Author Archives: Jacob Leffel

PHOENIX, AZ | Cage The Elephant is back on the road with support from Young The Giant, touring coast to coast this summer. Starting off in Salt Lake City, the Neon Pill tour made its way down to Phoenix, Arizona on the 4th of July weekend. Bringing some fireworks of their own, the show is brought to life by pyrotechnics and lasers.

Playing alongside legends in their own right, Young the Giant is just about the best opening bang you can bring with you. It takes a special band to come through Phoenix in the 110 degree July weather, let alone playing an outdoor amphitheater. Nevertheless, YTG absolutely rocked out on stage to a sold out 20,000 person crowd at the Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre.

Young the Giant warmed up the crowd before CTE with some throwbacks of their own. Celebrating the 10 year anniversary of their 2014 album Mind Over Matter, YTG is reviving their old tunes to a newer crowd. They have come through the Phoenix Valley area three times in the last year. Once on their headlining 2023 summer tour, a festival in early 2024, and now opening for CTE’s 2024 Neon Pill tour. I have been lucky enough to see them all three times and they bring something new to every show.

It’s incredibly impressive how every concert feels like a completely different performance. Their setlist covers their entire six album discography highlighting how their alternative rock sound has changed throughout the years. Their setlist creates a perfect compliment to the alternative rock sound Cage has as well. Fans should not take for granted the fact they get to see a headlining caliber band open for Cage the Elephant.

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PHOENIX, AZ | The Tedeschi Trucks Band stopped by Arizona Financial Theatre in downtown Phoenix on June 11th traveling on their Deuces Wild tour. The trek started in the Pacific Northwest and made its way to the desert.

Formed in 2010, the Tedeschi Trucks band is a merger of love and rock ‘n’ roll. After starting his own band at 15, Derek Trucks joined The Allman Brothers Band at 20 years old while continuing his solo venture. Trucks eventually joined forces with his wife Susan to create what we know today. Susan Tedeschi in her own respect is a multiple Grammy winner and started releasing music as the Susan Tedeschi Band in 1995. She met Dereck Trucks opening for The Allman Brothers on a 1999 summer tour, and the rest is history.

The show was opened by folk singer Joe Purdy. Part comedian, the singer performs songs about traveling through life and its ups and downs. Classic folk guitar with harmonica, Joe is a one man band. For just one person, he kept the theater engaged the entire time and threw in a lot of laughs. I actually can’t stress enough how funny this guy is, with absolutely no shortage of musical talent as well. One of the more entertaining opening acts I have seen, you would have thought Purdy was in a room with his best friends, simply cracking jokes and strumming his guitar.

Tedeschi Trucks Band came onto the stage swinging. You’ll find some bands that ease into their sets, but with two firepowers up front in Derek and Susan, this band comes out strong. The two have been touring as long as I have been alive, and it’s extremely evident on stage. Drawing on their long history of blues and rock ‘n’ roll, the joint-venture absolutely jams. Featuring a 10-piece band behind them, there is no shortage of energy from the group.

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PHOENIX, AZ | Mother Mother and Cavetown kicked off their joint coast to coast tour in Arizona on Friday in downtown Phoenix. The Arizona Financial Theatre was packed full of dedicated fans of both bands. The joint tour offers the unique ability to see two full concerts in one night with a supporting band kicking things off as well. The two band’s followings are some of the most respectful fans I have interacted with and consistently looked out for each other as the night went on. Evident by the merch line that went up two flights of stairs, the tour deserves the larger venues they’re sharing as the trek travels on. Both bands are fans of each other, and their fans line up perfectly to make something like this happen.

The night was kicked off by Meet Me @ The Altar. The pop-punk trio has been releasing music since 2018, and originally started writing virtually with all the members in different states. The group clearly has years of performing experience and is a great choice to warm up a crowd. The trio mixes just about everything under the rock umbrella—lead guitar lines, pop harmonies, and a punk attitude and the band makes sure they do everything to the max. They have a bright future and will be headlining shows soon.

First up on the joint-tour in Phoenix was Mother Mother. The Canadian natives have been releasing music since 2007, but really hit it off with their 2022 album Inside. Renowned as Canada’s biggest alt-rock export, the group is touring on their 2024 album Grief Chapter. Influenced by the larger stages the band has played, this night the high energy of those rooms made it into their music. Notably influenced by the Pixies, they also reminded me of Of Monsters and Men, the mid 2010s alternative/indie band. Mother Mother has a loyal, dedicated fan base. Folks showed up early, and certainly came through the merch line.

