Where to stay, what to eat, and what to do when traveling to Phoenix for live music.
There’s nothing quite like seeing the first show of an arena or stadium tour. The big ones, where the production is gargantuan and the artist’s movements are timed to the millisecond, put a ton of pressure on this stop. For massive fans, being at the opening night of tour — before the setlist or the surprises can be spoiled, before an endless stream of Instagram stories gives away the event’s tiniest details — is a must. For an artist, the first night of a big tour is also absolutely nerve-wracking. If anything is going to go wrong on the run, the first night has the highest likelihood of being when it does. The opener is a chance to work through the kinks before the tour really gets rolling, to see if anything doesn’t work, and to gauge the fan reaction for the first time.
So, it’s not surprising that tours rarely kickoff in big media markets. Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago will often get small underplays as warmups, but they’re rarely the site of massive tour kick-offs. These are saved for less frenetic big cities. Cities like Phoenix.
Yes, Phoenix, Arizona. Along with Vancouver, Phoenix is popping up on more and more itineraries as the first show on arena and stadium jaunts. And in a lot of ways, it makes sense. It’s a huge market — currently vying for the fifth largest city in America, ranking along with Philadelphia — though it isn’t as much of a center for national media. Phoenix offers artists a chance to get big city energy with slightly lower stakes.
This year alone, I’ve ventured to the Valley of the Sun to see an opening night by Taylor Swift, launching the biggest all-female stadium bill in American history, and the Smashing Pumpkins, who offered up the first arena show of an 18-years-in-the-making reunion. Earlier in the year, Pink used the city as the location to debut her Beautiful Trauma arena run, while last year likes of Kendrick Lamar, Kesha, and Macklemore all launched tours in the greater Phoenix area.
It’s a trend that is drawing in fans not just from nearby cities in the southwest, but from around the world. And on my second visit in the last three months, I decided to take some time to see what else the region has to offer for travelers. What I discovered was a place that doesn’t need the concerts to draw in people seeking all types of vacations — whether they’re adventurous-types or just keen to relax in the sun. For those of us who are in town for the music, I’ve accumulated the following tips to make your Phoenix stay as enriching as possible.
