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Phoenix Acoustic Duo George & Georgia: Harmony, Desert Lore, and the Hidden Music Scene
Phoenix Acoustic Duo George & Georgia: The Desert Vibe Podcast, and the Hidden Music Scene By James Mattison (Desert Vibe Podcast / Emma & James Music) Some music stories start with a plan. This one started with a moment. A solo guitarist in a Denver bourbon bar. A voice in the crowd that didn’t just sing along—but slid into perfect harmony like it had been living inside the song the whole time. A spontaneous invitation to step onstage. And suddenly, what looked like a “ran
James Mattison
5 days ago5 min read


Eric Ramsey: A Songwriter Beyond Genre Labels in Arizona’s Music Scene
Eric Ramsey : A Songwriter Beyond Genre Labels in Arizona’s Music Scene By James Mattison (Desert Vibes Podcast • Emma & James Music) Some artists spend a lifetime trying to fit cleanly inside a single genre. And some spend a lifetime doing the more honest work—writing the songs they need to write, even if the result won’t sit neatly on a playlist shelf. That’s the heart of our conversation with Eric Ramsey : a working songwriter whose catalog pulls from blues, folk, and Amer
James Mattison
Jan 134 min read


Laveen Folk Festival: The Free, Family-Friendly Folk Music Festival on a Working Farm Near South Mountain
Laveen Folk Festival: The Free, Family-Friendly Folk Music Festival on a Working Farm Near South Mountain By James Mattison (Desert Vibes Podcast • Emma & James Music) The heart of a great local music scene is rarely found under spotlights. It lives in the unglamorous stuff: parking plans, volunteer spreadsheets, stage maps, and early mornings where somebody’s already been working long before the first chord rings out. That’s exactly the spirit running through the Laveen Folk
James Mattison
Jan 134 min read


The Chill Room Tempe: How an Alcohol-Free, Kava-Forward Music Space Is Rebuilding Community in Arizona
The Chill Room Tempe: A Stage Built From a Feeling, Not a Spreadsheet By James Mattison (Emma & James Music), writer for the Desert Vibes Podcast The most powerful music spaces rarely start with a business plan. They start with a feeling—an itch that says, we need a room like this , even if you can’t fully explain why yet. That’s the thread running through our conversation with Sal , the musician-turned-venue-builder behind The Chill Room Tempe , an alcohol-free lounge that h
James Mattison
Jan 25 min read


Arizona Music Scene Spotlight: The Rebel Lounge, Rhonda Jo’s Hall of Fame Moment, and the Power of Community
Arizona’s music scene isn’t just a calendar of shows—it’s a living network that shapes artists, launches careers, and turns small rooms into sacred spaces. In Phoenix, that spirit is easy to feel at The Rebel Lounge , a venue that carries real legacy: it’s housed in the former Mason Jar building, a historic local stage reborn for a new era of artists. therebellounge.com This is the real takeaway: local stages matter because they’re where courage scales up —where writers stop
James Mattison
Jan 24 min read


Cave Creek Guitar Shop Spotlight: How Black Mountain Guitar Company Built a Local Music Community
A thriving music scene often hides in plain sight—and sometimes it starts with a single storefront. In Cave Creek, Arizona, Black Mountain Guitar Company has evolved into more than a place to buy gear. It’s become a consistent gathering point where musicians meet, learn, collaborate, and actually show up for one another. The story, led by owner Ed Heisler , traces a COVID-era pivot into a regional destination that blends quality inventory with something rarer: a real sense
James Mattison
Dec 19, 20253 min read


Arizona Live Music Scene: Listening Rooms, Open Mics, and Western Folk Storytelling with Cowboy Wrecks
Arizona Live Music Scene: Why Listening Rooms and Open Mics Matter Arizona’s live music scene isn’t built only on big stages. It’s built on listening rooms, open mics, coffeehouse sets, and the people who keep writing songs even when nobody’s watching . That’s the backdrop for a conversation with Cowboy Wrecks —an Arizona native whose work leans Western rather than mainstream country , grounded in folk storytelling and a deep sense of place. In Cowboy Wrecks’ world, the deser
James Mattison
Dec 16, 20254 min read
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