the United States, teasing fans with the possibility of a trek to the studio. They issued the single “The Doomed,” their first new song in over a decade. “Disillusioned” and “TalkTalk” followed in early 2018. That April, A Perfect Circle released their fourth LP, Eat the Elephant, with another revamped lineup that added Matt McJunkins (Eagles of Death Metal) and Jeff Friedl (Puscifer) to the Keenan/Howerdel/Iha trio. As political as eMOTIVe and even more melodic than Thirteenth Step, Eat the Elephant also marked the first time the band recruited an outside producer; namely, Dave Sardy. ~ Neil Z. Yeung & Tracy Frey, Rovi

Brittany Howard + June McDoom at Marquee Theatre
2024-04-13 18:30 - 23:30 | Marquee Theatre, 730 N Mill Ave, Tempe, 85281, United States
With five Grammy® wins and sixteen nominations, Brittany Howard follows up her massively acclaimed solo debut Jaime with the new single “What Now” and teases what is to come from her upcoming album of the same name. Like Jaime (whose celebratory single “Stay High” earned a Grammy for Best Rock Song), What Now finds Howard once again taking the helm as producer and working closely with longtime collaborator engineer/co-producer/co-mixer Shawn Everett. The album emerged through a deliberately free-flowing process, with Howard doubling down on the unfettered creativity that’s long defined her work. “What Now” takes on a potent urgency fueled by its syncopated grooves, blistering guitar riffs, and fiercely honest lyrics (“I’ve been making plans that don’t include you anymore/My heart wants to stay but I don’t know what for”). “‘What Now’ is maybe the truest and bluest of all the songs,” says Howard. “It’s never my design to hurt anyone’s feelings, but I needed to say what was on my mind without editing myself. I like how it’s a song that makes you want to dance, but at the same time the lyrics are brutal.” There’s a double meaning to the title of What Now. “With the world we’re living in now, it feels like we’re all just trying to hang onto our souls,” says the Nashville-based musician and front woman for four-time Grammy Award-winning Alabama Shakes. “Everything seems to be getting more extreme and everyone keeps wondering, ‘What now? What’s next?’

June McDoom is an emerging singer-songwriter based in New York City. Her unique approach to folk music incorporates influences of early soul, reggae, and vintage analog experimentation into a new world all its own.

Arizona Bike Week 2024 at WestWorld of Scottsdale
2024-04-03 08:00 - 2024-04-07 23:30 | WestWorld of Scottsdale, 16601 North Pima Road, Scottsdale, AZ, 85260, United States
What is Arizona Bike Week?
Arizona Bike Week is a five-day celebration of motorcycles and music, all located at WestWorld in Scottsdale, AZ. In the ABW PowerYard, you’ll find hundreds of vendors, builders, dealers and manufacturers, offering all the best elements of the powersports industry. Plus, daily stunt shows, contests, live entertainment and bike shows. The RockYard features nightly blockbuster concerts at the most affordable ticket pricing you’ll find.
TICKETS

Go Ahead and Die, with Bodybox and Deep Within at The 44
2024-03-23 19:00 - 23:30 | The 44 Sports Grill and Nightlife, 4494 W Peoria Ave, Glendale, AZ, 85302, United States
Arizona death-crusters GO AHEAD AND DIE will deliver their caustic sophomore album Unhealthy Mechanisms on October 20, 2023 via Nuclear Blast Records. A torrential whirlwind born from the livid minds of Igor Amadeus Cavalera (HEALING MAGIC) and Max Cavalera (SOULFLY, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY). This new installment to the band’s dystopian catalog is a fresh dive into the madness of society and the pollution that ravages our minds.
GO AHEAD AND DIE is: Max Cavalera | Vocals, Guitar Igor Amadeus Cavalera | Vocals, Guitar, Bass Johnny Valles | Drums

TWO FISTED TWO STEPPIN DOUBLEWIDE DEATH METAL. STRAIGHT FROM FLORIDA. MAGGOT STOMP.

