Music with practices viewed as being outside of or in opposition to popular music culture’s mainstream is known as underground music. It is frequently seen as being more imaginative, progressive, and vivacious than the mainstream. Though it may not be the perfect term, the word “underground” captures the essence of the underlying ideology and methods of operation. In addition, it encompasses a wide range of activities related to creating, enjoying, and discussing music, and is used to characterize “underground pop,” “underground jazz,” and “underground hip-hop.”
A vast array of musical genres and subgenres, some more well-known than others, are included in underground music. These musical genres—which might include pop, electronic, rock, metal, or jazz—are frequently produced and promoted independently by individuals who wish to separate themselves from the mainstream musical landscape.
Arizona is one of the most popular states in the US for underground music. Club Congress and a few other clubs and backyard parties in the communities around the University of Arizona were the epicenters of Tucson’s underground music scene in the 1980s and early 1990s. Giant Sand, The Bled, Machines of Loving Grace, Digital Leather, Rainer Ptacek, Doo Rag, Bob Log III, Malignus Youth, Naked Prey, and The Sidewinders (later the Sand Rubies) were among the punk and indie music bands.
Today, the majority of Tucson Underground hotspots are located close to Fourth Avenue and Congress. Some examples of these underground locations are the Red Room, which hosts live performances by artists such as Cum & Go, Topless Opry, and Tom Walbank, a living history of the classic blues. Additionally, there are underground spaces like Heart V, Asylum, Shelter, and so on.
Downtown Mesa is now home to hard-core and underground punk events. The ancient Nile Basement was revived and converted into The Underground by local independent music organizer Mantooth Group, an independent event promotion firm situated in Mesa, Arizona. The Underground and The Nile Theater can be found in 105 West Main Street, Mesa, Arizona. There are several concerts and events scheduled for 2024–2025. After having to welcome the likes of Cassadee Pope, Rachel Bonchner, and Outline in Color in previous concerts, the underground will now host a wide range of genres from artists like Heavy Temple, a psychedelic doom trio from Pennyslvania on August 14th, Dizasaterpeice, a Hip-hop Emcee and rapper from New Jersey on August 23rd, Wolf Eyes, an American experimental music group from Detroit on August 27th, Big Moochie Grape, a 27-year-old Memphis, Tennessee, on Saturday August 31, 2024, Window7 and Andrew W. Boss on August 29th, Boobie Lootaveli, a hip-hop and Hispanic rapper from Miami on September 20th, Gost, a metal and electronic musician on September 4th, and so on.
Packed all throughout the underground theatre are dozens of flyers and posters from Phoenix gigs over the previous twenty years. Massive murals in the vein of graf art, created by tattoo artists in the Valley, also cover the walls behind the stage. Similar to its heyday, when acts like Rise Against, AFI, and Tsunami Bomb played there, the location today features an incredible line-up of both nationally recognized and up-and-coming artists.