VIVA PHX, a collaboration between Live Nation, Best Life Presents and Crescent Concerts, returns to Downtown on October 19. For the uninitiated, the event started in 2014 mainly due to the efforts of Stateside Presents’ Charlie Levy. It took a long pause in 2017 but is reemerging with 70 local and national underground bands performing at multiple streets, bars and concert venues (including Crescent Ballroom and Arizona Financial Theatre). The full schedule will be available on vivaphx.com, but to help you make the most of the day, here are four must-see bands for your Viva PHX foot tour.
The Walters
The former Chicagoans broke up after performing at Lollapalooza in 2017. Then, their light and breezy indie-pop single from 2014, “I Love You So,” went viral on TikTok three years ago. The revived group signed with Warner Records soon after, and is now working on a new album in Los Angeles.
Mavi
Mavi was a neuroscience major at Howard University before his stunning output caught the attention of his hero, Odd Future’s Earl Sweatshirt. The duo has since collaborated, and Mavi’s latest full-length, Laughing so Hard it Hurts, was awarded Best New Music by Pitchfork when it was released in 2022.
Show Me the Body
There was a brief moment when post-hardcore bands like My Chemical Romance were part of the mainstream. Show Me the Body was too busy trying to change the game to notice, mixing hip-hop and electronic effects into its experimental sound.
Glixen
One of the buzziest groups to emerge from Phoenix in years, the four-piece shoegaze band has been opening for indie darlings Interpol and DIIV. But with a new EP arriving soon, are the foursome ready to be headliners? Check them out to judge for yourself.