Bruce Springsteen at Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ
2024-03-19 19:30 - 23:30 | Mortgage Matchup Center, 201 E Jefferson St, Phoenix, 85004, United States
Bruce Springsteen’s recording career spans over 40 years, beginning with 1973’s ‘Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ’ (Columbia Records). He has garnered 20 Grammys, won an Oscar and a Tony, been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, received a Kennedy Center Honor and was MusiCares’ 2013 Person of the Year. Springsteen’s memoir ‘Born to Run’ (Simon & Schuster) and its companion album ‘Chapter and Verse’ were released in September 2016, and he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in November 2016. His historic 236-show run of ‘Springsteen on Broadway’ at Jujamcyn’s Walter Kerr Theatre from October 2017 to December 2018 also yielded an accompanying soundtrack album and Netflix special. In 2019, Springsteen released ‘Western Stars,’ his first studio album in five years, and together with longtime collaborator Thom Zimny he co-directed ‘Western Stars,’ a feature film released through Warner Bros.

Madonna at Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ
2024-03-16 20:30 - 23:30 | Mortgage Matchup Center, 201 E Jefferson St, Phoenix, 85004, United States
Madonna changed the trajectory of popular music not long after “Borderline” became her first Top Ten hit in 1984. Fusing post-disco dance with effervescent pop, the song was unexpected and fresh, a trick that soon became her signature. Over a career that lasted for decades, Madonna ushered underground sounds into the mainstream, specializing in trends percolating in dance clubs. As she arrived at the dawn of the MTV era, she seized the possibilities of music videos, creating a series of sexy, stylish clips that earned her the reputation of a provocateur while also establishing the network as the bastion for hip culture in the 1980s. Madonna recorded many of the pop anthems that defined that decade — “Like a Virgin,” “Material Girl,” “Live to Tell,” “Papa Don’t Preach,” “Open Your Heart,” “Like a Prayer,” “Express Yourself” — and in the process she created the archetype of a modern pop star: one whose music was inextricably tied with its visual representation, and one who was loathe to trade upon past glories. As Madonna entered her second decade of stardom, she continued to take artistic risks; she delved into modern R&B for 1994’s Bedtime Stories and electronica for 1998’s Ray of Light. During the 2000s and 2010s, Madonna continued to be driven by that restless artistic spirit, a move helped put the entirety of her body of work into perspective, emphasizing the common threads and consistency that run throughout her music — connections that were as evident on albums such as 2019’s Madame X as they were on retrospectives like Finally Enough Love, a 2022 chronicle of her dance club hits.
She moved from her native Michigan to New York in 1977 with dreams of becoming a ballet dancer. She studied with choreographer Alvin Ailey and modeled. In 1979, she became part of the Patrick Hernandez Revue, a disco outfit that had the hit “Born to Be Alive.” She traveled to Paris with Hernandez, and it was there that she met Dan Gilroy, who would soon become her boyfriend. Upon returning to New York, the pair formed the Breakfast Club, a pop/dance group. Madonna originally played drums for the band, but she soon became the lead singer. In 1980, she left the band and formed Emmy with her former boyfriend, drummer Stephen Bray. Soon, Bray and Madonna broke off from the group and began working on some dance/disco-oriented tracks. A demo tape of these worked its way to Mark Kamins, a New York-based DJ/producer. Kamins directed the tape to Sire Records, which signed the singer in 1982.
Kamins produced Madonna’s first single, “Everybody,” which became a club and dance hit at the end of 1982; her second single, 1983’s “Physical Attraction,” was another club hit. In June of 1983, she had her third club hit with the bubbly “Holiday,” which was produced by Jellybean Benitez. Madonna’s self-titled debut album was released in September of 1983; “Holiday” became her first Top 40 hit the following month. “Borderline” became her first Top Ten hit in March of 1984, beginning a remarkable string of 17 consecutive Top Ten hits. While “Lucky Star” was climbing to number four, she began working on her first starring role in a feature film, Susan Seidelman’s Desperately Seeking Susan.
