“I’m glad I didn’t skip Las Vegas.” The fans became a family at Role Model’s first show in Vegas at the House of Blues.

On Friday, October 7th through Sunday, October 9th, fans gathered at Phoenix, Raceway in Avondale, AZ, to have their Neon Dreams come true at Goldrush while dancing the night away. With artists like Excision, Ghastly, Boogie T, and Rezz performing throughout the weekend, there was something for everyone. Fans were constantly running around the multi-stage festival to see their favorite artists.

On Friday, September 23rd, Relentless Beats and Psycho Steve Presents teamed up to put on Hearts on Fire Music Festival at The Marquee Theatre in Tempe, AZ. With a lineup featuring early 2000s legends like Boys Like Girls and The All-American Rejects, the inaugural event was not a night to miss.

“I’m so sad it’s over, but I definitely went out with the best show.” I found this comment online from a fan who has been to multiple shows on Wallows’ tour.

Once again, Goldrush will be making its appearance in the desert for the annual western-themed EDM festival. This year, the 18+ event will take place on Friday, October 7th, through Sunday, October 9th, at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. The multi-stage festival will feature fan-favorite acts such as Excision, Rezz, and Seven Lions.

Next Friday, September 23rd, Relentless Beats and Psycho Steve Presents will co-host the first annual Hearts On Fire Music Festival featuring The All-American Rejects, Boys Like Girls, Mayday Parade, and more. The event will take place at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, AZ, where Relentless Beats has hosted many of its events this year.

On August 29th, The Driver Era made a stop in Tempe, AZ, at The Marquee Theatre with support from Summer Salt. The duo, made up of Rocky and Ross Lynch was accompanied by their brother Riker Lynch who played with them in now disbanded family band R5. The venue was packed full of fans of all ages anticipating the moment that The Driver Era would take the stage. Summer Salt got the night going and the energy flowing. Fans did not let the warm venue get to them as they danced the night away.

Fans of the post-hardcore stylings of Rain City Drive have had a lot to enjoy from the band this summer. The group successfully completed the SiriusXM Octane's Remade In Misery Tour with Memphis May Fire, From Ashes To New, and Wolves At The Gate. After that tour ended, Rain City Drive then went on Set It Off's Welcome To Elsewhere Tour Part 2 with OXYMORONS, Concrete Castles, and Weathers. Both tours showcased Rain City Drive’s highly infectious riffs, heavy bass, and well-written melodies.

“Kehlani in Vegas changed me.” This is a quote from a fan at the show that couldn’t be more accurate.

On August 31st, instrumental rock band, Polyphia played a sold-out show in Tempe, AZ, at The Marquee Theatre with support from the German metal band, Unprocessed, who immediately had the crowd’s attention. The energy flowed throughout the venue with fans crowding, surfing, and bopping around to the music.

On August 25th, Silverstein made their first stop on their co-headlining tour with The Amity Affliction in Tempe, AZ at The Marquee Theatre with support from UnityTX and Holding Absence. First, to take the stage was UnityTX who put on a great set that got the crowd’s energy going with a mosh pit starting up early in the night. Second, was Holding Absence who pushed through despite some technical difficulties with their microphones not working during the first three songs. They did not let that get them down though and continued performing with vocals going in and out before finishing out their set strong. Finally, Silverstein took the stage.

Many metalheads will recognize the Russian deathcore band Slaughter To Prevail from lead vocalist Alex Terrible’s insanely popular YouTube channel. In addition to highlighting the band’s official videos and live performances, Terrible also does reaction videos and sings covers. With 922k subscribers, the channel attracts more than 36.5 million YouTube views and 305 million cross-platform streams. With such a high-profile platform Terrible has chosen to voice his concerns about recent world events through his music.

Alt-pop band The Driver Era has announced the release date of their latest studio album, Summer Mixtape which is due to release September 16th. This release comes nearly a year after their critically acclaimed sophomore album Girlfriend. The Driver Era’s first single off Summer Mixtape was the dance song “Keep Moving Forward,” which featured soul and blues singer Nikka Costa. Now the band has released their second single entitled, “Malibu.”

Progressive rock and metalcore converge in Loathing Light, the new album from ONI. The project is the brainchild of Jake Oni, the Canadian singer/songwriter. Taking the name of the traditional demon of Japanese folklore, ONI debuted in 2014. Since then, ONI has released the well-regarded album Ironshore (Metal Blade Records), and the EP Alone (Black Light Media), whose title track single garnered 1.3M spins on Spotify alone. Promoting those releases, ONI has toured with acts such as Gojira, Children of Bodom, and Rob Zombie. Loathing Light is the first studio album from ONI in seven years. 

Banks is a truly powerful performer, and for the Serpentina tour, I would expect nothing less. She and her artistry are effortlessly beautiful, and her energy draws the audience in. As much as anyone, I already knew how amazing Banks was before I went to this show, but I was truly blown away.

On August second, fans of all ages crowded into the Marquee in Tempe, AZ, to see Sleeping With Sirens on the CTRL + ALT + DEL Tour with support from Garzi, Point North, and Don Broco. After over a decade together, the band sure knows how to put on a show, and the fans keep on coming back. Many of us have been going to their shows since we were kids, and now as adults, we have made strong friendships with those that we have met in the crowd.

On Saturday, July 23rd, Broadside made a stop in Phoenix, AZ, at The Rebel Lounge on their first ever headlining Into The Raging Sea tour. Starting the night off was local musician Rio Wiley who got the crowd going as fans filled out the venue. Up next was Cherie Amour before another local artist, First And Forever. Both bands put on great sets that had the crowd going. Lastly, before Broadside took the stage was Young Culture, who solidified the mood for the night. The room was buzzing, and fans were bopping to the music in anticipation of Broadside taking the stage.

On Friday July 8th, the extreme metal and hardcore band The Machinist from Queens, NY headlined a killer show for their latest album release for All Is Not Well at a venue in Brooklyn, NY known as The Meadows.

It’s really incredible. We’ve been working on this record since we started as a band over three years ago. We had hoped to put it out last year, but you know, it became difficult to do that… so we’re totally thrilled that it’s out into the world and that people have been so receptive.

I arrived at the venue almost 40 minutes after the doors opened, and the line outside was still growing. The floor was already packed as people were eagerly awaiting at the barricade. Everyone wanted a spot, and they were running out. The opener, Kitty Cash, had an amazing set. Everyone in the audience was getting pumped; the anticipation was building. The crowd started chanting when the lights went out. “Thundercat! Thundercat! Thundercat!” These were some die-hard fans, and it was great to experience such a community for the night. Pure adoration was written all over the crowd’s faces. Thundercat's passion while playing bass on stage in a room full of people who love and admire him is something rare and beautiful that everyone needs to experience live. Check out the rest of his tour dates now through September, or you’ll miss out.