The first annual Street Eats and Beats Festival took over Solano Park last weekend for three days of food, family friendly fun and plenty of incredible music. The AAPI-centered festival was created by the Arizona Asian Chamber of Commerce and WavCo AZ, bringing people together to uplift the AAPI community in Phoenix. A stacked lineup of musicians from around the state and the country rounded out a full weekend- check out our favorite moments!
Putting the Beats in Street Eats and Beats
As the sun went down on Friday night, the lights went up at the Amaterasu Stage for the EDM-centric first day of the event. The sparser crowd started to fill in for back to back DJs crafting their own take on the electronic genre, including Peterparker69 who lent his own vocals to the set spinning in the background.
The real spotlights went to Alex Kade and ZEROSUM closing out the main stage. Kade traveled in from Canada and sported a sleeveless shirt against the chilly Phoenix evening, joking that the weather was much warmer than the Toronto snow he’d escaped to be there. Combining traditional EDM tracks with classic emo tunes and anime soundtracks, Kade’s set was a mix that truly had something for everyone and got the party started for real. Once the mix kicked in, Kade could be found Naruto running across the stage, getting the audience jumping and shouting along to his own musical choices to keep the energy flowing. He was gifted an extra half an hour to play around and he made the most of every minute as his audience got into the groove.
Rounding out the first night was ZEROSUM, a DJ who meshes techno and hardcore elements for a unique blend of sounds that complemented the vibes from Kade’s set earlier in the night. Fans danced because the beats were strong but also to combat the cold evening air so ZEROSUM gave them plenty of material to keep moving. Like the performers before him, he was clearly thrilled to be onstage to headline Friday’s lineup, keeping the hype going until the final noise curfew sent everyone off to seek warmth after a pulsing first day.
Day Two Brings the Heat to Solano Park
The winter sun quickly turned a balmy day into an unseasonable scorcher, with fans and artists squinting into the late afternoon brightness to kick off Saturday’s lineup. A late start turned into some severe performance delays, but everyone pushed through- starting with the powerful voices of Shela Yu and Cameron Jeong on the main stage.
Yu, a local self-professed multidisciplinary artist, turned the Amaterasu Stage into a complex tapestry of sound and interpretive performance with her short but undeniably memorable set. Joined by a talented band that included multiple forms of percussion and even a harp, Yu moved fluidly between songs as she stitched together a set bursting with metaphors and influences. Fans were captivated, standing attentively throughout Yu’s litany of songs as the afternoon segued into Jeong’s performance. Cameron Jeong- another locally based singer- let her ethereal vocals take center stage for a performance that was deeply personal while also clearly resonating with the watching audience. She had the scattered crowd in the palm of her hand throughout, drawing huge cheers at the end of a stunning set.
#TeamPhilippines Pride
In the weeks leading up to the festival, it was Team Philippines versus Team Korea in a lighthearted online competition and both “teams” brought that passion to the stage on Saturday. Local hip hop duo Balisong came out swinging with their midafternoon set, drawing one of the largest crowds of the day and rapping with a vigor that turned heads across the park. RaeRae and WLFTOWN had their flow locked down, never missing a beat and playing off of the energy radiating from the audience. Their impressive performance set the tone for the rest of an incredibly energetic day at Solano Park.
The winter sunset and chilly evening air was no match for the hype that follows Filipino rapper Carl Angelo wherever he goes. The current PNW resident and self-proclaimed “greatest Filipino rapper of all time” stormed onstage with astounding purpose and a rhythm to his rhymes that was impossible to turn away from during his set. Angelo was magnetic, demanding attention and more than earning it as he grinned at a mesmerized audience and set the stage for another incredible performance in peer and fellow rapper Talilo.
Another resident of the PNW, Talilo firmly and proudly embraces his Filipino heritage and weaves the culture into every lyric of his music. The rapper expressed gratitude throughout his performance and took his time onstage to educate, advocate and throw one heck of a party all at the same time to the absolute delight of the fans. Fellow artists on the lineup joined him to wave the flag of the Philippines and the smiles stamped on their faces echoed in the crowd at this joyful display of honor and respect.
Ruby Ibarra- the winner of the 2025 NPR Tiny Desk contest- is a powerhouse on the mic and made her voice heard with an incredible set. Rapping in three languages and repping her own Filipino pride, Ibarra commanded the stage with her band while also remaining humble and personable during her interactions with the fans. Arguably the craziest moment of the show came with the first full performance of “PTI”, featuring Talilo, Balisong, Yamz and Carl Angelo- a supergroup stunner that echoed through the park and the surrounding neighborhoods, closing out Team Philippines amazing day at Street Eats and Beats.
#TeamKorea’s Indie Rock Perfection
Team Philippines brought the hip hop hype while Team Korea’s energy leaned into the indie rock and pop space for a balance of music that catered to every type of fan at the fest. Newcomer Hevel made the journey from the Midwest to serve up songs from their debut album, a genre collision of rock, pop and electronic sounds all completely outshone by Hevel’s compelling vocals. With songs like “Skin” and “1004”, Hevel wove the story of the album into their set and treated the crowd to little anecdotes between tracks. Their performance set the stage for the next acts for Team Korea as the day settled into night.
With his messages of self-love and growth preceding his arrival, Texas R&B artist Hohyun bounded onstage to a huge response from the fans. An up and comer in the music scene, Hohyun is already making music far beyond his young age and connecting deeply with listeners on songs like “Flawed” and other tracks from his latest album. It was still a party though, as Hohyun snagged fans’ phones for mid-set selfies and got everyone jumping- both with excitement and to stay warm.
The day’s logistical issues kept PRYVT from hitting the stage until the late evening but the anticipation for their performance was palpable among those left in the crowd. The Canadian-Korean indie duo of Hanuel and JT brought their own brand of indie rock to Street Eats and Beats, slowing things down for a much lower frequency set than the hip hop acts before them. However, this duo is well loved in Phoenix and fans shyly approached the stage with gifts, shouting words of encouragement and even barking at the duo as they meandered through tracks from their latest album and older favorites. It was unfortunate that their set wasn’t longer, with the fans calling out for more and eagerly hoping for another Arizona show very soon.
Sadly these same delay issues caused headliner and local favorite Gun Boi Kaz’s set to be cut short but he gave Arizona everything he had with the time he was given. Citing influences from the K-pop world like Enhypen and Western artists like Chase Atlantic, Gun Boi Kaz crafted a set blending that electronic feel with rock and pop melodies and an undeniable charisma onstage. His devoted Arizona fans were more than happy to hype him up during “23 and Up” and “Tattoos” as he got as close to the audience as possible at the edge of the stage.
Barring the growing pains of a larger event and the weekend’s delays, the inaugural Street Eats and Beats was a wonderful celebration of AAPI culture, food and music that crafted an environment for fans of all ages. With the success of 2025’s festival, fans are already clamoring for more events with such a fun and diverse group of artists all in one place- we’ll certainly be at the next installment for a proper Phoenix party.