Madonna’s second album, the Nile Rodgers-produced Like a Virgin, was released at the end of 1984. The title track hit number one in December, staying at the top of the charts for six weeks; it was the start of a whirlwind year for the singer. During 1985, Madonna became an international celebrity, selling millions of records on the strength of her stylish, sexy videos and forceful personality. After “Material Girl” became a number two hit in March, Madonna began her first tour, supported by the Beastie Boys. “Crazy for You” became her second number one single in May. Desperately Seeking Susan was released in July, becoming a box office hit; it also prompted a planned video release of A Certain Sacrifice, a low-budget erotic drama she filmed in 1979. A Certain Sacrifice wasn’t the only embarrassing skeleton in the closet dragged into the light during the summer of 1985 — both Playboy and Penthouse published nude photos of Madonna that she’d posed for in 1977. Nevertheless, her popularity continued unabated, with thousands of teenage girls adopting her sexy appearance, being dubbed “Madonna wannabes.” In August, she married actor Sean Penn.
Madonna began collaborating with Patrick Leonard at the beginning of 1986; Leonard would co-write most of her biggest hits in the ’80s, including “Live to Tell,” which hit number one in June of 1986. A more ambitious and accomplished record than her two previous albums, True Blue was released the following month, to both more massive commercial success (it was a number one in both the U.S. and the U.K., selling over five million copies in America alone) and critical acclaim. “Papa Don’t Preach” became her fourth number one hit in the U.S. While her musical career was thriving, her film career took a savage hit with the November release of Shanghai Surprise. Starring Madonna and Penn, the comedy received terrible reviews, which translated into disastrous box office returns.
At the beginning of 1987, she had her fifth number one single with “Open Your Heart,” the third number one from True Blue alone. The title cut from the soundtrack of her third feature film, Who’s That Girl?, was another chart-topping hit, although the film itself was another box office bomb. The year 1988 was relatively quiet for Madonna as she spent the first half of the year acting in David Mamet’s Speed the Plow on Broadway. In the meantime, she released the remix album You Can Dance. After withdrawing the divorce papers she filed at the beginning of 1988, she divorced Penn at the beginning of 1989.
Like a Prayer, released in the spring of 1989, was her most ambitious and far-reaching album, incorporating elements of pop, rock, and dance. It was another number one hit and launched the number one title track as well as “Express Yourself,” “Cherish,” and “Keep It Together,” three more Top Ten hits. In April 1990, she began her massive Blonde Ambition tour, which ran throughout the entire year. “Vogue” became a number one hit in May, setting the stage for her co-starring role in Warren Beatty’s Dick Tracy; it was her most successful film appearance since Desperately Seeking Susan. Madonna released a greatest-hits album, The Immaculate Collection, at the end of the year. It featured two new songs, including the number one single “Justify My Love,” which sparked another controversy with its sexy video; the second new song, “Rescue Me,” became the highest-debuting single by a female artist in U.S. chart history, entering the charts at number 15. Truth or Dare, a documentary of the Blonde Ambition tour, was released to positive reviews and strong ticket sales in the spring of 1991.
Madonna returned to the charts in the summer of 1992 with the number one “This Used to Be My Playground,” a single featured in the film A League of Their Own, which featured the singer in a small part. Later that year, Madonna released Sex, an expensive, steel-bound soft-core pornographic book that featured hundreds of erotic photographs of herself, several models, and other celebrities — including Isabella Rossellini, Big Daddy Kane, Naomi Campbell, and Vanilla Ice — as well as selected prose. Sex received scathing reviews and enormous negative publicity, but that didn’t stop the accompanying album, Erotica, from selling over two million copies. Bedtime Stories, released two years later, was a more subdued affair than Erotica. Initially, it didn’t chart as impressively, prompting some critics to label her a has-been, yet the album spawned her biggest hit, “Take a Bow,” which spent seven weeks at number one. It also featured the Björk-penned “Bedtime Stories,” which became her first single not to make the Top 40; its follow-up, “Human Nature,” also failed to crack the Top 40. Nevertheless, Bedtime Stories marked her seventh album to go multi-platinum.
