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A month into the new year, we’ve already made it through the cancelation of one major music festival — Crush Arizona.
But the Maine‘s third edition of 8123 Fest went off without a hitch at Margaret T. Hance Park on Jan. 22.
And festival season will be in full swing by early March, when M3F (or the festival formerly known as McDowell Mountain Music Festival) returns to Hance Park with Leon Bridges, Kaytranada, Jungle and many more taking part in a Valley tradition raising funds for local charities.
Here’s the scoop on all the music festivals we know about at this point, from Crush Arizona and Innings Fest to Country Thunder and a new one from Relentless Beats called Body Language.
Innings Festival
The baseball-themed festival is definitely swinging for the fences this year with a lineup topped by Foo Fighters and Tame Impala
The two-day event will feature 20 bands on two stages, including performances from the War on Drugs, St. Vincent, Billy Strings, Black Pumas, Caamp, Fitz and the Tantrums, Dashboard Confessional and local rocker Sydney Sprague, as well as curated food vendors and baseball-related activities. My Morning Jacket was originally scheduled to perform but dropped off “due to unforeseen logistical circumstances.”
Fans can look forward to numerous appearances by Major League Baseball greats including Roger Clemens, Jake Peavy, Dave Stewart and Rick Sutcliffe, as well as the return of Off the Mound with Ryan Dempster, an on-site talk show featuring MLB players and musicians.
Details: 3 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 26-27. Tempe Beach Park, 80 W. Rio Salado Parkway. $105 a day; $159 for weekend pass. inningsfestival.com.
M3F
In keeping with tradition, the festival formerly known as McDowell Mountain Music Festival has assembled a diverse array of talent. There’s EDM from Kaytranada, ZHU and Jungle, soul from Leon Bridges, jam-rock from Arizona’s own Spafford, electro-pop from A R I Z O N A and hip-hop from Bryce Vine. Other highlights include Whethan, Elderbrook, Two Feet, Cautious Clay, Surf Mesa, Goth Babe, Bea Miller and Franc Moody.
Conceived as a team-building exercise for its producers, WESPAC Construction, the festival has raised $3.2 million for charity since launching in 2004, including $1.1 million donated in the last two years alone.
Details: 1:30 p.m. Friday, March 4; 1 p.m. Saturday, March 5. MarMargaret T. Hance Park, 1218 N. 2nd St., Phoenix. $75 a day; $125 for a weekend pass. m3ffest.com.
Body Language
This is the first year for this three-day festival designed to cater to the growing demand for house, techno and underground music from the folks at RBDeep, a Relentless Beats sub-brand. And it’s off to an amazing start with marquee names including Carl Cox, Boris Brejcha, Adam Beyer and Kaskade. Other acts announced so far include Dombresky b2b Noizu, Drezo, Eats Everything, Hannah Wants, Kasablanca, Kyle Watson, Malaa, Rebūke, Shiba San, Sohmi, Teenage Mutants, Township Rebellion and Wax Motif.
Details: 3 p.m Friday, March 4-Sunday, March 6. Rawhide, 5700 W. North Loop Road, Gila River Reservation. $229 for a weekend pass. 480-502-5600, relentlessbeats.com.
Glendale Folk & Heritage Festival
The 32nd annual Folk & Heritage Festival will continue the celebration of folk music, its history and culture at historic Sahuaro Ranch Park. This free event is set to feature hundreds of performers from all over the country sharing their talents through music, poetry, art and workshops. Details are sparse by now but we will update as more details are announced.
Details: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, March 5-Sunday, March 6. Sahuaro Ranch Park historic area, 9802 N. 59th Ave., Glendale. Free. glendaleaz.com.
Ostrich Festival
The 32nd annual Chandler Chamber Ostrich Festival has rolled out its headliners one at a time. For now, we know who’s playing on four of the seven dates. The Band Perry and Uncle Kracker will open the festival on Friday, March 11, with country star Walker Hayes playing the following night. Nelly returns to the Valley on Saturday, March 19, with the Temptations and Four Tops bringing the festival to a close with a Sunday Motortown Revue.
Details: Friday, March 11-Sunday, March 13; Thursday, March 17-Sunday, March 20. Tumbleweed Park, 745 E. Germann Road, Chandler. $15 a day and up; March 11-13; $10 and up March 17-20. ostrichfestival.com.
