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The music of Arizona began withIndigenous music of North America made byIndigenous peoples of Arizona. In the 20th century,Mexicanimmigrants popularizedBanda,corridos,mariachi andconjunto. Other major influences come from styles popular throughout the rest of theUnited States.
Flagstaff has a community (non-professional) orchestra, the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra. The FSO includes both townspeople and faculty and students fromNorthern Arizona University. TheOrpheum Theater is the largest performing venue in northern Arizona.[citation needed] The city hosts twomusic festivals, the Flagstaff Folk Festival and the Flagstaff Music Festival.
Native American flautistR. Carlos Nakai, ofNavajo/Ute origin, was born in Flagstaff.
Navajopunk bandBlackfire formed in Flagstaff.
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Phoenix has been called a "rock mecca" by Jim Adkins of the Phoenix rock bandJimmy Eat World.[1]Tempe (home ofArizona State University) andMesa also coexist with Phoenix as part of the Arizona musical scene. Other Phoenix bands include theMeat Puppets,American Standards,Gin Blossoms (lead guitaristDoug Hopkins died in '93 in Tempe),Phunk Junkeez,Chronic Future,Dead Hot Workshop,The Jetzons, andRoger Clyne and the Peacemakers.
In the 1960s, rock and R&B bands inspired byBritish Invasion groups likeThe Beatles appeared in Phoenix. Musicians to emerge from this era includeAlice Cooper, andBill Spooner ofThe Tubes. The groupPages was formed by Phoenix residentsRichard Page andSteve George, who later formed the nucleus of the Phoenix pop-rock groupMr. Mister (who had 2 #1 Hot 100 hits, including "Broken Wings" in 1985).
Dolan Ellis has lived in Phoenix most of his adult life. He moved to LA in the early 1960s, where he was an original member of the Grammy-winning folk groupThe New Christy Minstrels. Dolan returned to Phoenix while the group was still at its peak. In February 1966, Governor Sam Goddard appointed Dolan as Arizona's Official State Balladeer, which was renewed under ten consecutive governors. He was selected as the first Arizona Culture Keeper, and SenatorJohn McCain read his accomplishments into the U.S.Congressional Record. Dolan spent a few years away from Phoenix from about 1993 through 2003, to found the Arizona Folklore Preserve in Ramsey Canyon. He still commutes to the AFP, where he continues to serve as Artist in Residence, about twice a month.
In the early 1980s, Phoenixhardcore punk bands includedThe Feederz,JFA (Jodie Foster's Army) andMeat Puppets, the latter of which hadcountry influences and became a major influence ongrunge. Other rock bands of the time includedFlotsam and Jetsam,Sun City Girls,Sacred Reich,Caterwaul, and Mighty Sphincter.
During the 1990s,Chester Bennington (d.2017), lead singer forLinkin Park, spent several years in Phoenix as the lead singer for thepost-grunge bandGrey Daze. Bennington also collaborated with Phoenix musicianDJ Z-Trip. This period also saw the formation and rise ofpop punk/emo bandJimmy Eat World. Bob Stubbs, formerly ofSocial Distortion, played drums in local bands. In the mid 1990s independent punk rock record labels, Bad Stain Records and Dirty Records both formed, signing various local punk bands at the time. Dirty Records released albums from the punk bands Dirty Laundry, Mandingo, The Twits, and Adam's Alcoholic's. Bad Stain Records released albums from Subject Mad, D-I-X, Corrupt Citizen, and Dirty Laundry, and released a popular series of compilation CD's featuring various local punk and ska bands, as well as popular national bands includingLess Than Jake,At The Drive In,Buckwild,The Weakerthans,Link 80,Yellowcard, and more![2][3]
The late 1990s and early 2000s saw an emerging rock scene in Phoenix and the surrounding areas.Indie rock bands includedThe Stiletto Formal, Gloritone,Fine China,Dear and the Headlights,Peachcake, andThe Format. Punk influenced artists included Where Eagles Dare,Authority Zero, Bad Stain Recording artists Against The Majority (ATM) and Numbers On Napkins, andHit and Run Jimmy,Haunted Cologne, andAndrew Jackson Jihad.Psychostick, a comedy style rock band, was formed in Tempe. In 1998 a band from Phoenix toured the midwest calledThee illuminatix, catching the attention of Jello Biafra.
There was also apost-hardcore scene including bands likeScary Kids Scaring Kids,Blessthefall,Eyes Set To Kill,The Word Alive,Greeley Estates, andAmerican Standards.[4] The middle years of the decade was marked by the transition fromhardcore punk intodeath metal with bands such as The Irish Front,Knights of the Abyss andJob for a Cowboy.
SingerCeCe Peniston grew up in Phoenix and began her career in 1991.
Pop Rock bandThe Summer Set is based out of Scottsdale.
