Alice Cooper Brings Dee Snider, Halestorm's Lzzy Hale to Phoenix for Christmas Pudding 24

Alice Cooper is bringing Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider and Halestorm's Lzzy Hale to Phoenix this December for the 24th annual Christmas Pudding, the shock rocker's long-running holiday benefit concert. The show is set for December 12 at Celebrity Theatre, with tickets going on sale at 10 a.m. Friday.

According to KTAR News 92.3 FM, the 7 p.m. show will also feature Halestorm guitarist Joe Hottinger, along with John 5 and the Creatures. Dee Snider remains best known for fronting Twisted Sister, while Hale and Hottinger are both members of the Grammy-winning rock band Halestorm, the station notes. All the artists are donating their time and talent, according to Cooper, who said the performers generously give of themselves to support teens at what the station identifies as the three Valley teen centers.

Beyond the marquee names, the 2026 show will spotlight homegrown talent. Alongside the headline acts, the concert will feature live performances by the Solid Rock Dance Company and the winners of Proof is in the Pudding, an annual statewide youth talent competition, according to 102.9 WMGK. The competition awards cash prizes and opening slots on the main stage to young musicians between the ages of 12 and 25.

A Fundraiser Rooted in Cooper's Own Phoenix Roots

The concert benefits Alice Cooper's Solid Rock Teen Centers, which operate free music, dance, art and vocational programs, per the same KTAR report. The nonprofit's centers are located in Phoenix, Mesa and Goodyear, and provide free programming to youths ages 12 to 20, the station reports.

Alice and Sheryl Cooper launched the Christmas Pudding concert series in 2001 to build and support a permanent local youth sanctuary, having co-founded the underlying nonprofit, Solid Rock, back in 1995, according to 105.7 WROR. The couple opened their first physical teen center in Phoenix in May 2012, that station notes. Cooper's commitment to Valley youth traces back to his own teenage years, when at 16 in 1964 he formed his first rock band while attending Cortez High School in Phoenix, according to the Fiesta Sports Foundation. Cooper reportedly wrote in his high school yearbook that his goal was to sell millions of records.

Three Centers, One Statewide Mission

Solid Rock Teen Centers officially opened its third Valley location in Goodyear in April 2025, expanding free creative arts and vocational programming to West Valley youth alongside the existing Phoenix and Mesa facilities, according to the City of Goodyear. Hoodline covered that grand opening last year, after first reporting on the site's selection in 2024. The Goodyear venue, at 1900 N. Civic Square, includes recording studios, dance spaces and a live performance stage, the city says.

Across all three locations, the centers welcome 50 to 100 teenagers daily for free after-school classes in music, dance, art and video production, Monday through Friday from 2 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., per the Fiesta Sports Foundation's earlier reporting. As a registered 501(c)(3) youth nonprofit, Solid Rock also qualifies under Arizona's state tax credit programs, which let individual donors claim dollar-for-dollar credits up to $632, or $1,262 for joint filers, according to Arizonans for Children.

A Stage Built for Rock Reunions

Christmas Pudding has built a national reputation over its previous 23 editions, having hosted guest performers including Johnny Depp, Sammy Hagar, KISS, Rob Zombie, Slash, Joan Jett, Rob Halford, Korn and Cheap Trick over the years, according to AliceCooper.com. Cooper relies on his own industry contacts to recruit major performers who donate their time for the cause, the site notes. Last year's show went even further, hosting a reunion of the surviving original Alice Cooper band members — Alice Cooper, Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway and Neal Smith — in their first major public performance together in more than 50 years, as reported by Blabbermouth. That reunion coincided with the band's 2025 album release, The Revenge of Alice Cooper.

The concert's home, Celebrity Theatre, has hosted the benefit for years and remains one of Phoenix's most distinctive music venues. Opened in 1963, the theater seats 2,650 people around a 360-degree revolving stage at 32nd and Fillmore streets, according to the Phoenix New Times, a setup that lets every seat in the house feel close to the action. Hoodline previously reported that the venue expanded its guest amenities in March 2024 with the opening of its Encore Lounge, following the death of longtime owner Rich Hazelwood, after which management transitioned to his daughter, Heidi Hazelwood, who has preserved the theater's in-the-round concept since taking over ownership in the 1990s.