Thanks to the fact that the Fourth of July is a few days from now, fireworks displays and other patriotic celebrations will be in abundance. Ditto for both pool parties and club parties.
When it comes to concerts and other music events, there’s going to be plenty of those happening as well.
If you’re a hip-hop fan, you can attend the star-studded Sound Splash at the Pressroom or the more locally focused 18th anniversary party for the Avenue of the Arts crew a few miles away at Last Exit Live.
Meanwhile, rock ‘n’ roll will fill the air at outdoor venues on either side of the Valley this weekend. Living legend Carlos Santana will be at Ak-Chin Pavilion on Friday night, and KUPD’s first-ever Mesa Meltdown will bring Powerman 5000 and Stone Sour to Mesa Amphitheatre.
Want to know what else is on tap this weekend? Check out our online listings or peep the following list of the best concerts and music events happening in Phoenix over the next several nights.
Santana
Friday, June 30
Ak-Chin Pavilion
Carlos Santana is a man at peace with his place in the musical universe. The guitarist and band leader has been performing for nearly 50 years — since the mid-1960s — including a legendary breakout performance at Woodstock. During this time, Santana, has crossed musical idioms from jazz to blues, Latin rock to Indian ragas, soul to funk. Tracks such as "Evil Ways," "Oye Como Va," and "Black Magic Woman" have become classic rock radio hits, while later-period songs "Smooth" featuring Matchbox Twenty's Rob Thomas on vocals and "Maria, Maria" (both from 1999's Supernatural) serve to cement Santana's long-standing appeal and legacy. Having performed with a who's who of musical masters, including Miles Davis, Alice Coltrane, Tito Puente, B.B. King, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, Santana admits nervousness sharing the stage with others. "Actually, I'm always scared to death," he says with a laugh. Still, Santana acknowledges feeling confident enough to hold his own and offer something unique in any situation. "It's frightening, but I tell myself, I have something they don't have and therefore I am significant and meaningful and they need that," he says. Glenn BurnSilver
KUPD'S Mesa Meltdown
Friday, June 30
Mesa Amphitheatre
KUPD’s Mesa Meltdown is back for a one-day festival. This year’s edition of the summer rock show features Powerman 5000’s first stop in the Valley since a show at Club Red in January. The headliner is Stone Sour, who will celebrate the release of their new album, Hydrograd, out the same day. Rising Tempe nu metal band Ded will open the show, just before releasing their debut album, Mis•an•thrope, on July 21. They’re no strangers to big crowds, having just played to over 7,000 people at Rock on the Range Festival in Ohio. Still, they look forward to being home before a summer run with Korn and a slew of fests in the fall. It’ll be your last chance to see ’em for a while, but Ded have a few tricks up their sleeves. “We are extending the set a little bit, playing some songs off the record that many of our home town fans haven’t heard yet,” drummer Matthew Reinhard says. Ashley Harris
Black Marble, Body of Light & Draa
Friday, June 30
Valley Bar
Were this bill exactly 120 minutes long, you would see that this lineup is a godsend to fans of the ideas and vibes once embodied by bands like the Cure and New Order. This a show for people who have feelings but who don’t necessarily trumpet them to all and sundry. This is a shebang for people who are aware of the anatomy of melancholy, but also inured to it enough to still want to dance. Furthermore, this is a party for people who are a little sensitive to natural light, but not so much that they would require colored contact lenses. Tex Kerschen
What So Not
Friday, June 30
The Pressroom
What So Not began as an electronic-music project in 2011 between Christopher Emerson, who also performs as DJ Emoh Instead, and Harley Streten, who performs solo as Flume. The two hail from Sydney, Australia, and became overnight sensations on the strength of their first EP, 2011’s 7 Dollar Bill. Over the years, they’ve released EDM bangers like “High You Are” and “Jaguar,” collaborated with artists like RL Grime and Action Bronson, and remixed songs from artists such as Major Lazer and Tom Piper. Streten departed the project in early 2015, and Emerson now performs solo under the name What So Not; his latest EP, Divide and Conquer, was released last September to rave reviews. Riley Cowing
Animus Complex
Friday, June 30
Club Red in Mesa
Fuzzy atmospherics, soaring melodies, heavy crescendi, riffs tinged with djent and jazz, sludgy breakdowns, vocals ranging from guttural to operatic — these are only a few characteristics you'll find in a track by Phoenix metal quartet Animus Complex. The members hesitantly define the music as progressive metal, but while their ever-evolving style is cutting edge, their influences and technique are classical in style. Animus Complex is a name that aptly describes the group's sound and vision (and, of course, it was inspired by a book about Carl Jung). "Animus is the inner feminine and masculine archetype that is projected onto others. It has a lot to do with attracting people or things based off of thoughts and psychological functioning," says founder/guitarist Jeremy Davis. Lauren Wise
DJ Les735 of the Avenue of the Arts crew.