Country music starDierks Bentley is from Phoenix andMichelle Branch is from Sedona. Country starMarty Robbins had a #1 Billboard Hot 100 hit with "El Paso" in 1959.
Arizona residents who have had varying success on theAmerican Idol show includeJordin Sparks who won thesixth season. She was later selected to sing theNational Anthem atSuper Bowl XLII, which happened to take place in her hometown ofGlendale, Arizona. On theseventh season ofAmerican Idol, Arizona had two contestants make it to the final twelve.David Hernandez came in twelfth place whileBrooke White made it to fifth place. Theeighth season featured a regional audition at theJobing.com Arena inGlendale on July 25, 2008. Several contestants made it to the "Hollywood phase" but only one made it into the final twelve:Scott MacIntyre, who came in eighth place. Despite this, Phoenix was called one of the "year's standout cities."[5]
Phoenix is home to thePhoenix Symphony Orchestra.
Hispanic/Latino music has a large following here, and numerous import stores exist throughout the city for it. There are also several Spanish-language music radio stations. The annual Fiestas Patrias celebration brings Mexican groups includingLos Tigres del Norte.
Folk musicianJoe Bethancourt was a long-time resident.[6]
Phoenix music venues have includedComerica Theatre,Ashley Furniture HomeStore Pavilion,Long Wong's, The Rebel Lounge (formerlyThe Mason Jar), Modified Arts,Trunk Space, Paper Heart Gallery, Club Red,Marquee Theatre, The Van Buren, Crescent Ball Room, Valley Bar, the Nile Theater, The Rhythm Room, and Compton Terrace. Local entertainment companies includeFizzle Promotions. There aredance clubs in Phoenix,Scottsdale, and Tempe. Phoenix is still a common place for "raves", dance parties hosted in typically in warehouses, legal venues, or isolated desert locations.
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The city ofTucson, Arizona, has anOfficial Troubador position, currently Ted Ramirez. Ramirez is a singer and songwriter who uses bothEnglish andSpanish lyrics, as well as singing inO’odham; he is also an Arizona Culture Keeper. The Ronstadt family, which includesLinda Ronstadt, are from Tucson. Linda Ronstadt had a #1 Hot 100 hit with "You're No Good" in 1975.
Tucson'smusic festivals include the Norteño Music Festival & Street Fair, which celebrates the Mexican-American style ofnorteño. Tucson also hosts theTucson Symphony Orchestra.
The first weekend in May each year, the Tucson Kitchen Musicians Association hosts the Tucson Folk Festival, a two-day event on four stages, with about 100 acoustic music acts. The first festival was held in 1986.
Lalo Guerrero, known as the "Father of Chicano Music" and a recipient of theNational Medal of Arts, was born in Tucson, where he lived until his early 20s. He died on March 17, 2005, at the age of 89, and was one of the first inductees to the Arizona Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame.
Travis Edmonson was named Tucson's "Singing Ambassador of Goodwill" in 1975, a mayoral appointment that still stands today. Edmonson grew up inNogales and spent time in Mexico developing a talent for singing and playing the nativemusic of Mexico. Edmonson and his friend actorRoger Smith were active musicians at theUniversity of Arizona. Edmonson went on to become a member of theGateway Singers and was half of the folk and Mexican music duoBud & Travis that recorded intermittently from about 1958 to 1965, producing 10 albums. Edmonson was inducted as an Arizona Culture Keeper in September 2005, where his citation includes these words: "Edmonson has been at the vanguard of the movement to bring Latin music north of the border."
Other notable Tucson musicians includeBob Nolan,Katie Lee, andRex Allen. Bob Nolan, a founder of theSons of the Pioneers and the composer of songs such as "Cool Water" and "Tumbling Tumbleweeds", was aTucson High graduate and wrote "Cool Water" while still in school.
Katie Lee moved to Tucson around the age of 1, and is an actress and folk singer. She is also an activist, and her cause is documented in her book,All My Rivers Are Gone. Lee also wrote a book aboutcowboy music and recorded a double LP (with Travis Edmonson) by the same name,Ten Thousand Goddam Cattle.
Rex Allen was asinging cowboy who performed afterRoy Rogers. A native ofWillcox, he lived in Tucson in his later years.
At the age of 11,John Denver received his first guitar from his grandmother while living in Tucson.
In the 1980s and throughout the 1990s, Tucson was the site of an underground music scene centered onClub Congress and a handful of other clubs and backyard parties located in the neighborhoods near the University of Arizona.Indie rock andpunk rock bands includedGiant Sand,The Bled,Machines of Loving Grace,Digital Leather,Rainer Ptacek,Doo Rag,Bob Log III,Malignus Youth,Naked Prey andThe Sidewinders (later theSand Rubies).
