KJZZ's The Show

Arizona has its fair share of folk and bluegrass bands, but none can hold a candle to the spicy flare of The Haymarket Squares.
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Loud, expressive and multi-layered, local indie-punk band, Sundressed, is used to laying it all bare when they take the stage. So when lead singer and songwriter, Trevor Hedges, was asked to perform acoustically, the performance had a new level of rawness.

It’s time now for a Tiny Desert Concert. It’s a series where we bring local Arizona bands and musicians into the KJZZ studios to play a couple of songs and talk about their music. Today, we hear from The Sugar Thieves.

Tiny Desert Concerts is a series in which we bring local bands and musicians into the KJZZ studios to play a couple songs and talk about the music. This month we hear from koleżanka — a four-musician band fronted by Kristina Moore.

Calexico is one of the most notable bands to come from Arizona. For many, its music — which is sometimes called “desert noir” — is synonymous with the Southwest.

A Tiny Desert Concert is when we bring local bands into the KJZZ studios to play a couple songs for us and talk a bit about the music. This month we did things a little differently, and for the first time our tiny desert concert was actually in the desert. Phoenix singer-songwriter Justin Moody performed in a wash in South Mountain’s Box Canyon.

Comprised of two guitarists, a bassist and a drummer, Nanami Ozone's soul is in garage rock, but their sound is a mash of beachy chords that would fit well at any summer party. The band’s members say the ease of their sound comes partially from their friendship, which you can hear in their writing.

The SunPunchers is known for creating a blend of warm, open Americana music, with gorgeous vocal harmonies, full guitar sounds, and a delicate pedal steel. The Show's host Steve Goldstein spoke with the band’s frontwoman Betsy Ganz.

House of Stairs is known for creating a beautiful, layered sound filled with looped vocal harmonies and tight improvisation. The band’s members come out of a jazz tradition in many ways, though House of Stairs' sound borrows from many places, and doesn’t quite fit neatly under the jazz umbrella.

North Brother Island’s name comes from the tiny island in New York’s East River that was the site of a horrific shipwreck in the early 1900s, in which more than 1,000 people died. It’s lesser-known stories like this one that inspire its members to to craft their songs.

Language Barrier's music is somewhat poppy, with tinges of sadness and thoughtful lyrics.

Foreign Language has a unique sound that can be tough to pin down. It’s soft but rich, and ethereal but substantive.

Tyler Broderick of the indie pop band Diners performed a Tiny Desert Concert in the studio.

The Senators are not just a group of people who hang out in capitol buildings – it’s also the name of a Valley band.

The Arizona band decker. is something of a mixed bag.

American Longspurs’s music fits into lots of different categories and incorporates elements of bluegrass, modern country and other Americana sounds.

Sister Lip's music is hard to categorize. The band joined us in studio to talk about their new album, "Thanks for the Mondays."