The VIVA PHX music festival returned to active duty for the first time since 2017 on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, drawing several thousand fans to see what they could of the more than 70 acts on 12 stages of various sizes, from Punk Rock Alley outside Valley Bar to Arizona Financial Theatre.
It was nice to see so many people wandering the streets of downtown Phoenix in the name of music.
It felt like an actual city.
When VIVA PHX launched in 2014, modeled on the SXSW Music Conference in Austin, Texas, it boldly reimagined what a music festival could even mean in downtown Phoenix. The word beloved does not do it justice.
This year’s festival was held, in part, to honor the 10th anniversary of that first VIVA PHX with headlining sets by Cuco, Freddie Gibbs and Cannons.
Here are the highs and lows of VIVA PHX 2024.
Low: Getting into VIVA PHX was an ordeal
I ended up missing the first act I wanted to see despite arriving right at 2 p.m. when the box office opened to pick up my wristband. That went smoothly: 15 minutes.