What is special about Mother Mother and this tour in general is how welcoming it is. Opening the doors to everyone under the sun, the energy is felt throughout the entire 5,000 person theater. It’s hard to believe we got to experience Mother Mother and then have an entire concert setlist to look forward to afterward. It is trivial to refer to Mother Mother as an opening band, as they could headline most theaters in the country, but on Friday we got to experience them as such. Mother Mother is coming off a European tour with a two month break, and they are back like they’ve never left the stage.

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PHOENIX, AZ | The Teskey Brothers made the Arizona stop on their North American tour Tuesday night at The Van Buren in downtown Phoenix. The Australian natives are winding their way through North America playing coast to coast. The Winding Way Tour started in April and made their 11th stop of 22 playing to a sold out crowd of roughly 2,000.

Releasing their first album in 2018, they bring a soul-filled, old school feel. Opening with a nod to Otis Redding’s “Try a Little Tenderness,” the crowd was instantly thrown back to the ’60s. Josh Teskey, the lead vocalist for the Brothers, is a one of a kind talent and sings with such soul that I have never heard before. The “Blues” brothers, Josh and Sam, delivered a 15 song setlist filled with blues and roots music inspired by Ray Charles and many others.

The show opened with a 45 minute set from Pearl Charles. She and her band kicked off the old school vibe with a Stevie Nicks/Fleetwood Mac inspired set. Regarded as ’60s rock blended with 1970s cosmic country, Pearl Charles certainly brings the feel to the stage. She and her crew sport outfits directly out of that decade and almost move exactly like they were born then. Presenting a perfect warmup for what the Teskey brothers delivered afterward, there is a lot to like about Pearl and her band.

I could listen to Josh Teskey sing by himself for hours if that was possible. Inspired by the likes of Stevie Wonder, and Bill Withers, The Teskey brothers create that heartwarming soul-filled ’60s sound. Blending soul, jazz, blues, and even a little gospel, The Teskey Brothers certainly pull at the heart strings. They released a 5 song EP in January of 2023 and this tour features 4 of the 5 tracks, including the majority of their biggest hits.

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PHOENIX, AZ | LANY and the “Beautiful Blur Tour” made their 24th stop at the Arizona Financial Theatre in downtown Phoenix. This is a large venue tour for LANY, taking to the 5,000 capacity theatre in Arizona.

While formed in Los Angeles, the name for the band is an acronym for Los Angeles New York—the inspiration for the name an idea that covers the entire country from LA to NY. The three-piece band formed in 2014 when the members met in Nashville. Merging from separate solo projects, LANY was formed amongst front man Paul Klein, guitarist Les Priest, and Jake Goss on the drum kit. The indie-pop band began releasing music on Soundcloud and immediately gained traction. They supported several large bands touring in 2015, and were off to the races.

The show was opened by a newer musical group The Junior Varsity. Initially releasing music in 2021, TJV has gained attention through their first two EPs, “Junior Varsity” in 2021 and “Side B” in 2022. Mixing pop, rap, hip-hop, and punk, the band pulls from a lot of different sounds. With the ability to draw from so many different genres, the band delivers a very unique and diverse performance—they’re here to prove something and totally bring the energy to kick off the show.

Between the break, a big white sheet went up fully covering the stage. Arizona’s Financial Theatre is quite large, so it’s rare to see the entire stage covered from top to bottom with just a sheet. Intro music brought attention to the stage, and using a spotlight, displayed the silhouette of every member of LANY as they launched into “You!” from their 2021 album Mama’s Boy.

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TEMPE, AZ | The inaugural Extra Innings Festival hit Tempe Beach Park for day two to celebrate the combination of music and the start of MLB spring training in Scottsdale, Arizona. The sister fest to the Innings Festival, the combination of events gave tourists a reason to extend their stays in Arizona. While Innings Festival has been around since 2018, the success has expanded into an extra celebration of warm weather activities into a second weekend.

Although following the same stage alignment, Extra Innings Festival took on a completely unique look from the first weekend. While seemingly a country music festival, the event offered everything there is under the country music umbrella. Featuring acts in folk, blue-grass, outlaw country, and more, the specific talents created a unique lineup to remember.

