Turkey spoils and fall colors fade away, but the downtown Phoenix music scene can be forever if we take care of it. This Thanksgiving, make sure to supplement your concert-going routine by showing your appreciation for the changemakers in the local music industry, including these four picks:
1. Charlie Levy
If you haven’t heard his name, you’ve likely heard of his accomplishments. He created Viva PHX, leads Stateside Presents and owns two incredible music venues: Crescent Ballroom and Valley Bar. It wouldn’t be surprising if future historians find that Levy has directly influenced over 75 percent of the Phoenix music scene.
This season, Levy is the individual to be thankful for as he prepares for the 2017 opening of his third venue, to be located on Fourth Avenue and Van Buren Street. By doing so, he is not merely building the local music market. He is transforming the entertainment landscape by connecting the dots between venues, lessening the distance felt between live music vibrations each night.
To Charlie Levy, our local facilitator of music industry growth — here’s to you.
2. Grace Lutheran Church
This year, Grace Lutheran Church proved that community goals are best achieved when kindness doesn’t discriminate.
After The Trunk Space was left without a permanent venue, the church allowed it to become centralized again — but that’s not the best part. Regardless of religion, race, gender or virtually anything else that characterizes a person; concert attendees have been welcomed with open doors.
On Nov. 19, this led to the success of Semi-Social’s Round Robin, a night of eight bands playing nonstop music. There, attendees freely moshed to Playboy Manbaby. Statements on signs ranged from “ruthless + toothless” to “all bathrooms are gender-neutral.” Everyone had a right to self-expression.
To Grace Lutheran Church, the preserver of a Phoenix punk and an all-age music scene — here’s to you.
3. Musicians on the light rail
To be frank, most of us have probably thought of a public transit performer as extravagant or annoying once in our lives. However, there is good reason to be grateful for these brave musicians.
Having taken the light rail religiously in recent months, I have encountered more musicians than I expected. In October, it was a college student strumming guitar and singing off-tune during rush hour. A couple nights ago, it was a woman deciding to play harmonica midway through her commute.
Without these odd strangers to fill the air with their personal art, rush hour would be tiresome, commutes would be lonely and our trips would be quiet unless we isolate ourselves with headphones and phone screens. And hey, they’re reducing carbon emissions by utilizing public transportation! We should probably thank them for more than their contributions to Phoenix music.
To the musicians on the light rail, who promote confidence and for-the-music mentality — here’s to you.
4. The fans
Despite being a heavily populated city, Phoenix rarely comes close to having the most heavily populated shows. That makes our city’s dedicated crowd especially important and unique.
Loyal Phoenix fans — the ones who commit to attending a show a month or seeing a band a week — have been, and always will be, essential to growing the local music scene. They’re the ones who can be spotted on the porch of The Lost Leaf, anticipating the artists as much as the drinks, or rocking out with thousands of others at Talking Stick Resort Arena.
Phoenix fans are the most welcoming people you’ll ever meet if you’re alone at a show, because local fans are a community in themselves. Some may be strangers, but strangers eventually become familiar faces, if not friends. As long as there’s good music, at least a handful will be there.
To the fans, the true movers and shakers of the Phoenix music industry — here’s to you.
Contact the columnist at Emily.Liu@asu.edu.
