The biggest concerts playing Phoenix this fall
How Phoenix art pioneer Joe Willie Smith got his start
Phoenix artist Joe Willie Smith made his first musical instrument out of recycled junk decades ago. And he still knows how to play it. “That’s a horn from an old Edison player, part of a mandolin string board, an old spring from a Model-T or some kind of old car ... a piece of wood I found. I don’t know what that is,” says Smith, strolling through the gallery at Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum where his latest show, “Ko Mo — Not Knowing,” opens on Friday, Sept. 14.
Twenty One Pilots return to the Valley this fall in a season that also brings a co-headlining stadium tour by Jay-Z and Beyonce.
Then there’s Drake, who’s spent more weeks at No. 1 this year on Billboard’s Hot 100 than most multi-platinum artists will spend in a decade or even a lifetime. Here’s a look at those and some of the other biggest concerts.
9/13: Rascal Flatts
They’ve sent 17 songs to No. 1 on Billboard’s country chart, but the industry trade publication says, “The road has been where the band has done some of their most inspiring work over the years.” The biggest of those hits are “Bless the Broken Road,” “What Hurts the Most” and “My Wish,” all of which went platinum.
Details: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13. Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix. $35.75 and up. 602-254-7200, livenation.com.
9/13-14: Nine Inch Nails
Trent Reznor and this year’s assortment of Nails will launch their Cold and Black and Infinite North America Tour with two dates in Phoenix, at which they’ll be joined by the Jesus and Mary ❚ Chain and Tobacco.
Details: 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Sept. 13-14. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $55 and up. 800-745-3000, livenation.com.
9/15: Alice in Chains
Singer-guitarist Jerry Cantrell, drummer Sean Kinney, bassist Mike Inez and singer-guitarist William DuVall
are reportedly putting the finishing touches on the much-anticipated follow-up to 2013’s critically-acclaimed “The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here.” That album entered Billboard’s Top 200 chart at No. 2 and topped the rock charts.
Details: 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $45 and up. 800-745-3000, livenation.com.
9/16: 3 Doors Down and Collective Soul
Three Doors Down have worldwide album sales of 20 million, driven by such hits as “Kryptonite,” “When I’m Gone,” “Here Without You” and “It’s Not My Time.”
Since breaking through in 1993 with the rock anthem “Shine,” Collective Soul have sold more than 20 million records worldwide and continue to average more than one million Spotify streams per month.
Details: 8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $38 and up. 800-745-3000, livenation.com.
9/16: Miguel
The Ascension tour brings the Grammy-winning neo-soul sensation to the Valley in support of last year’s “War & Leisure,” which topped the R&B charts and spawned his biggest-selling single since “Adorn,” the Travis Scott-assisted “Sky Walker.” Released in 2012 as the opening track of “Kaleidoscope Dream,” “Adorn” earned the singer best R&B song at the Grammys.
Details: 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16. Mesa Amphitheatre, 263 N. Center St., Mesa. $35. 480-644-2560, luckymanonline.com and mesaamp.com.
9/19: Jay-Z and Beyonce
America’s favorite power couple haven’t toured together since the summer of 2014, when the first On the Run tour played for six weeks in sold-out stadiums supporting the 2013 self-titled Beyonce release as well as Jay-Z’s “Magna Carta Holy Grail.”
The Guardian called it “a mature, battle-worn, convincing love affair between two huge entertainers ... played out on a vast stage with a set the size of a small city block, with double-jointed dancers, live horn and string sections and mobile hydraulic platforms.”
Details: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19. State Farm Stadium, Loop 101 and Glendale Avenue, Glendale. $49.50 and up. livenation.com, ticketmaster.com.
9/21: Los Temerarios
It’s been 40 years since two brothers – Adolfo and Gustavo Angel – formed the group that would become Los Temerarios with their cousin Fernando Angel, who’s no longer involved in the project. All Music Guide describes their sounds as “bubblegum ranchera”and goes on to say it “was the romantic soundtrack of millions of Mexican and Mexican-American youths’ lives during the ‘90s.”
Details: 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $52.50 and up. 800-745-3000, livenation.com.
