“We are trying to hold onto the VIVA brand and legacy as far as having the weekend be ‘come downtown and choose your own adventure’ vibes,” Baquet says. “And so on the Friday and Saturday in particular, we’re activating all the venues — lots of different genres, lots of different cool things you can stumble into.” A couple of the ticketed events — Interpol at The Van Buren on April 17, Meat Puppets at Crescent Ballroom on April 18 and “COMEAL: An immersive art and food experience” with Chef Antonio Padilla — are sold out, which still leaves dozens of options such as: • Crossfade Lab: An event series by CALA Alliance that presents intimate conversations around art, identity and social justice with some of the most thought- provoking Latinx and Latin American artists of our time (April 16, free) • “Medicine to Muse: Cannabis, Creativity, & the Culture”: A panel discussion hosted by VIVA PHX sponsor Trulieve at Thunderbird Lounge (April 17, free) • Langhorne Slim + Laney Jones and the Spirits + Jason Woodbury & the Night Bird Singing Quintet at Crescent Ballroom (April 17, free) • Outdoor, all-ages concert featuring Chuwi, Los Ésplifs, fearofmakingout, Trip Hazard at Civic Space Park (April 18, free) • Oblique Axis Saturday — Destruction Unit & Friends: Ascetic House’s takeover of Walter Studios featuring live music and DJs (April 18, free) • “Surviving AI”: Comedian Shane Mauss and author/ professor Athena Aktipis’s variety show exploring our AI-infused present through comedy, conversation and live art at Valley Bar (April 19, free) • Garrison Jones & Friends performing improvised, atmo- spheric electronic jazz inside the Dorrance Dome at Arizona Science Center (April 19, ticketed event) • The VIVA PHX wrap party with Chef TJ Culp at Sidewinder (April 20, free to attend, food and drinks for purchase) RSVPs are encouraged for the free events, but entry is first-come, first served. BY PHOENIX, FOR PHOENIX It’s fair to say that Phoenix’s culture scene flies under the radar compared to other U.S. cities, sometimes even in the eyes of its own citizens. VIVA PHX aims to change that. “Phoenix is not recognize as the cultural institution that it is or at the very least that there is culture here,” says Steven Totten, director of marketing for Visit Phoenix, a major sponsor of the festival. “We have organically grown in popularity over time, but primarily through an economic lens, an industrial lens. It’s been a very business-friendly area, there’s a lot of growth and innovation happening here. … A large reason why people come here is yes, it’s nice to live here, and like I said, it’s business friendly, but they’re also coming because they want to have a nice lifestyle experience. They want culture. They want good food. They want to see art. They want to hear good music. And it just hasn’t been on the top of people’s minds here for a while, but that doesn’t mean it’s not here. There’s an abundance of it. “So VIVA is just one way of trying to get the community and the world at large to see what kind of culture is happening in Phoenix.” Elusiva sees the festival as a way for artists not just to perform, but to evolve. “As someone who’s part of the fabric of the scene, I feel like Phoenix still struggles to have the cultural capital of other major cities like L.A. or New York, and part of it is that our state doesn’t fund the arts as much as those states,” she says. “So I think it’s important to have these avenues for local artists to participate, but I think also just the programming … can not only open up people’s minds to what they can do with their art, but give them more opportunities.” And for Baquet, it all comes down to community. “Our main mission with VIVA is to bring people together,” he says. “That’s part of the reason we made it free. We want as little barrier to entry as possible, espe- cially at this time in the world when things are so chaotic and polarizing. We want to create an environment where people can come engage with one another and have a good time and spread good vibes across the city. “We believe there’s a really strong vibrancy and culture in Phoenix and events like this and experiences like this can really put it on display. That’s what led us to our tagline: Culture happens when we’re together.” City of Sound from p 12 Lucha libre wrestlers hold court at VIVA PHX 2024. (Isaac Torres) Chef René Andrade of Bacanora is taking part in VIVA PHX 2026. (Isaac Torres) Meat Puppets play Crescent Ballroom on April 18 as part of VIVA PHX. (Sonia Bovio) Pariah Pete performs April 16 at Phoenix Art Museum. (Neil Schwartz Photography)
