A lineup of stellar winter tours continued this weekend with a sold out Crescent Ballroom for The Glorious Sons. The Canadian rockers brought their eclectic flair to Arizona, joined by Des Rocs, for a night of good old-fashioned rocking out from fans of all ages.

New York-based Des Rocs was the sole opener of the evening- and made sure that no one went home without remembering his name. Frontman Danny Rocco was the picture of an era of rock and roll influence seldom seen in today’s music. Taking the stage to dramatic lights and music, decked in black fringe and his signature smirk, Des Rocs blasted through most of his latest EP and won the room. The band certainly brought their best performance, with all the stomp and swagger of a veteran group. Tracks like “SLO” and “Living Proof” had the smitten audience clapping along before improvising a fun jam session leading into the closer of “Give Me the Night”. 

The Glorious Sons are no strangers to sold out rooms and their set reminded fans just why they keep coming back for more. The Ontario band boasts six members, including a magnetic keyboard player and their off-center frontman Brett Emmons. The crowd was ready for anything and the band, instead of talking much between songs, opted to give them as much music as possible. This included plenty of songs from the band’s newest album and old favorites like “S.O.S (Sawed Off Shotgun)” and “Josie”. 

Crescent’s crowd skewed older and the audience was content to raise their fists and sing along without pressing closer to the stage. Instead, the band came to them, with Emmons leaning into over the edge of the low stage to interact directly with the front rows, while guitarist Chris Koster took it one step further to get right in the faces of a few thrilled fans. The band closed their set with “Everything is Alright” before (of course) returning for a three-song encore concluding with the beautiful “Pink Motel”. 

Check out photos from the show!
Story and photos by Olivia Khiel