Punk in Drublic
Brew Ha Ha Productions’ Punk In Drublic Craft Beer & Music Festival brings NOFX, Me First And The Gimme Gimmes, the Bouncing Souls, Lagwagon, Authority Zero, the Last Gang and the Venomous Pinks to Big Surf Waterpark. The festival sprang from the minds and livers of NOFX frontman Fat Mike and craft beer fanatic/festival promoter Cameron Collins of Brew Ha Ha Productions.
It’s named for NOFX’s classic “Punk In Drublic” album, which has sold more than one million copies.
Details: Noon, Saturday, March 19. Big Surf, 1500 N. McClintock Drive, Tempe. $45 and VIP tickets start at $99 plus fees. 480-994-2297, brewhahaproductions.com.
Desert Roots
Following the success of the Summer Roots festival that brought reggae and surf rock to SoCal last summer, Brew Ha Ha Productions has expanded the brand with Desert Roots — a new music and craft beer festival coming to Arizona. The all-ages event will feature Cypress Hill, Common Kings, Katastro, Fortunate Youth, Arise Roots, Bikini Trill and the Irie. There will also be craft beer tastings (with purchase of a tasting ticket) until 3 p.m. for those 21 and up.
Details: 1 p.m. Sunday, March 20. Scarizona Festival Grounds, 1901 N. Alma School Road, Mesa. $49 and up; VIP tickets $125 and up. desertrootsfest.com.
Country Thunder Arizona
Country Thunder Arizona has lined up some of country music’s biggest stars for 2022. Morgan Wallen, Blake Shelton, Florida Georgia Line and Riley Green are headlining the four-day festival’s return to Canyon Moon Ranch near Florence.
They’re joined by Hardy, Gabby Barrett, Randy Houser, Chase Rice, Lindsay Ell, Michael Ray, Tracy Lawrence, Jameson Rogers, Blanco Brown, Sawyer Brown, James Barker Band, MacKenzie Porter and more artists to be added closer to the date.
In a news release, Country Thunder Music Festivals CEO Troy Vollhoffer said, “It has always been customary for us to begin our festival run in Arizona. It’s the perfect place to start on a high note — the weather is perfect, the fans are stoked and it really sets the stage for another exciting year of music festivals.”
Details: Thursday through Sunday, April 7-10. Canyon Moon Ranch, 20585 E. Price Station, Florence. $185 weekend pass. countrythunder.com/az.
98KUPD UFEST
Arizona’s top-rated rock station, 98KUPD, brings its long-running annual music festival to Ak-Chin Pavilion with Rise Against, Coheed & Cambria, Pennywise, Highly Suspect, Atreyu, DED, Plush and Dropout Kings. UFEST will also feature retro video games from Starfighter’s Arcade and more activities to be announced.
In a press release, Larry McFeelie, the station’s brand and content director, said, “Some of the best shows I’ve ever seen have been at Ak-Chin Pavilion, and being able to bring UFEST back to this venue is very exciting!”
One dollar from the sale of each regular price ticket will benefit the United Phoenix Firefighters Charities.
Details: 2:35 p.m. Sunday, April 24. Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix. $32.50 and up. 602-254-7200, livenation.com.
8123 Fest
Delayed a year by the pandemic, the Maine’s third 8123 Fest will celebrate the Tempe rockers’ 15th anniversary with five days of events, from Jan. 20-24, including several sideshows and a themed afterparty. The main event is a multi-band blowout at Margaret T. Hance Park in downtown Phoenix.
The Maine will obviously headline, joined by State Champs, 3OH!3, Tessa Violet, the reunited Summer Set, Derek Sanders (of Mayday Parade), Beach Weather and the Maine’s John O’Callaghan doing a solo set as John the Ghost. They’ll also have a local stage with This Wild Life, Breakup Shoes, Weathers, Doll Skin, the Color 8 and Sundressed.
Details: 12 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 22. Margaret T. Hance Park, 1218 N. 2nd St., Phoenix. $55 and up. 81-23.com.
Reach the reporter at [email protected] or 602-444-4495. Follow him on Twitter @EdMasley.
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