2:00 PM: We started our coverage on one of the dedicated music stages, Right Field. 2:00 PM featured Josiah and the Bonnevilles—albeit no Bonnevilles this time—just Josiah. The Tennessee native set the bar high for the day delivering an extremely intimate, raw set. One of the more humble artists I have seen, Josiah knows what it means to work for his music, explaining failed record deals and having not lost hope. Josiah is an incredibly talented artist and as he grows on social media, I believe he will have a big year.

2:50 PM: The crowd made their way back through the food and vendor entertainment to the Home Plate stage near the main entrance featuring Richy Mitch & The Coal Miners. Another band who grew on social media in the past year, the group is young and promising. They Seattle natives are just entering the scene for what could be a huge stage for them, literally and figuratively.

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TEMPE, AZ | The inaugural Extra Innings Festival hit Tempe Beach Park as the second weekend in the Innings Festival sequence. Founded in 2018, Innings Festival has kicked off the start of spring training in Scottsdale, Arizona by celebrating the love of music and baseball. This year, the celebration expanded into a second weekend. The valley was gifted with an additional two days for an entirely new lineup and more baseball activities.

The layout for the second weekend followed the same as Innings Festival with two stages dedicated to music and a separate stage for the baseball crossover. Following the same arrangement, the lineup was molded in a different way than the first weekend. Extra Innings, while seemingly a country music festival, offered everything there is under the country music umbrella. Featuring acts in folk, bluegrass, outlaw country, and more, the specific talents created a unique lineup to remember.

4:00 PM: We kicked off our Friday coverage with the mesmerizing talent of Shane Smith & the Saints. Immediately starting off their set with hard hitting, perfectly blended harmonies, the set pulls you right in. Playing at Right Field on the opposite side of Home Plate, Shane’s raspy, big voice could be heard from the entire festival grounds. The group released their first album in 2013, and most recently in 2024. They are certainly a band to tune into as the year continues.

5:00 PM: Alternating music stages, we headed back through the food and vendor entertainment to Home Plate for Elle King. Elle King has been releasing music since 2013, and made a name for herself in 2015. While the sun was high in the air, by 5:00 PM the majority of festival-goers were on the premises. Whether you had been there from the start or just arriving, Elle King’s performance was memorable, kicking off her first show of 2024.

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TEMPE, AZ | Day two of the MLB themed Innings Festival kicked off on Saturday, February 24th. Celebrating the start of spring training in Arizona, Tempe Beach Park turned into the grounds for Innings Festival. An experience featuring former baseball players, legendary bands, and more, the festival is enough to bring people in from out of state.

The two-day musical lineup featured bands from the ’80s to bands just getting their start post-pandemic. Hosted on two stages, the musical acts alternated every hour at Home Plate near the festival’s main entrance, and Right Stage further into the festival grounds, past the food and vendor entertainment. Left Stage was where the baseball experiences were held, including current baseball media, batting cages, and a speed pitch. While Innings Festival has a rich history of sporting a strong lineup, I personally believe this is the most special roster they’ve had since 2018.

4:00 PM: I kicked off coverage for day two at Right Field with Cautious Clay. The multitalented artist does just about everything possible on stage, including saxophone, flute, guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums—Clay could be a one-man band. Playing alongside his bandmates, frontman Clay mixes R&B with soul and upbeat dance music. This was the group’s first show of 2024, and they started on a high note at Innings Festival. Clay’s upbeat but relaxed sound was a great beginning to the day.

5:00 PM: I head over to Home Plate for Young The Giant. The band has a very unique sound, mixing electronic, alternative rock with subtle Bollywood influences. The band is best known for their tune “Mind Over Matter” which has over 225 million streams on Spotify, but the band is much more than just that track. They have songs you can dance to, songs you can relax to, and everything in between. With the sun shining on day two, seeing YTG knowing there were still 4 bands left on the lineup was an incredible feeling.

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TEMPE, AZ | Innings Festival took to Tempe Beach Park for the 7th year in a row. Founded in 2018, the festival combines the first weekend of MLB Spring Training with music, creating one of the more unique festival experiences. While the festival has had some legendary headliners in the past, this year makes a strong case for the best lineup in Innings Festival history.

Spanning genres across the board, the bill offered something for everyone and covered a wide range of decades as well. From artists who released their first album in 1984 to 2022, the program was one of the most diverse I have seen. The festival features five main attractions, two music stages, a baseball themed stage, speed pitch, and batting cages. The baseball stage, Left Field, was hosted by Off the Mound, a podcast presented by former baseball star Ryan Dempster. Ryan was joined by a mix of current and veteran players who fans could interact with. There were two music stages—Home Plate and Right Field—spread out with numerous vendors and stands for whatever the patrons needed. Innings Festival is an event folks traveled far and wide for, enticed by good weather and even better company.