Beginning in 1995, Madonna began one of her most subtle image makeovers as she lobbied for the title role in the film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s Evita. Backing away from the overt sexuality of Erotica and Bedtime Stories, Madonna recast herself as an upscale sophisticate, and the compilation Something to Remember fit into the plan nicely. Released in the fall of 1995, around the same time she won the coveted role of Evita Peron, the album was comprised entirely of ballads, designed to appeal to the mature audience that would also be the target of Evita. As the filming was completed, Madonna announced she was pregnant and her daughter, Lourdes, was born late in 1996, just as Evita was scheduled for release. The movie was greeted with generally positive reviews and Madonna began a campaign for an Oscar nomination that resulted in her winning the Golden Globe for Best Actress (Musical or Comedy), but not the coveted Academy Award nomination. The soundtrack for Evita, however, was a modest hit, with a dance remix of “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” and the newly written “You Must Love Me” both becoming hits.
In 1997, she worked with producer William Orbit on her first album of new material since 1994’s Bedtime Stories. The resulting release, Ray of Light, was heavily influenced by electronica, techno, and trip-hop, thereby updating her classic dance-pop sound for the late ’90s. Ray of Light received uniformly excellent reviews upon its March 1998 release and debuted at number two on the charts. Within a month, the record was shaping up to be her biggest album since Like a Prayer. Two years later she returned with Music, which reunited her with Orbit and also featured production work from Mark “Spike” Stent and Mirwais, a French electropop producer/musician in the vein of Daft Punk and Air.
The year 2000 also saw the birth of Madonna’s second child, Rocco, whom she had with filmmaker Guy Ritchie; the two married at the very end of the year. With Ritchie as director and Madonna as star, the pair released a remake of the film Swept Away in 2002; the movie didn’t fare well with critics or at the box office. Her sober 2003 album, American Life, debuted at number one on the Billboard charts but it didn’t generate any hit singles in America, but it did produce two hit singles in the U.K., “Nothing Fails” and “Love Profusion.” That same year also saw the release of Madonna’s successful children’s book, The English Roses, which was followed by several more novels in future years.
Confessions on a Dance Floor marked her return to music, specifically to the dance-oriented material that had made her a star. Released in late 2005, the album topped the Billboard 200 chart and was accompanied by a worldwide tour in 2006, the same year that I’m Going to Tell You a Secret, a CD/DVD made during her Re-Invention Tour, came out. In 2007, Madonna released another CD/DVD set, The Confessions Tour, this time chronicling her tour of the same name.
She inched closer to the completion of her Warner Bros. contract with 2008’s Hard Candy, featuring collaborations with the Neptunes and Timbaland. As poorly received as it was, the bold album boasted a Top Five hit in “4 Minutes,” and it was supported with the Sticky & Sweet Tour, which concluded in September 2009 (a month prior to her filing for divorce from Ritchie) and produced yet another CD/DVD package, released in 2010. It was her final Warner Bros. release and set the stage for her long-term recording deal with Live Nation.
Madonna began work on her 12th album midway through 2011, with the goal of releasing it early in 2012. The subsequent full-length, MDNA, featured production from French electronic musician and DJ Martin Solveig, as well as longtime collaborator Orbit. The album’s title, an abbreviation of Madonna’s name, appeared on the heels of her performance at the 2012 Super Bowl. Preceded by the Top Ten single “Give Me All Your Luvin'” (featuring Nicki Minaj and M.I.A.), MDNA debuted at number one across the world, including the U.S. and U.K. Her MDNA Tour took up the rest of the year, as she performed in Europe, the Middle East, North America, and South America. She filmed a concert special, and also released the live album MDNA World Tour in September 2013. At the beginning of 2014, Madonna announced that she was starting work on her 13th studio album. Taking to social media to capture the process, she revealed that recording sessions with the likes of Avicii, Diplo, and Kanye West had taken place. Excerpts from the sessions leaked toward the end of 2014, forcing Madonna to release a digital teaser EP by the end of the year. The full release of Rebel Heart came in March 2015; the album peaked at number two in the U.S. and U.K. She toured from the fall of 2015 to the spring of 2016, playing more than 75 dates in North America, Europe, and Asia.
In April 2019, Madonna began to issue singles leading up to the June release of her 14th album, Madame X, starting with “Medellín,” a collaboration with Colombian reggaeton singer Maluma. The album featured co-production by Mirwais, Mike Dean, Diplo, and Jason Evigan, as well as collaborations with guest artists including Brazilian singer Anitta and rappers Swae Lee and Quavo.
