268 NIGHTLIFE SEPTEMBER 25, 2025 | WWW.BESTOFPHOENIX2025.C0M | BEST OF PHOENIX 2025 lifting up local talent, blending Cali swagger with desert-drive ambition. Through studio collabs, live gigs, and community-building, he’s still bustin’ moves. e e e B E S T B R E A K D A N C E C R E W FURIOUS STYLES CREW FURIOUSSTYLESCREW.COM If Arizona has a breakdancing dynasty, it’s Furious Styles Crew. Repping the Valley since 1993, this iconic group shaped the scene from the ground up. What started with a tight group of siblings in Maryvale has grown into an intergenerational crew with worldwide reach. FSC’s power moves and footwork fuel some of the most respected hip-hop jams in the Southwest, blending dance battles, DJ sets, live graffiti art, and straight-up community connection. Their annual events draw dancers from around the globe and serve as a training ground for Olympic hopefuls — turning Phoenix into a legit b-boy and b-girl hub. As they mentor the next wave of breakers and tear up battle floors in downtown Tempe, Furious Styles keeps it raw, real, and rooted in culture. e e e B E S T B A N D THE SHEAVES SHEAVES.BANDCAMP.COM It took a jaunt to Tucson to see indie rock supergroup The Hard Quartet, featuring Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus, to help us remember our love for Phoenix band The Sheaves. We walked in the door, didn’t know they were on the bill, got caught off guard by some driving rock ’n’ roll shrouded in an art- punk cloak coming from the stage that sent shivers up the ol’ ear canal — and bam. The band — Daniel Schurgin, Eric Mudd, Joe Vittetoe, Lucas Aguirre and Matt Hamel — started out recording together before taking their tunes to the live stage in 2019. They’re concocting a gut punch of punk sounds while bucking preconceptions of structure. That aforementioned art-rock sound, along with some krautrock, lo-fi, indie, post-punk and experimental flourishes converge into unpredictable, addictive songs. Local label Moone Records put out their first cassette, and SDZ Records in France dropped their album debut, “A Salve for Institution,” in 2024. Those 10 intriguing tracks take you on a heady journey of simultaneously rocking out and scratching your head, wondering where the next turn will lead. e e e B E S T F U S I O N B A N D DOBRASOUND INSTAGRAM.COM/DOBRASOUND Dobrasound doesn’t fit into a single genre. Rather, they’re too busy creating their own lane. Born out of Phoenix’s eastside, this four- piece crew fuses reggae, islander rhythms, funk and hip-hop into a vibe that feels like a backyard party and a live jam session rolled into one. Their latest tracks, “Breathe” and “Storm,” show off a laid-back flow, live instru- mentation, and lyrical smoothness that hits just right whether you’re cruising or sparking one up. These guys have made their mark at local staples like the Marquee Theatre and are quickly leveling up — set to perform at the Arizona State Fair as this issue drops. Expect the four members to rep their signature locs and Dixxon flannels, dialed in like pros who came to move a crowd, not just play a set. Their blend of chill island vibes, live funk grooves, and bars that merge effortlessly into melody creates an only-in-Phoenix sound worth seeking out. e e e B E S T B A N D W I T H G L O B A L F L A I R PIJAMA PIYAMA INSTAGRAM.COM/PIJAMAPIYAMA Pijama Piyama is a fascinating lot. Their swinging take on cumbia connects them to a rich tradition of Latin American culture, while their psychedelic leanings place them in a decidedly universal context (as in, trip- ping the cosmos). Together, these dynamics ebb and flow across their music to make something ephemeral that nonetheless hits you right in the gut — and gets you moving your ass. Guys, Pijama Piyama is a riot. Their sound glows white-hot as it slings you speeding through the universe. Let your body find the beat while your mind drifts to big thoughts: What if eternity is actually fun? What if Phoenix is evolving into a city that sounds like the entire world grinding in a sweaty, barefoot dance pit together? The next time someone anywhere asks you what you’re listening to lately, send them this local trea- sure whose top three Spotify listening cities happen to be Mexico City, Santiago, Chile, and Bogotá, Colombia. They’ll get the drift. e e e B E S T WO R L D - T R AV E L I N G B A N D SNAILMATE SNAILMATE.COM Of the many great bands who have toured the world and showcased some rollicking slice of Phoenix culture, few have been as bizarre as Snailmate. The duo — Kalen Lander on synths and Bentley Monet on drums — have spent recent years gigging across the country and bounding between tours of Japan and South America at top speed. (“Never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever have a day off,” they sing in “Masking,” and apparently they stand by that.) Their Carmen Sandiego tendencies reflect beautifully on Phoenix. When a couple of road-dogs like Snailmate show off our singularly intense, weird music, they prove we’re still gestating great bands in the desert, where oddballs and rockers continue to experiment and mutate before spring- boarding away to conquer the world. e e e B E S T B A N D M O S T L I K E L Y T O A T T R A C T T O U R I S T S SUNDRESSED FACEBOOK.COM/SUNDRESSED Emo has crawled out of the shallow grave 2010 stuffed it into. (Turns out, growing up in our current cultural hellscape has turned many youngsters onto the genre.) Among the throngs of bands on that emo tip, Tempe’s own Sundressed deserves a certain special attention — and if your out-of-town friends are lucky enough to visit when this quartet has a gig, this is where to take ‘em. The group brings a sound that hums brightly through intense emotions: joy and angst as nitroglyc- erine. Their heart-on-sleeve approach doesn’t obscure their roots in the punk-hard- core scene. They prove that emo can have gumption, it can be crunchy, it can be bold and exciting and expressive. You and your visitors will be nodding your heads and even smiling as Sundressed’s songs kick you squarely in the teeth. e e e B E S T M O O N L I G H T E R S CENTRAL LINE FACEBOOK.COM/CENTRALLINEBAND By day, five of the six Central Line band members work as medical professionals at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. But for more than a decade, they — and now one of their sons, who attends Arizona State University — get together a few times a year to belt out Gen X rock classics mainly from the 1980s and 1990s to sold-out crowds. They play at venues such Copper Blues and Wasted Grain in front of hundreds, delivering impressive renditions of No Doubt’s “Just a Girl” and Beck’s “Loser,” for example. The lineup includes plastic surgery nurse Ben Bailey on rhythm and slide guitar; pediatric ER doc Vasanth Coorg of Phoenix on drums; anesthesiologist Steve Ozer of Scottsdale on lead guitar and vocals; his son, Danny Ozer, on lead guitar; ortho- pedic surgeon Greg White on bass and vocals; and pediatric surgeon Kathleen van Leeuwen on lead vocals. White, by the way, has played in bands that have opened for the likes of The Black Moods, Cracker, and Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers. These docs legit rock.
