Microwave in Phoenix

About Microwave

Microwave is an emo band from Poughkeepsie that treats anxiety like it's a subject worth getting angry about. They came up in the mid-2010s streaming era without much traditional label push, just building a quiet cult following through songs that balance vulnerable lyrics with the kind of guitar work that makes your stomach hurt. Their earlier records, especially "Much Love" and "It's Not About the Guitar," established them as the kind of band that could make a song about feeling trapped sound genuinely devastating. They're not reinventing emo, but they're not trying to. They're just very good at the specific thing they do: introspective songs that still hit hard, delivered with enough restraint that the heavy moments land differently. If you've found yourself rewatching their older music videos or relating to songs about overthinking, you're exactly who this band is for.

Known for Senators, Stressful, Dog Leather, Death Wish, The Most Beautiful Thing

Microwave + Phoenix

Microwave has built a solid history in Phoenix. They last touched down at The Van Buren on May 5, 2025, continuing their pattern of hitting the city's better venues. The band knows how to work a room like that—intimate enough to matter, big enough to matter.

Microwave in Phoenix News

• See Lady Gaga’s concert film Christmas Eve, ahead of Phoenix shows Phoenix New Times · Dec 22, 2025
• The 3 days that doomed these Phoenix Suns Bright Side Of The Sun · Feb 7, 2025
• Mayday Parade Taps Microwave, Grayscale, Like Roses for Spring Tour idobi · Jan 14, 2025
• Microwave announce spring tour with Origami Angel, Heart Attack Man & Carpool Tunnel BrooklynVegan · Feb 5, 2024
• Kitchen safety 101: A guide to cooking safely and preventing fires KTAR News 92.3 FM · Oct 19, 2023

Live Music in Phoenix

Phoenix has a scrappy, underrated indie rock scene that punches above its weight. The city's venues range from intimate clubs to mid-size halls, hosting a steady stream of emo, post-hardcore, and alternative acts. Bands like Microwave fit naturally into this ecosystem—they're the kind of acts that build loyal followings through consistent touring and word-of-mouth, thriving in markets that value authenticity over flash.

Phoenix road trip to see Microwave?

Stay in Arcadia, where tree-lined streets and restored Craftsman homes give you actual neighborhood texture instead of generic sprawl. Eat at Otro, where the cooking is precise without being pretentious. Hit the Heard Museum if you want to understand what Arizona actually is beneath the tourism layer. Hike Camelback Mountain early morning before the heat makes it punishing. Spend an afternoon at Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home, which feels oddly fitting for a band that cares about emotional architecture. The whole city slows down at sunset in a way that makes Dashboard's introspection feel less like melancholy and more like clarity.