Upon its June 14, 2019 release, Madame X debuted at number one in the U.S. and number two in the U.K., generating four number one Billboard Dance Club hits: “Medellin,” “Crave,” “I Rise,” and “I Don’t Search I Find.” Madonna’s remarkable four-decade run at the top of the Dance Club charts was chronicled on Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones, a 2022 compilation that featured nearly all of her chart-topping dance singles. Finally Enough Love was the first release in a prospective reissue program by Warner, launched in 2022 to celebrate her 40th anniversary as a recording artist. This catalog series coincided with Madonna developing a biopic chronicling her own career, a film she planned to direct herself. In June 2023, she joined the Weeknd and Playboi Carti for the song “Popular” as part of the soundtrack to the Netflix drama The Idol. A month later, she embarked on The Celebration Tour, her first greatest-hits-themed live show. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

Bob the Drag Queen is a drag performer and recording artist best known for winning the eighth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race. She has released various hit singles since her run on Drag Race (Purse First, Yet Another Dig) and appeared on television (A Black Lady Sketch Show, We’re Here) and film (Cherry Pop, The Queens). She currently co-hosts the podcast “Sibling Rivalry” with Monét X Change and continues to inspire others with his iconic comedy chops.

Nicki Minaj at Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ
2024-03-13 20:00 - 23:30 | Mortgage Matchup Center, 201 E Jefferson St, Phoenix, 85004, United States
Nicki Minaj’s unique combination of ferocity and humor, and a rap style built on razor-sharp wordplay, mercilessly blunt lyricism, and delivery that turns on a dime from sugary to snarling, has skyrocketed her from mixtape phenom to enduring global pop star.The rapper’s early days included attempts at an acting career and losing her job at Red Lobster for being rude to customers, but she progressed quickly from MySpace demos to nationally adored mixtapes to household-name status. Pink Friday, Minaj’s 2010 album debut, saw her appeal to a broader audience with chart-topping reception. Although she has had similar success with later full-lengths such as 2014’s The Pinkprint and 2018’s Queen, her singles have made an even greater impact. In just over a decade, Minaj has hit the Top 40 over two-dozen times as a headliner with singles such as “Super Bass,” “Starships,” and “Anaconda.” These and other highlights were compiled in 2022 for Queen Radio, Vol. 1, an anthology containing the number one hit “Super Freaky Girl” among its new songs. Her Top 40 entries as a featured artist are even more numerous and include Kanye West‘s “Monster,” David Guetta‘s “Turn Me On,” and Ariana Grande‘s “Side to Side.” In 2023, Minaj finally released the long-awaited sequel to her debut with her fifth studio album Pink Friday 2.
Nicki Minaj was born Onika Tanya Maraj in 1982. Born in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago to parents who were both gospel singers, she lived with her grandmother in Saint James until the age of five, when she joined her mother, who had relocated to Queens, New York. In high school she discovered the performing arts, setting her sights on acting as her main pursuit. She eventually transitioned into music, working as part of a group called the Hood$tars in the early 2000s before going solo. In 2007 she was discovered by Dirty Money Entertainment CEO Big Fendi, who happened upon her demos on MySpace and signed Maraj to the label. At Fendi’s suggestion, Maraj took on the stage name Nicki Minaj, jumbling her last name to reflect a more ruthless persona. Dirty Money Entertainment released both her 2007 debut mixtape, Playtime Is Over, and its 2008 follow-up, Sucka Free. Industry buzz was already surrounding Minaj on her earliest releases, and these mixtapes featured guest appearances from stars like Lil Wayne, Gucci Mane, Jadakiss, and Lil’ Kim.