2:00 PM: I kicked off Friday’s coverage with The Beaches at Right Field. The Beaches are a Canadian rock band formed in 2013. The group set the bar high for the rest of the day early in their set. The all female band perfectly balances attitude with their pop alternative-indie tunes. The band clearly enjoys what they’re doing, and early festival goers were treated to The Beaches and a sunny 77 degree Arizona day. I am quite confident everyone who experienced that set went home and searched The Beaches if they hadn’t heard of them yet. If they did, they would see that the ladies have been going viral on Tik Tok for a bit now, and I would imagine they will have a lot more viral moments in their future.

2:50 PM: Bully took to Home Plate while the sun was high on the crowd. Bully is the solo project of songwriter and guitarist Alicia Bognanno. Alicia plays with a band mixing hip-hop and rap with grunge influenced tones. Bully is very upbeat, creating momentum for the festival as the day went on. Alicia has been releasing music since 2013, and most recently released an album Lucky for You in 2023. Bully’s sound is a throwback to the ’90s, mixed with a more modern, alternative sound. With the pairing, the group has a wide range of fans.

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PHOENIX, AZ | Colter Wall and the Little Songs Tour made its fifth stop at the Arizona Financial Theatre in downtown Phoenix. Playing alongside was special guest Vincent Neil Emerson; the night was a country fan’s dream.

Taking a break from his ranch duties in Canada, Wall carved some time out for his recent album Little Songs and the tour. The Saskatchewan native has already played eleven shows in 2024, and is scheduled to play five more on the current tour.

The show was opened by Texas native Vincent Neil Emerson. With support from the Red Horse Band, the group rocked out with a classic, southern rock sound that resonated with the southwest Phoenix crowd. Vincent has been releasing music since 2019, and his most recent album is The Golden Crystal Kingdom. Vincent considers himself a songwriter first, and he’s had a lot of success with his music in the few years he has released songs since the pandemic.

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TEMPE, AZ | Portugal. The Man brought their “Winter of Summer of Luv” tour to Tempe playing alongside Snacktime. Sunday, February 4th, the band took to the Marquee Theatre stage to share the breadth of their discography.

The Alaskan natives have been playing music together since 2004, originally founded by John Gourley, Joe Simon, Dewey Halpaus, Nick Simon, and Zach Carothers. It’s hard to sum up Portgual’s sound in just a few words, but they are described by many as alternative rock. Their name comes from the idea of something larger than life, and they bring that message to each show. They begin every show by bringing out members of indigenous community to share a song and express the importance of giving back to the earth. February is rare disease month, and this show was played in support of members John Gourley and Zoe Manville’s daughter Frances.

The show was kicked off by SNACKTIME, the Philadelphia based band. Pulling from a multitude of genres, SNACKTIME redefines brass and woodwind instruments. The seven-piece group brings the energy, performing tunes with soul, jazz, and R&B influences. SNACKTIME started playing together during the pandemic and combined their love of music and food playing in their local Rittenhouse Square Park. Quickly gathering a large crowd in the public spot, the band became a glimmer of hope in a dark time to the locals. They have quickly gained traction since then and have a big year in store for 2024.

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SCOTTSDALE, AZ | Day two of the inaugural Dreamy Draw Festival kicked off at 1:00 PM on Saturday November 4th. The two day Americana festival took place at the newly renovated Scottsdale Civic Center. With a lineup full of new and veteran artists, the entire bill was something special. From bands touring for decades, to artists who found their fame within the last year, the festival promotes a very unique mix of genres including rock & roll, country, Americana, folk, and blue-grass to name a few. 

1:00 PM: Taylor Glasheen and her pedal steel player took to the Stampede Stage. Taylor released her first album in 2022, and notably since the pandemic has dove into music. Taylor has a beautiful voice and an old school folk sound that everyone can connect with. Taylor is a local artist, who started finding her sound in venues across the Phoenix area.

2:00 PM: American Hustler is a band of true musicians. Their lead guitar player absolutely shreds his solos, and the entire band plays with enough sound to fill a stadium. They’re a band with a bright future. Speaking of bright futures, Corey Harper is quite the talent as well. Similar to many artists on this bill, Corey found his start during the pandemic releasing his first album in 2020. The Saint Louis native has released an album in each of the last three years and most recently a single on October 13th of this year. The festival day was off to an incredible start.