9/22: Ms. Lauryn Hill
This is a tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” an eight-times platinum debut on which the former Fugee’s reputation may forever rest — in part because it’s so good and in part because she’s yet to make another proper album. She did the “MTV Unplugged” thing in 2001 and has released a small handful of singles, including 2010’s “Repercussions” and 2013’s “Neurotic Society.”
Details: 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $52.50 and up. 800-7453000, livenation.com.
9/23: NEEDTOBREATHE
These GRAMMY-nominated rockers, led by singer-guitarists Bear Rinehart and his brother Bo, topped the rock and alternative album charts with their most recent albums, 2014’s “Rivers in the Wasteland” and 2016’s “Hard Love. Although they’ve sent a slew of heartfelt singles up the charts at Christian radio, they’d rather not be classified as such. As they explained to Rolling Stone, “Any label is limiting. That one in particular is especially limiting.”
Details: 7:01 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 23. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $25 and up. 800-7453000, livenation.com.
9/23: Firebird Music Festival
The inaugural Firebird Music Festival Jazz Night brings Jeffrey Osborne, Earl Klugh performing with Bob James, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Rick Braun, and Jazz Funk Soul featuring Jeff Lorber, Paul Jackson Jr. and Everette Harp to WestWorld of Scottsdale.
Osborne topped the R&B charts with 1988’s “She’s on the Left.” His other hits include “On The Wings Of Love,” “You Should Be Mine (The Woo Woo Song)” and “Love Power,” a duet with Dionne Warwick. Randy Jackson of “American Idol” hosts.
Details: 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 23. WestWorld of Scottsdale, 16601 N Pima Road. $45-$85. 480-312-6802, firebirdmusicfestival.com.
10/4: Keith Urban
The Australian-born country guitarist, “American Idol” judge and heartthrob is touring on “GRAFFITI U,” his third consecutive release to top the Billboard country chart.
Urban’s hits include two platinum country chart-toppers, both from his eighth album, “Fuse” — “We Were Us,” a duet with Miranda Lambert, and “Cop Car.”
Details: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4. Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix. $37.25 and up. 602-254-7200, livenation.com.
10/4: Bob Dylan
He’s the poet laureate of post-Chuck Berry rock and roll. And now he’s got the Nobel Prize for literature to show for it, capping a decades-long run as perhaps the most respected American songwriter in rock and roll. His latest album, “Triplicate,” is his third straight collection of standards. But the last time he played here, he offset those standards with plenty of classics from his own Great American Songbook, from “Highway 61 Revisited” to “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.”
Details: 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $56.50 and up. 800-745-3000, livenation.com.
10/5: Childish Gambino
Donald Glover topped the Billboard Hot 100 with “This is America,” a mainstream breakthrough driven by a chilling music video that took home three MTV Video Music Awards while offering a sobering reflection on gun violence and art in the U.S.A..
In addition to picking up two Golden Globe Awards and two Emmys as an actor and director for the TV show “Atlanta,” Glover won his first Grammy, as Childish Gambino, earlier this year for the classic R&B of “Redbone.”
Details: 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 5. Gila River Arena, 9400 W. Maryland Ave., Glendale. $30.75 and up. 623-772-3800, ticketmaster.com.
10/6: Cody Johnson
This Texas singer-songwriter hit No. 2 on Billboard’s country chart with his sixth album, “Gotta Be Me,” which spawned his first Top 40 entry on the country airplay charts, “With You I Am.” The album also finished 24th on a list of the 40 Best Country Albums of 2016 in Rolling Stone Country, which said, “This is a singer at home with both Texas dance halls and Sam Hunt-like recitation.”
Details: 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6. Mesa Amphitheatre, 263 N. Center St., Mesa. $27.50. 480-644-2560, luckymanonline.com and mesaamp.com.
10/8: Aubrey & the Three Migos Tour
Drake brings Migos to the Valley in what’s shaping up to be the year of Drake. He’s spent 27 weeks so far at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 – 11 with “God’s Plan,” eight with “Nice For What” and eight so far with current single “In My Feelings.”
Details: 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 8. Gila River Arena, 9400 W. Maryland Ave., Glendale. $123 and up. 623-772-3800, ticketmaster.com.
