Totally Tubular Festival brings ’80s New Wave legends to Phoenix

Relive the decade of legwarmers and big hair with performances by Modern English, Bow Wow Wow and more.

January 8, 2024

Live Nation

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Four decades later, nostalgia for the 1980s is still running high.

In response, Live Nation announced a new music festival on Monday morning: the Totally Tubular Festival.

The tour will stop in Phoenix on July 3, and bring Thomas Dolby, the Thompson Twins' Tom Bailey, Modern English, Men Without Hats, The Romantics, Bow Wow Wow and The Plimsouls to Arizona Financial Theatre.

“This is a dream lineup for those who love the music of the early 1980’s, and for those who want to relive the days when life was — plain and simple — a total party,” festival Chief Party Officer Jon Pleeter, said in the announcement. “You wore Day-Glo, you wore parachute pants, you had big hair, perms and more perms, mullets, leg warmers, along with tons of buttons and lots of rubber bracelets. You wore sunglasses at night. The choruses were big, and the hooks were bigger — the party didn’t end.”

The presale runs 10 a.m. Wednesday through 10 p.m. Thursday. The general on-sale begins at 10 a.m. on Friday on the Ticketmaster website.

The full list of tour dates is below:

June 28, Santa Barbara, Calif., Santa Barbara Bowl
June 29, Los Angeles, YouTube Theatre
June 30, Oakland, Calif., Fox Theatre
July 3, Phoenix, Arizona Financial Theatre
July 6, Englewood, Colo., Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
July 9, Irving, Texas, Pavilion @ Toyota Music Factory
July 10, Houston, 713 Music Hall
July 13, Raleigh, N.C., Red Hat Amphitheatre
July 16, Bridgeport, Conn., Hartford Healthcare Amphitheatre
July 17, Boston, MGM Music Hall @ Fenway
July 18, New York, Pier 17
July 19, Atlantic City, N.J., Hard Rock Live @ Etess Arena
July 20, Bushkill, Penn., Poconos Park Amphitheatre
July 23, Laval, Quebec, Place Bell
July 24, Missisauga, Ontario, GCT Theatre
July 26, Detroit, Meadowbrook Amphitheatre
July 27, Cincinnati, Riverbend Music Center Amphitheatre

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Jennifer Goldberg is the Music and Culture editor of Phoenix New Times. She joined the New Times staff in February 2016. In her role, Jennifer writes and publishes profiles of both local and regional musicians, previews upcoming performances and provides guides on the best of Phoenix’s entertainment scene. She also oversees the Best of Phoenix. Jennifer previously worked for Jewish News of Greater Phoenix. During her career, Jennifer has received awards from the Arizona Press Club, the Arizona Newspaper Association and the American Jewish Press Association. She holds a bachelor’s of arts in English from Arizona State University.

Contact: Jennifer Goldberg

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