▼ Music May the Concerts Be With You Here are the biggest shows coming to metro Phoenix this month. Araya Doheny / Getty Images T-Pain. Zach Whitford BY PHOENIX NEW TIMES WRITERS G be below. Snow Tha Product Thursday, May 5 The Van Buren Claudia Alexandra Feliciano (a.k.a. Snow Tha Product) moved from California to Texas in 2010. She already had five mixtapes under her belt, but a few perfor- mances at South By Southwest festival finally garnered her some much-deserved attention. Since then, she’s released a steady stream of mixtapes and a handful of albums. In the era of Instagram and TikTok, it sometimes feels as if social media matters more than the music itself. Fortunately, this isn’t the case with Snow, et ready for a month of big concerts in metro Phoenix. From stadium and arena shows by rock and hip-hop legends to gigs by indie heavy- weights, the Valley’s live music offering the next few weeks will be suitably epic. Some of the notable names rolling into town in May include Coldplay, Pearl Jam, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Jack White, Russ, T-Pain, Olivia Rodrigo, and Violent Femmes. Details about each of their shows can whose bilingual flow might be the best in the game. Tickets for the 8 p.m. concert are available on the secondary market. MATTHEW KEEVER Russ Friday, May 6 Mesa Amphitheatre Atlanta-based rapper Russ will make his way to Mesa Amphitheatre in early May as part of his ongoing The Journey is Everything Tour. Shake the Snow Globe, Russ’ 2020 studio album, showcased a more melody-focused direction for the 29-year-old. Last year saw the release of his newest album, Chomp 2, and in April, the rapper put out an extended version of his smash hit “Handsomer,” which topped Billboard’s charts. Gates open at 6 p.m. and tickets are available through resellers. OLIVIA MCAULEY Pearl Jam Monday, May 9 Gila River Arena in Glendale It’s a familiar story by now: Pearl Jam were scheduled to come to town in April 2020, but then the pandemic happened. But the wait is nearly over, and Eddie Vedder and company will be at Glendale’s Gila River Arena in May to promote the band’s most recent album, 2020’s Gigaton. Expect Violent Femmes. several cuts from the release as well as the usual collection of Pearl Jam’s greatest hits. All tickets previously purchased for the original 2020 show date will be honored, but if you don’t have any, they start at $109. Puralone opens. JENNIFER GOLDBERG Violent Femmes Tuesday, May 10 Marquee Theatre in Tempe The Violent Femmes’ debut self-titled album, released in 1981, catapulted them into success and onto college dorm room radios everywhere. They shaped an entirely new genre of music back then – messy punk, folky roots, and radio-friendly pop, all the while appealing to the hazy- eyed stoner. They may never ride the same wave of popularity quite like they did with “Blister in the Sun,” but with the lawsuits and arguments they’ve seen since, they’re probably OK with putting that to bed and just playing music. And so are we. Doors are at 7 p.m. and tickets are $35 to $55. DIAMOND RODRIGUE Coldplay Thursday, May 12 State Farm Stadium in Glendale Metro Phoenix often gets overlooked by concert tours, so we were delighted to learn that Glendale is one of just 11 U.S. stops for Coldplay’s latest world tour. The British superstars are touring to promote Music of the Spheres, their album that came out in October 2021. H.E.R. will be the opening act. When the band announced the shows last fall, they also revealed a plan to reduce the tour’s carbon dioxide emis- sions by 50 percent compared to their last world tour. So you can listen to Chris Martin and feel good about your environ- mental footprint. Tickets are officially sold out, but we’ve seen them as low as $32 on the secondary market. R&B act H.E.R. opens. JENNIFER GOLDBERG T-Pain Friday, May 13 The Van Buren A lot of folks know T-Pain for his Auto- Tune-assisted vocals and era-defining hits. In the decade-plus since he changed the late-night finessing game forever with songs such as “Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin’),” he’s released three albums and won the first season of The Masked Singer. Regardless of the methodology or even the medium, T-Pain always delivers the goods. Tickets for his upcoming show at the Van Buren are $39.50 to $138.50. JESSE SCOTT Olivia Rodrigo Tuesday, May 17 Arizona Federal Theatre The voice that backed a million TikToks is coming to Arizona Federal Theatre in May. The 18-year-old newly minted >> p 28 27 phoenixnewtimes.com | CONTENTS | FEEDBACK | OPINION | NEWS | FEATURE | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | PHOENIX NEW TIMES MAY 5TH– MAY 11TH, 2022
