It had been a long time since I had been at the Crescent Ballroom, which lays smack dab in the middle of the college town in Phoenix. Despite the construction littering the streets of downtown, people were already lined up as early as 2 hours before they opened the doors. Some adorned Covet shirts giddy with excitement to see the band again, some were just there for a good time.

Imagine if, by clicking your Vans together three times, you could transport back in time to a stripped-down, acoustic set at Warped Tour - now that would be a concert experience worth traveling for!

PHXLIGHTS shook the earth the first weekend of April, transporting EDM fans throughout the valley to another world as they entered the Phoenix Raceway track and were immersed in the otherworldly surroundings.

On April 7th the bands Shinedown, Three Days Grace and From Ashes To New took a stop at The Total Mortgage Arena in CT on Shinedowns headlining tour “The Revolutions Live Tour”

Before I get into any details about this concert, this was my first metal concert I have ever been to. My dad took me to see Motionless In White, Ice Nine Kills, and Black Veil Brides for the first time April 27th 2022 in Norfolk Va for a late birthday gift. The second time I went was September 7th 2022 at Jacobs Pavilion in Cleveland Ohio.

After having to postpone a run of Northeastern tour dates in 2022 due to a bad case of COVID-19 hitting the band, Canada’s The Rural Alberta Advantage returned to New York City’s Bowery Ballroom on March 23rd, 2023. A crisp night on the Lower East Side, fans were eager to gather and dance the night away.

On March 22, Metal bands Until I Wake, Dark Divine and Catch Your Breath hit up The Webster Theater in CT ran by Capulet Entertainment for one of the stops on the “A Tour Inside My”. Each band put on a killer performance leaving me speechless by the end of the night.

On March 18th the Pittsburgh based upcoming alternative rock band, No Sleep For Zombies, played a show at The Funhouse at Mr. Smalls. They played several songs off of their album Die Alone, which came out January 1st, 2023, including “Suddenly In Time”, “Babe”, and “In The Wind”. During their set they announced that they are currently working on a new EP, which will be their second full length release since the start of the band in 2022.

On Wednesday March 8th, deathcore heavy hitters Fit For An Autopsy kicked off their first night of tour in their hometown and played to a sold out crowd in NYC at the Brooklyn Monarch. The Acacia Strain, Full of Hell, and Primitive Man opened up the show allowing the fans to lose their minds and nearly destroy the room before the boys can close out the night. The venue wasn’t prepared for this amount of madness from the crowd as fans rushed the stage to get their chance to jump off meanwhile many fans had to protect themselves as bodies came from every direction. It was one helluva a night!

On February 12th metalcore bands Deadlands, Resistor, Farsight and Null started off the new year of 2023 strong by playing a show at 317 MainStreet on Long Island New York. For most of the bands playing this was their biggest venue performance yet.

I guess it’s my turn for one of my Tales From The Pit, for this round I’m going with The Acacia Strain. Now imagine, the room is raging in the pit and going harder than ever because let’s face it, its a hardcore metal show. CHAOS! I was there to photograph Kublai Khan for a previous magazine Give Me a Try back on November 14th, 2019.

My favorite (and most unexpected) moment from the pit came at a My Chemical Romance concert at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. This show had built up anticipation since I purchased the pre-pandemic concert tickets in 2019.

Many fans rung in the New Year while attending Decadence Arizona: Ancient Future 2022. The two-day EDM festival at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona was not an event to miss for Arizonian EDM fans. Many even traveled from out of state to attend the event showcasing artists such as Deathpact, Subtronics, Zeds Dead, and Porter Robinson who closed out the event.

Local extreme metal hardcore NY/NJ based band Court Order are back but not without a silent announcement of the departure with their previous vocalist JJ along with their recent release of their latest single Ocean Dream featuring the previous vocalist JJ.

Starting on Sunday December 11th until Tuesday December 13th, The Pretty Reckless played 3 back-to-back sold out shows in their hometown NYC at the Bowery Ballroom. This long awaited tour for their last album Death By Rock and Roll had been postponed since 2019 due to the global Covid-19 Pandemic. Even though it wasn’t the highly anticipated album release show for that year, this tour was well worth the wait.

When it rains, it pours — even in Phoenix, Arizona, where the inaugural Zona Music Festival welcomed thousands of fans who sloshed through the mud to see the indie-heavy lineup of artists on December 3rd and 4th. 

Of course, Steve Lacy would be the one to sell out all three levels of the iconic House Of Blues on the Las Vegas Strip.

At MAX’s first headlining Vegas show, the energy was unmatched.

On Monday, October 17th, 2022, Sleeping With Sirens played a sold-out show in Mesa, AZ, at The Nile Theatre with support from True North. The band is currently on tour to promote the release of their eighth album after thirteen years together, COMPLETE COLLAPSE. They are playing a string of intimate shows throughout the United States, and fans are all pumped to be up close and personal in these smaller venues.