3:00 PM: Steely Dead is a musical combination of the Grateful Dead and Steely Dan. A very interesting combo, the band has a ton of fun on stage and is definitely a music experience.

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SCOTTSDALE, AZ | The inaugural Dreamy Draw Music Festival kicked off on Friday in Scottsdale, Arizona. The highly anticipated festival took to the newly renovated Scottsdale Civic Center, and utilized three stages spread out with food and vendor stands. The Civic Center Amphitheater on the east side of the grounds acted as the headline stage, the Bronco Stage. The smaller stage in the center portion acted as the alternate stand alone stage, the Stampede Stage, and opposite the Stampede Stage was the Poncho Stage, utilizing the open concrete slab for performances. Arizona’s newest music festival promotes a focus on music of the American Southwest. Featuring a very unique mix of genres including rock & roll, country, Americana, folk, and blue-grass to name a few, the lineup was something special.

1:00 PM: The festival kicked off with The Senators on the Stampede Stage. A local Phoenix band, The Senators, brought out a calm folk vibe for everyone to enjoy as the day began.

2:00 PM: The lineup was set to alternate stages, so the band that played Stampede was the only band performing, and when they wrapped up, a band would begin at both the Bronco Stage, and the Poncho Stage. At 2PM, The Kruse Brothers hit Bronco Stage, and Matt Fariss played the Poncho Stage. The local brothers are new to the scene and have not released music yet, but they have a powerful sound and an incredible stage presence that will take them far, along with their incredible family harmonies.

3:00 PM: Texas natives, Grady Spencer and The Work played the Stampede Stage, bringing a mix of their decade long discography. The ever so talented band sounds just the way they do on their recordings. With tons of energy, they played for a crowd just warming up to the festival.

4:30 PM: Logan Crosby played the Poncho stage bringing his country rock sound to the festival. Another artist that is newer to the scene, he has been touring with Megan Moroney, opening on her “Lucky Tour.” Logan has a lot to look forward to in the industry, and will have a lot of opportunities ahead of him.

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I have seen the Van Buren in Phoenix sold out, and then I went to a Teddy Swims concert. Plenty of folks were in the building, but I am pretty sure you could have heard Teddy Swims four blocks away. The pure talent is remarkable, let alone the spirit he performs with. The “I’ve Tried Everything but Therapy” tour made its 14th stop in Phoenix with Teddy playing alongside Zinadelphia.

Despite the name of the tour, there were only two songs performed from I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy. From that album he played “Lose Control,” his number one song on Spotify, and “Goodbye’s Been Good to You.” Instead he uses his opportunity on the bigger stages to play from his entire discography.

He came out to “911,” a feature from his 2022 EP “Tough Love.” He followed “911” up by an unbelievable cover of “Don’t Stop Believing”—a tribute to Journey. Swims then got his groove on and performed “Til I Change Your Mind,” a soulful track from the 2021 EP “Unlearning.” A few songs later, he poured his heart out into—my personal favorite—”Devil in a Dress,” a feature from the 2022 EP “Sleep is Exhausting.”

If you’re sensing any themes from Teddy’s song names or albums, you can piece together that he has had some low points. He uses his platform to discuss real topics such as “you should love everyone despite the color of their skin,” and before performing “Evergreen” telling the audience it’s a tune about learning that you deserve to be loved.

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PHOENIX, AZ | Shinedown and the Revolutions tour stopped at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre alongside Papa Roach for a sold out crowd in Phoenix, Arizona. The group brought their unique mix of rock, grunge, and pop-metal to the 23rd stop on this 2023 fall tour.

The Florida natives began their set with “Diamond Eyes,” a tune from their 2008 album The Sound of Madness. Accompanied by pyrotechnics, the band brought the heat literally and figuratively. The band followed the opener with “Dead Don’t Die” and “I’ll Follow You.

Coming onto the scene in 2001, the band has shown they have a healthier endurance than just about anyone still touring and releasing music into the early 2020s. Playing songs from their entire career, a band like this is what brings generations together. One could possibly surmise the average age of the audience, but you can be sure everyone was on their feet the entire time.

The revolutions tour and the 17 song setlist brings everyone on a two decade journey. The band plays as if it’s their last show, and plays for their only boss—all while fire and lights go wild. The show is an absolute blast from start to finish.

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