For 25 years, country singer Aaron Watson has toured, and he’s not letting surgery on his voice slow him down.  Last summer, the 45-year-old Texas native spent four months recovering at his home after he underwent an operation on his vocal cords. From surviving the lows of the COVID-19 pandemic to the highs of touring again at places like Mesa’s Denim & Diamonds on Friday, May 12, Watson says he just keeps putting one foot in front of the other.  “It feels great to be back,” Watson says. “We’ve had a lot of time to work on the show, and I feel like we’re back better than ever.” F ..read more

Joshua Strickland of the Bayou Bandits has been influenced by his Louisiana roots, but his music also has been shaped by the Southwest. The Phoenix-based Southern rock group is representing Arizona with its newest album, “Arizona Stepson.”  The group, as well as Christopher Shayne, will open for Jason Charles Miller at Yucca Tap Room on Thursday, May 11. The group’s second album, “Arizona Stepson” was released April 28.  Strickland says the new album showcases the band’s ties to Arizona.  “Since we have been playing, we have amassed a good following of fans here in the Southwest ..read more

On the night of Saturday, April 29, fans nearly packed the Arizona Financial Theatre to its capacity to catch two buzzworthy acts: Brooklyn-based dream-pop solo artist Renata Zeiguer and Utah-based Alt-rockers The Backseat Lovers. Renata Zeiguer  Accompanied by a three-piece band, Zeiguer took the stage around 8 p.m. to kick off her first show in the Valley of the Sun. Her sound quickly created an atmosphere different from the one outside the Arizona Financial Theatre. Outside the venue lay a bustling city that had endured nearly triple-digit heat throughout the day but inside the Federal ..read more

Cooper Alan just started his ascent in Nashville with free beers for the most energetic fans and some classic mashups.  The North Carolina native with 8.3 million TikTok followers made a stop at Denim & Diamonds in Mesa on April 28 to play for a sold-out show for more than 1,400 people.  Doors opened at 6 p.m. and people started to get a little rowdy, but when Alan took the stage just after 10 p.m. rocking a throwback Phoenix Suns Chris Paul jersey, it quashed all the raucous noise in the venue.  Alan started the night with his newest single “This Ain’t Country.” Just as he ..read more

For the past 13 years, Mesa resident Zach Lewis Beck has made a name for himself by rapping under the moniker Futuristic.  However, when he decided to make the recently released pop-punk album “Never 2 Late,” some fans found themselves scratching their heads.  Beck says he’s proving to listeners that he’s much more than a rapper.  “I’m tired of being put in a box,” he says. “Doing the pop-punk album was super fun and I enjoyed it, but I think people realize I can do anything and I will do anything that I feel like doing.”  Growing up one of nine siblings in Danville, Illino ..read more

  Click to view slideshow ..read more

For famed professional wrestler and rocker Chris Jericho, music and good times go together like the perfect tag team.  Raised on healthy doses of Journey, AC/DC and Metallica, Jericho admired the way they filled stadiums with their hook-laden songs. Because of this, in 1999 he formed the Georgia-based hard rock band Fozzy, which currently features guitarist/backing vocalist Rich Ward, rhythm guitarist/backing vocalist Billy Grey, bassist P.J. Farley and drummer Grant Brooks. Jericho describes the band as the child of Metallica and Journey who was raised by AC/DC. “Those are the bands that ..read more

Godsmack is calling its recording career quits, although the Lawrence, Massachusetts-bred band will still tour. Drummer Shannon Larkin has no regrets.  “We’ve won the game,” he says. “We’ve spent our whole lives putting the band first, before family, friends and everything. It’s a very, very hard business to make it in — but we did it.”  Godsmack will bring its last album-cycle tour to UFest at Talking Stick Resort Pavilion in Phoenix on Saturday, May 6.  “We’re looking forward to playing, period,” he says. “The festivals have an amazing energy. UFest is going to be rad.” The sh ..read more

On Melissa Etheridge’s Instagram, her bio reads “mother, rockstar, activist” in that order.  The sweet sentiment is courtesy of her son, Beckett, when he was in his mid-teens.  “What’s really sweet about that is — about 10 years ago or whenever I first joined Instagram — it was my son Beckett who signed me up,” she says about the bio.  “We were in the car, and he said, ‘You have to be on Instagram.’ He wrote that description and he put ‘mother’ first. He was probably 14 or 15.” He died of causes related to opioid addiction at age 21 in 2020. In response to Beckett’s death, the m ..read more

Seal is coy about what fans can expect when he kicks off his 30th anniversary world tour on Tuesday, April 25, at Phoenix’s Arizona Financial Theatre.  “What do you expect?” he asks. “You tell me. What do you personally want? Tell me what you think you’re going to get.” Seal shows naturally come with amazing production and wide-ranging vocals, but he wants more. He promises conversation and a connection.  “When I perform, it is to connect,” he says. “Not only to connect with people, but create a situation where people are more connected with themselves. That’s it first and foremost ..read more