The 2009 mixtape Beam Me Up Scotty was a favorite among a growing fan base and included her first songs to hit the Billboard charts. In August of 2009 Minaj signed to Lil Wayne‘s Young Money Entertainment, becoming the label’s first female artist. The floodgates opened from there, as Minaj made cameo appearances on tracks from Gucci Mane, Kanye West, Pusha T, and others as well as offering verses to hits like “Bedrock” and “Roger That” from the 2009 Young Money collaborative album We Are Young Money. An official non-mixtape debut album came in the form of Pink Friday, released in November of 2010 but preceded by the hit singles “Your Love” and “Check It Out.” The album saw her leaning more into a pop style than the hard-edged rap of her mixtapes, but the hybrid of the two proved immediately successful, and the album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and went platinum, selling upwards of 375,000 copies during its first week alone. She earned a handful of 2011 Grammy nominations, including Best New Artist, Best Rap Album, and Best Rap Performance. An all-out media blitz followed between albums, with extravagant performances at award shows across the globe, an appearance as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live, and joining Madonna — alongside M.I.A. — for her Super Bowl XLVI halftime show.
In early 2012, the Euro-dance-influenced single “Starships” signaled the coming of her official sophomore effort, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, an album built around her devil-may-care alter ego “Roman Zolanski.” Guest artists included Nas, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Chris Brown, and Beenie Man, while production came from the likes of RedOne and Ke’Noe. The album hit number one on the U.S. album charts, driven by a Top Ten showing for “Starships,” and “Va Va Voom” also reached the Top 40. By the end of 2012, Minaj had been announced as a judge for the 12th season of American Idol, although she left at the end of the season. It hardly affected her success, as she set two career records during 2013: the most-charted female rapper in the history of Billboard’s singles chart, and the first person to win Best Female Hip-Hop Artist at the BET Awards four times in a row.
In December 2014, Minaj released her third studio album, The Pinkprint. First single “Lookin Ass” was also featured on the Young Money compilation Rise of an Empire released in March of that year, while follow-up “Anaconda” was nominated for Best Rap Song at the 2015 Grammy Awards. Filled with songs about guilt and failed relationships, the album was well received by critics and debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. Throughout 2016, Minaj guested on numerous singles, including DJ Khaled‘s “Do You Mind” and Ariana Grande‘s “Side to Side,” and she also released her own “Black Barbies.” In 2017, she issued a trio of stand-alone singles: “Regret in Your Tears,” “Changed It” with Lil Wayne, and “No Frauds” with Lil Wayne and Drake. The latter track went gold and broke into the Top 20 of the Hot 100 and Top Ten of the R&B and rap charts. That year, she also appeared on the Migos track “MotorSport” with Cardi B, and on Jason Derulo‘s “Swalla” with Ty Dolla $ign.
She returned with the singles “Chun-Li” and “Barbie Tingz” in spring 2018, paving the way for her fourth studio album, Queen, which arrived in August of that year. In addition to third single “Bed” featuring Ariana Grande, the LP also features guests Labrinth, Eminem, Lil Wayne, the Weeknd, Future, Foxy Brown, and Swae Lee. Upon release, Queen matched its predecessor with a number two debut on the Billboard 200. More singles arrived the following year, including the non-album track “Megatron,” “Tusa” with Karol G, “Trollz” with 6ix9ine. Minaj was also featured alongside Murda Beatz on PnB Rock 2019 track “Fendi.” In February 2020, the rapper returned with her own stand-alone song “Yikes.” Minaj’s third mixtape Beam Me Up Scotty was reissued in 2021, eleven years after its original release. The project was given new cover art and the track listing was altered somewhat, omitting some of the songs from the original 2009 release and including several new tracks. This new version of Minaj’s breakout project debuted in the number two spot on the Billboard 200, making it the highest-charting mixtape from a female rapper up to that point.