10/8: Foo Fighters
The first leg of the Concrete and Gold tour brought in raves. The Herald Whig in Champaign, Ill., said “The energy didn’t slow down at all during the nearthree-hour set” while the Argus Leader called the Foos’ first Sioux Falls concert in decades as “musical genius.”
Formed in 1994 by Dave Grohl of Nirvana following the death of Kurt, they’ve been among the most consistently successful rock acts of the past three decades, with Best Rock Album at the Grammys on four separate occasions.
Details: 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 8. Talking Stick Resort Arena, Second and Jefferson streets, Phoenix. $93 and up. 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com.
10/10: Sting and Shaggy
Sting at the Van Buren?! The former Police man is making the rounds of more intimate venues than his legacy requires on this co-headlining tour with Shaggy. The ticket price is more in keeping with his legend.
The unlikely pair are combining their bands to play songs from their islandflavored album “44/876” and to collaborate on each other’s hits, including “Every Breath You Take,” “Englishman In New York,” “Message In A Bottle” and “Mr. Boombastic.”
Details: 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 10 The Van Buren, 401 W. Van Buren St., Phoenix. $165-$300. 800-653-8000, livenation.com.
10/11: 5 Seconds of Summer
These Australian heartthrobs topped the U.S. charts with a self-titled album of spirited pop-punk songs in 2014, the same year they opened a One Direction tour. Their hits include “She Looks So Perfect,” “Don’t Stop,” “Amnesia” and “Good Girls.”
Details: 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 11. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $55 and up. 800-745-3000, livenation.com.
10/13: Jimmy Buffett
Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band are bringing the Son of a Son of a Sailor Tour to Phoenix on their first trip to the Valley since 2013. The tour takes its name from the title of one of Buffett’s most popular albums, which turned 40 earlier this year and includes the hit “Cheeseburger In Paradise,” a Parrothead favorite, as well as “Livingston Saturday Night” and “Cowboy in the Jungle.”
Details: 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13. Talking Stick Resort Arena, Second and Jefferson streets, Phoenix. $65 and up. 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com.
10/13: Intocable
These Texas norteño sensations are in their second year of touring in support of “Highway,” which spun off six hit singles while taking their total YouTube views over 1 billion and bringing in their latest Latin Grammy nomination. Led by vocalist Ricky Muñoz and percussionist René Martinez, they’ve won two Grammys and took home a lifetime achievement award in 2012 from the Billboard Latin Music Awards.
Details: 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $42.50 and up. 800-745-3000, livenation.com.
10/14: Hanson
Following a sold-out 25th anniversary tour and “Greatest Hits” collection, the Hanson brothers are headed to Phoenix on the String Theory symphonic tour, a collaboration with Oscar-winning arranger David Campbell. The set will span the length of their career, from
“MmmBop,” the chart-topping bubblegum triumph that started it all, and “Where’s the Love,” with full symphonic orchestration, to last year’s “I Was Born” and brand new material.
Details: 8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 14. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $49.50 and up. 800745-3000, livenation.com.
10/24: Casting Crowns
These contemporary-Christian rockers earned a Grammy for 2006’s “Lifesong,” picked up artist of the year in 2010 at the Dove Awards and won an American Music Award for best contemporary inspirational artist for “Casting Crowns: A Live Worship Experience.”
Details: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 24. Veterans Memorial Coliseum, 19th Avenue and McDowell Road, Phoenix. $40-$60, including fair admission. 602-2526771, azstatefair.com.
10/24: Troye Sivan
Is Sivan the “Perfect Pop Star for 2018?” That’s what Timedeclared him in reviewing “Bloom,” his latest album, which was hailed in that same article as “a major artistic achievement, evoking influences from the Velvet Underground to Simon & Garfunkel.”
The South African-born Australian singer-songwriter launched his career on YouTube, building enough of a buzz to earn a record deal and crack the U.S. album charts at No. 7 with “Blue Neighbourhood,” his debut album.
Details: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 24. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $42.50 and up. 800-745-3000, livenation.com.
10/26: Josh Groban and Idina Menzel
The Bridges Tour marks the singer’s return to the road for the first time since his sold-out Stages Tour in 2015 and 2016. He and his tourmate, Menzel, performed together in the London concert staging of “Chess.”
