The Righteous Ruckus is back in downtown Phoenix as The Haymarket Squares ride back into town to release their first new music in nearly a decade. Phoenix’s pre-eminent protest band is gathering up the original lineup, and Marc, Mark, Mark, and John are geared up and ready for an era-defining hoedown with some of Phoenix’s greatest cultural treasures. 

The Squares made their bones by mixing social causes with riotous debauchery to create spaces where reverie and radical politics could mix as easily as whiskey and coke and for their coup de gras after 15 years of dutiful service to radicals, crust punks, hippies, vegans, and freegans the politically charged powerhouse of talent is stirring it up less than a week before the most contentious election in American History. 

A lot of bands bring their politics on stage with them, but not as many take them off the stage and bring them to the streets like The Haymarket Squares. Whether marching against Joe Arpaio, railing against capitalism at a political rally, or playing basement benefit shows in the DIY spaces and Squats of Phoenix The Haymarket Squares are never afraid to get their hands dirty in the trenches. 

Joining the Squares for this historic event will be a barrage of Phoenix musical luminaries including Daryl Scherer, Camille Sledge, Henri Benard, and more to play through the Squares' extensive catalog of finger-wagging, and fist-pumping tunes, including brand new ones! 

This isn’t just a celebration of 15 years of punk grass, it’s a celebration of radical politics and community in Phoenix’s downtown core featuring some of the city's most well-known rabble-rousers.

PHOENIX AFROBEAT ORCHESTRA [PAO!] proudly carries the musical and social torch that was first lit by the powerful duo of FELA KUTI and TONY ALLEN, original inventors of the Afrobeat sound in Lagos, Nigeria in West Africa. Led by funky heiress Camille Sledge the 16-strong orchestra is composed of the most ambitious and outrageous musicians in Phoenix today – making it the hottest super-group on the Hot City scene!

Beginning with a strict repertoire comprised of classic Afrobeat music, PAO! has now penned an abundance of original material that melds the eclectic heritage of the ensemble with that classic Afrobeat style. The outcome is a truly powerful sound that pays homage to the masters while maintaining a fierce individuality, acting as a loud voice-piece of solidarity and understanding for the global community. In 2023, the band will find themselves releasing and supporting their 3rd studio record "The Times" as well as more new music that has been crafted during this time of prolific societal unrest.

From concert hall to music festival, fashion show to fundraiser, PAO! has shared the stage with such musical icons as George Clinton and The Roots, as well as lesser-known masters including Bombino, Vieux Farka Touré, Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, Orgone, Dengue Fever, Turkuaz, Sudan Archives, The Dip, and Los Esplifs.

Charles Ellsworth is a NYC transplant by way of the White Mountains of Arizona where he was raised on Mormon hymns and Top 40 country music. A storyteller by nature, Ellsworth’s lyrics and near-familiar melodies weave to tell stories of heartbreak and loneliness, while shining a light on the perseverance of the human spirit. A self-proclaimed “recovering toxic sadboy” — Ellsworth’s music has evolved with him. Through self-exploration, Ellsworth has shifted from writing songs lamenting “the ones that got away,” to singing honest reflections about what caused them to leave and doing the work to be better.