Throughout the early 2020s, Minaj continued her usual bevy of guest features and collaborations, appearing on tracks by Doja Cat, former Little Mix vocalist Jesy Nelson, BIA, and Elton John. In 2022, she scored more hits as a lead artist with the Lil Baby collaborations “Do We Have a Problem?” and “Bussin,” then topped the pop chart with “Super Freaky Girl.” All three of these singles were included on Queen Radio, Vol. 1, a celebratory anthology released that August. Minaj kicked off 2023 with the flamenco- and trap-inspired “Red Ruby da Sleeze,” which she followed with a feature on YoungBoy Never Broke Again‘s “WTF,” as well as collaborative singles with Ice Spice and Kim Petras, spots on tracks from Lil Uzi Vert and Sexyy Red, and a very on-brand take on Aqua‘s “Barbie World” (again with Ice Spice) for the Barbie soundtrack Barbie The Album. In September of 2023, Minaj released the slow-moving R&B song “Last Time I Saw You” following “Super Freaky Girl” as the second single to precede the upcoming album Pink Friday 2. The album, Minaj’s fifth proper studio effort and sequel to her 2010 studio debut Pink Friday, had been in the works since 2019 and was slated for release on December 8, 2023, the rapper’s 41st birthday. ~ David Jeffries & Fred Thomas

Olivia Rodrigo at Footprint Center
2024-02-24 19:30 - 23:30 | Mortgage Matchup Center, 201 E Jefferson St, Phoenix, 85004, United States
After shattering records with her chart-topping, 4x Platinum debut album SOUR – the fastest album in history to have all of its songs certified RIAA Platinum or higher – Olivia Rodrigo makes a monumental return with her new album GUTS, revealing newly heightened sophistication as a vocalist and lyricist. Produced by and co-written with Daniel Nigro (her main creative partner on SOUR), each song intensifies the emotional honesty that’s always imbued her storytelling. Rodrigo expands her expressive palette, uncovering entirely new dimensions of her artistry, as exemplified by lead single “vampire.”
Hailed by Pitchfork as the “Best New Track” upon release, “vampire” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 – as did SOUR hits “drivers license” and “good 4 u,” making Rodrigo the first artist ever to debut the lead singles from two career-opening albums atop the prestigious chart. The 20-year-old is the youngest artist in Hot 100 history to debut three hits at No. 1.
Named the #1 Album of 2021 by Rolling Stone and hailed as one of the Best Albums of 2021 by The New York Times, among others, SOUR is now triple Platinum in the U.S. and has sold over 16.8 million global album adjusted units with over 66 billion streams worldwide. She received seven GRAMMY® Award nominations—including nods in each of the Big Four categories—and took home awards for Best New Artist, Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 64th GRAMMY® Awards.

A purveyor of yearning keyboard pop and bright synth-backed anthems, Chappell Roan is a singer and songwriter based in Los Angeles. Her debut EP, School Nights, arrived on Atlantic in 2017, and she had a streaming smash with “Pink Pony Club” in 2020. She went the independent route for subsequent releases, including 2022’s “Naked in Manhattan” and “Feminomenon,” and 2023’s “Kaleidoscope” and “Red Wine Supernova.” Roan’s first full-length, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, landed in 2023.
Born Kayleigh Rose Amstutz in Willard, Missouri, in 1998, she started taking piano lessons as a preteen as well as teaching herself to play along by ear to her favorite records. She was also a member of her school choir. After Roan won a school talent show in the eighth grade, her mother encouraged her to perform around town, and she soon began posting her music online. Still going by her given name, Kayleigh Rose, she visited New York City in 2015 for label showcases, and on the strength of the single “Die Young” ended up signing with Atlantic Records as a junior in high school. Taking the stage name Chappell Roan (a tribute to her grandfather, Dennis K. Chappell), her official debut single, “Good Hurt,” saw release in mid-2017. That September’s School Nights EP was accompanied by a tour in support of Vance Joy. By then relocated to Los Angeles, Roan next toured with Declan McKenna and issued a series of singles, including “Bitter” (2018) and “Pink Pony Club” (2020). A dramatic pop fantasy about a dancer, the latter song garnered millions of plays on streaming services.
Roan parted ways with Atlantic in 2020, later returning in early 2022 with her first new material in two years, “Naked in Manhattan.” A West Coast support slot for Olivia Rodrigo followed in May. She delivered more singles, including “My Kink Is Karma” and “Feminomenon,” before the end of the year. She kicked off 2023 with a headlining jaunt dubbed “The Naked in North America Tour,” also releasing the streaming hits “Red Wine Supernova” and “Kaleidoscope.” These tracks appeared on her official debut LP, the Dan Nigro-produced The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, which arrived in September. Roan supported the breakthrough release with “The Midwest Princess Tour,” as well as a supporting slot on Olivia Rodrigo‘s GUTS tour.