His second appearance on “Ally McBeal” played a key role in launching the singer’s career when he performed “To Where You Are,” his first of six chart-topping hits on the Adult Contemporary charts.
Details: 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26. Talking Stick Resort Arena, Second and Jefferson streets, Phoenix. $120 and up. 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com.
10/29: Christina Aguilera
The Grammy-winning superstar plays Phoenix on her first tour in a decade, in support of “Liberation,” her first album since 2012. The youngest artist on Rolling Stone’s list of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time, she topped the Bilboard Hot 100 five times – with “Genie in a Bottle,” “What a Girl Wants,” “Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You),” “Lady Marmalade” (with Lil Kim, Mya and Pink) and “Moves Like Jagger” (with Maroon 5).
Details: 8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 29. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $39.50 and up. 800745-3000, livenation.com.
11/1: Maxwell
The groundbreaking neosoul singer is promising to premiere new material alongside highlights of a catalog that placed him at the forefront of his genre on his 50 Intimate Nights Live Tour. After breaking through in 1996 with “Ascension (Don’t Ever Wonder)” from the aptly titled “Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite,” he topped the R&B charts with two singles, “Fortunate” and “Pretty Wings.”
Details: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $50.50 and up. 800-745-3000, livenation.com.
11/3: Cole Swindell & Dustin Lynch
Swindell and Lynch are playing Phoenix on the Reason To Drink … Another Tour, bringing Lauren Alaina. Swindell topped the country charts with “Chillin’ It,” his debut single, in 2013, returning to the top with “You Should Be Here” in 2015. Lynch has topped the country airplay charts with five songs – “Where It’s At (Yep, Yep),” “Hell of a Night,” Mind Reader,” “Seein’ Red” and “Small Town Boy.”
Details: 7:15 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $43.75 and up. 800-745-3000, livenation.com.
11/9: Twenty One Pilots
The Bandito Tour brings the duo back to Talking Sticking Resort Arena – this time in support of “Trench,” the much-anticipated followup to to a Grammy-winning, triple-platinum, chart-topping breakthrough called “Blurryface.”
The fastest-rising group in rock, their hits include “Car Radio,” “Tear in My Heart,” “Stressed Out,” “Ride” and “Heathens.” But to truly understand how they became so popular so quickly, you would have to see them live.
Details: 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9. Talking Stick Resort Arena, Second and Jefferson streets, Phoenix. $325 and up. 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com.
11/10: GHOST
Rolling Stone says they’re “packing arenas because they’ve found the middle of the Venn diagram between metal toughness, arty self-indulgence and pop musicality” while Pitchfork notes that “the performance is nothing short of showstopping.”
The Grammy-winning Swedish rockers return to Comerica Theatre in support of “Prequelle,” their fastest-selling, highest-charting album yet.
Details: 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $39.50 and up. 800745-3000, livenation.com.
11/27: Elvis Costello & the Imposters
The 20-date Look Now And Then...It’s Elvis Costello & The Imposters Tour is in support of “Look Now,” the legendary rocker’s first new studio release since 2013’s Roots collaboration “Wise Up Ghost.”
Inducted in 2003 to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with his earlier group the Attractions, Costello emerged as the most consistently inspired songsmith of the New Wave era on such classic albums as “My Aim is True,” “This Year’s Model” and “Get Happy!”
Details: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 27. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $49.50 and up. 800-745-3000, livenation.com.
11/28: Fleetwood Mac
This tour features yet another variation on the Mac, with four-fifths of the “Rumours” crew (Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks). In other words, you’ll get no Lindsey Buckingham, whose seat is being filled by Mike Campbell of Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers and Neil Finn of Split Enz and Crowded House.
Details: 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 28. Talking Stick Resort Arena, Second and Jefferson streets, Phoenix. $94.75 and up. 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com.
11/29: Justin Timberlake
This is a second stop at Talking Stick Resort Arena for Timberlake’s Man in the Woods Tour. And don’t let the theme of the tour, with its campfire and trees, confuse the issue. For all its rustic trappings, the Man of the Woods Tour felt more like a night at the club in downtown Phoenix than a trip to Payson.
Details: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 29. Talking Stick Resort Arena, Second and Jefferson streets, Phoenix. $49.50 and up. 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com.