Blaze Radio, ASU downtown campus's student radio station, is set to host their annual "Kick Ass Spring Concert" on Thursday, April 6 at The Trunk Space.
The lineup includes Field Tripp, Jane N' The Jungle, The Darling Sounds and Cheap Hotels — all local Phoenix bands.
Journalism senior Tyler Prime is the music director of Blaze Radio. He is coordinating the upcoming show and was in charge of choosing the bands and venue.
"I think they really fit the tone of, you know, supporting local music in Phoenix and the greater Arizona (area) in general," Prime said. "And that's kind of a big part of Blaze Radio's platform: supporting local artists. So, fitting that kind of theme together seemed to make a lot of sense."
Prime said the Kick Ass Spring Concert has been around since Blaze Radio moved to the downtown campus in 2013, his freshman year at ASU.
"Every year this is our annual spring concert, the Kick Ass Spring Concert," he said. "And it's all about showcasing local musicians ... It's kind of like whoever the music director is — 'cause that position changes over time — their signature event of the music that they've kind of enjoyed locally, trying to get bands that they've liked over the years to come play or at least in the genre that they enjoy."
And in accordance with Prime's taste, this year's performers will be mostly indie. However, that shouldn't deter those looking for a diverse lineup.
For example The Darling Sounds, one of the bands playing at the concert, classify themselves as "dark pop" and use eclectic sound bites to create a paranormal theme. However, they still consider themselves an indie pop band. The three-piece comprises Zach Nelson, Cutter Videan and Grace Bolyard,who are all former ASU alumni.
"We've been playing together for just over three years," Bolyard said. "I worked at Gold Bar ... and he (Nelson) used to come in with his sister and his best friend. And somehow we all got chatty enough to where we knew each other well enough that I knew he played drums, and I just decided to start a band, so I was like 'we should jam!'"
Cheap Hotels is another local band playing the Kick Ass Spring Concert. But their sound is on the lighter side of the indie spectrum than The Darling Sounds. According to their Facebook page, they play "warm, organic lo-fi rock songs."
Guitarist and vocalist Ian Wilson described the band's sound as "General indie rock."
The bandmates said they were excited to play the upcoming show, and are working toward releasing new music.
Doors will open at 6:30 p.m., and the show starts at 7:00 p.m. at The Trunk Space (now located at Grace Lutheran Church. There will also be a food truck, Short Leash Hotdogs, as well as other entertainment, according to Prime.
"I bought $100 (worth) of free samples (from Short Leash)," Prime joked. "So better come early."
Reach the reporter at parkermshea97@gmail.com or follow @laconicshamanic on Twitter.
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