Courtesy of Les Sias
Friday, June 30
Maya Day & Nightclub in Scottsdale
Robin Schulz is best known for his groovy deep house remix of Mr. Probz’s hit track “Waves,” but his talent for ambient, soulful beats extends beyond his remixes. Schulz produces some of the sleekest deep house around, with a distinctly European vibe (it helps that the vocals on his popular original tracks are in German, his native language). Music is second nature to him, as his father was a DJ spinning in the '80s, and so Schulz has no problem making his tunes sound ethereal and unforced. For any fan of deep house or chill beats, Schulz is coming to Maya Day & Nightclub in Scottsdale to lighten your mood and leave you floating. Sarah Purkrabek
[image-15]Deorro
Saturday, July 1
The Pool at Talking Stick Resort
Learning music production and DJing was an obsession for Erick Orrosquieta, better known as Deorro. As a teenager growing up in Southern California, Deorro took the bus four days a week down to Guitar Center, where the employees let him experiment with a display DJ mixer. He was still crossfading from one track to the next until a stranger showed him how to mix tracks and beat-match. Parties led to club nights, and Deorro cultivated a following among house-music enthusiasts. He worked for promoters handing out flyers, and worked his connections until he was booked to play various high-profile gigs. As he carefully built a team around him, it became apparent that the prudent choice would be to give up his onetime dreams of being a trauma surgeon and go with plan B: making music. Six years later, Deorro is an international success story. He’s a regular at EDM’s biggest festivals, and his original productions — many released through his own label, Panda Funk — are staples in his peers' set lists. He may not be saving lives in a hospital, but he’s still safeguarding people in his role as a mentor to the DJ community. Patrick Shannon
Read on for even more concerts and music events happening this weekend, including Sound Splash, BroLoaf’s Annual Patriotic Meltdown, and Las Cafeteras.
Sound Splash
Saturday, July 1
The Pressroom
Splashing is certainly a summertime activity. And even though that kind of fun inspires visions of H20, there doesn’t have to be a body of water involved. Not necessarily. For instance, there’s Sound Splash. This beach-themed indoor hip-hop concert and dance party isn’t a sand-and-surf adventure, but it does feature a fun lineup of acts. First of all, Bow Wow is the event’s host and a performer. Also hitting the stage that night are Ty Dolla Sign, Raven Felix, Chanel West Coast, and DJ Drama, who will spin tunes and perform some of his original music. Beach lovers will find an outdoor area for related fun. There is also a dance competition, door prizes, and raffle giveaways. Amy Young
BroLoaf’s Annual Patriotic Meltdown
Saturday, July 1
Yucca Tap Room in Tempe
It truly wouldn’t be a Fourth of July weekend here in the Valley without this silly, satirical, and sloppy affair put on by the punks of BroLoaf and a few dozen of their friends. Words can’t even begin to describe the colorful and chaotic fun of the event, which celebrates the excesses of ‘Murica and has typically involved a cavalcade of messy and mirthful antics with confetti, cheerleaders, toilet paper, beer bongs, crotch thrusts, and American flags. Needless to say, it’s unlike any July Fourth party in Arizona. Oh, and there’s also a barbecue involved. This year’s edition of the meltdown takes place on Saturday, July 1, and will include performances by Smoky Mountain Skullbusters, Old Fashioned Assassin, Skulldrug, and (of course) BroLoaf themselves. And given the event’s emphasis on political satire, it sort of goes without saying that President Donald Trump will be roasted and skewered endlessly throughout the evening. Benjamin Leatherman
Las Cafeteras
Saturday, July 1
Musical Instrument Museum
