Fifty local bands are set to blast through four Tempe venues this Friday and Saturday as Tempe Noise Takeover returns for its latest edition, and just like every year before it, admission to every single show is free. The two-day DIY festival spans Yucca Tap Room, Rocket Space, Time Out Lounge and Zia Records, mixing 21-and-over club shows with all-ages sets for anyone who wants to bring the whole family into the pit.
The festival was launched by local musician E.P. Bradley and originally went by the name Tempe Noise Pop Takeover, according to Phoenix New Times. It debuted in 2023 with 28 bands and has since grown to this year's 50-band lineup, per the same report. Organizers say the festival took cues from South by Southwest and modeled its scrappy, all-over-town format after free DIY events like Portland's Big Ass Boombox Festival, which the Deli has described as a free showcase of a huge spread of up-and-coming local bands and writers.
This year's expansion to four venues came when Zia Records signed on, according to the New Times report, which notes the record store sits just a few doors down from Time Out Lounge on Mill Avenue. Bradley told the outlet that Zia came through unexpectedly and enabled eight more bands to join the bill. Fewer than 10 volunteers run the entire operation, the New Times reports, and organizers received more than 300 band submissions this year before narrowing the field down to the 50 acts on the schedule.
Where to Catch the All-Ages and 21+ Shows
Yucca Tap Room, at 29 W. Southern Ave., and Time Out Lounge, at 3129 S. Mill Ave., are hosting the festival's 21-and-over sets, according to the event listing on ma.to. Rocket Space, at 37 W. Southern Ave., and Zia Records, at 3201 S. Mill Ave., are running the all-ages side of the festival, the same listing states.
Bradley's wife and bandmate Kayla Long described this year's lineup as a mix of every genre, and Bradley told the New Times the bill spans everything from Muslim hardcore to glitch pop to 1960s go-go music. Genre-defying acts on the schedule include Tawwal, described as a queer blackened post-doom act, and Kawaii Robot Shark, billed as a goatwave act, per the New Times. Both Bradley and Long previously played together in the band Joan of Arkansas and now front a new skronk rock project called Andre the Average.
Friday's Lineup Across Four Stages
Rocket Space opens Friday night with Bryn Ryder at 7 p.m., followed by Tiny Stxr, Gold House and Marcy's Letter closing out the room at 9:15 p.m. Zia Records runs Bay Window at 7 p.m. through Lovre, Luigi Leone and the Turnip Rats, and Keller Frank at 9:15 p.m., according to the New Times schedule.
Over at Yucca Tap Room, Friday's bill kicks off with Old Knives at 7:30 p.m. and runs through Sunthrown, Dearest, Summer Knit, The Cause of Depression, Silverface Twin and Acne Superstar, who closes the night at midnight. Time Out Lounge counters with Ddmnnrs at 7:30 p.m., followed by Bright Sunshine, Super Spreader, Super Drive, Sativan and The Rebel Set wrapping up at 11:15 p.m.
Saturday's Marathon of Local Acts
Saturday stretches even longer, with Rocket Space starting at 4 p.m. with Jessi Is Tired and running through Just Like June, Tawwal, Patience, Plum, Saint Judas, Sympathy Card and When We First Met at 9:15 p.m. Yucca Tap Room opens with Brass Velvet at 4 p.m. and continues through Andre the Average Band, Bigbreakfast, The Blood Feud Family Singers, The Liar's Handshake, King Summer, Batter the Drag and Bugmaker at 9:15 p.m.
Time Out Lounge's Saturday lineup begins with Juice the Sun at 7:30 p.m. and moves through Louis on Tour, Winterhaven, Paralax and Huemongrel before Twinstar closes the venue at 11:15 p.m. Zia Records rounds out the night with Kawaii Robot Shark at 7 p.m., followed by Redoubt, Smelling Salts and Tripolar at 9:15 p.m.
Where the Money Goes
Bar and merchandise sales at the festival benefit the Tempe Arts & Music Coalition, described as an Arizona nonprofit charity, according to the New Times. The festival also accepts donations directly, and organizers say all proceeds support the coalition, per the ma.to event listing. On its own site, the Tempe Arts and Music Coalition notes that Zia Records is serving as this year's official sponsor and that proceeds are going to help fund its gallery and ongoing mission to support artists.
Sources differ on some of the festival's exact framing. The ma.to listing calls this year's event the fourth annual Tempe Noise Takeover, while a separate listing on signalsaz.com refers to it as the third annual festival. The two sources likewise disagree on venue count, with ma.to describing four venues and signalsaz.com describing three; Signals AZ does note that this year is bigger than any previous one and includes an all-ages space and art.
Bradley told the New Times that Tempe Noise Takeover will always be free and charity-based, and expects the festival to probably remain about the same size going forward rather than balloon further. For now, the fest keeps its formula simple: no tickets, no gatekeeping, just dozens of local bands spread across a few blocks of Tempe for one weekend.