Las Cafeteras stir up a swirling, mesmerizing sound with just their voices and such traditional acoustic instruments as jarana jarocha, marímbula and requinto jarocho. Singers Daniel French and Denise Carlos and requinto jarocho stylist David Flores weave together circular riffs on their guitarlike axes and nearly all the members do zapateado, a percussive style of dance. On their 2012 album, It’s Time, the East L.A. septet segue easily from uptempo, foot-stomping tracks like “La Bamba Rebelde” and “El Zapateado” to such romantic ballads as “Luna Lovers,” in which Leah Gallegos and French exchange verses with gently lilting melodies. Although the group is deeply rooted in traditional folk styles like son jarocho, Yukicito’s remix of “Mujer Soy” demonstrates how seamlessly their acoustic-based music can insinuate itself within electronic sounds. Falling James
Avenue of the Arts 18-Year Anniversary Party
Saturday, July 1
Last Exit Live
Local hip-hop collective Avenue of the Arts is turning 18 this weekend. And just like any newly minted 18 year old, its planning one helluva wild party. The collaborative group – which was founded in 1999 by a collection of local emcees, DJs, and artists – is planning a big blowout at Last Exit Live on Saturday, July 1, that will feature sets by Valley hip-hop act TSOI, the beat-slinging cats of Beatlab PHX, and Hollowpoint Vigils. Several members of the AOTA crew will also perform, including such emcees as Ohm, Cashtue, Mykr Fiend X, Runlike, ChoiceOne, Mike Paris, RaeRae, Beatnick, and others. Avenue of the Arts DJs like Les735, Blesd1, Psychopat, and Kip Killagain will also be in the mix and local painters Jose Love Reyes, Steve Caballero, and Joseph Sealowz will conduct live art sessions. Benjamin Leatherman
Prok and Fitch
Saturday, July 1
Monarch Theatre
Prok and Fitch are all about smooth, funk-inspired house music. Part of their allure is accessibility: Their sound is equally at home with underground players like Nic Fanciulli and Coy as it is with mainstreamers like Axwell and on Pete Tong’s radio shows. If you’re looking for house that you can dance to all night long, Prok & Fitch are your guys. Opening for them is Eelke Kleijn, whose sound is a bit darker, and a lot deeper — the ideal warm-up — and Prince Club, a remix-heavy artist whose passion is four on the floor. Sarah Purkrabek
The musicians of Las Cafeteras.
Rafael Cardenas
Saturday, July 1
Livewire in Scottsdale
What if, in a perfect world, the music genre you love the most was the only one in existence and lived on forever? Steel Panther imagines this to be true, and tonight the glammish four-piece brings a full-on heavy-metal throwback show to Livewire in Scottsdale. The best part? Steel Panther isn't just a tribute — it is also an equal mockery of the sometimes androgynous, hair-dominating days when Poison and Motley Crue owned MTV. The band gets it right by aiming right at the crotch of the genre, zeroing in on the humor of the oversexed days of Sunset Strip hair metal while balancing it with original and true-to-form hook-heavy songs. Just imagine: Ten years from now, some dudes born in the '90s will be wearing greasy mops and smoking fake cigarettes on stage, attempting to pull off a semi-accurate Strokes tribute, and it won't be nearly as funny. Bree Davies
Deorro eschewed dreams of becoming a trauma surgeon for EDM.
Rephlektor
Sunday, July 2
The Pool at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale
The trio Nero have flowed as easily into dubstep and drum 'n’ bass as they have into synth-pop and electro-house. They've been wowing crowds with their special blend of pop and the bassier genres. One song might hit all of the above: synth-pop vocals, d'n'b chorus, electro house build, dubstep drop. An interesting mix to be sure, but they pull it off. This weekend, they'll headline one of the Release pool parties happening at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale over the Fourth of July weekend. They'll be joined by opener Tommy Trash, who's tracks are known for catchy, sing-along vocals, leading builds and fist-pumping drops. Though all of his stuff has the same club-ready tilt, he by no means sticks to one mold — all part of his quest to get the people jumping. Sarah Purkrabek
