Few things can push people through a devastating winter. Staying inside and warm coats help, but for music fanatics, the idea that festival season is coming up keeps them nice and toasty. While the festival season is what everyone sits around waiting for, it’s during the Winter when the lineups for these festivals start to get revealed, a festival season eve, if you will. During the first weekend of March, a unique music festival is set to take over Phoenix, Arizona, and it’s the kind of lineup that could replace that roaring fire pluming through your chimney.
The M3F Festival is a music and arts festival taking place March 7-8 at Steele Indian School Park in Phoenix, Arizona, and the fest has a refreshing twist on the modern festival landscape. All proceeds will be donated to local charities, which is another reason to attend and see this otherworldly lineup. Along with art installations and their vendor village, M3F is bringing out heavy hitters for their performers. The likes of LCD Soundsystem, Alvvays, and Justice are set to headline this year, along with some exciting acts filling out the stacked lineup.
While a festival lineup stacked with terrific artists is exciting on paper, it begs the question, who should you go out of your way to see? Glide has done the heavy lifting and pinpointed ten acts on the M3F lineup that are a must-see. You can get your ticket to the 2025 M3F Festival here and check out Glide’s picks for the most exciting acts of the weekend below.
Slow Pulp
>
Slow Pulp’s slow-burning, distorted indie rock immediately impacted the genre with its 2020 debut, Movies. In 2025, the album received the deluxe treatment for its fifth anniversary. In a live setting, the nuances of their approach can shine individually, making each performance a distinctively captivating experience.
LCD Soundsystem
The iconic electro-dance veterans LCD Soundsystem are set to storm the stage at this year’s M3F fest, and there is a reason they are topping the lineup at this festival. On paper, LCD Soundsystem are what some would call “overworked,” booking residencies at iconic venues like New York’s Knockdown Center. Twenty years after their debut record, the James Murphy-led band is still one of the most entertaining concerts on the road today.
Alvvays
It is not every day the alt-rock golden children Alvvays rear their innovative heads. The band’s last album, Blue Rev, arrived in 2022, and musically, the band has been quiet ever since. Their touring schedule is another story. The band spent 2024 honing their setlist, bouncing from one festival to the next. Currently, M3F is the only show on the band’s touring schedule, so catching this unicorn of a band that weekend might be your last chance until the elusive group decides to hit the road again.
Dev Lemons
Since entering the pop world in 2020, Dev Lemons has been building a cult-like fan base online. The artist’s unusual blend of vulnerable songwriting and stadium-sized hyper-pop production gives her music a futuristic feel and infectious energy. Her soaring vocals are fully realized live, and she employs a more acoustic approach that allows her songwriting to be felt wholeheartedly.
BADBADNOTGOOD
Anyone familiar with the Canadian jazz trio BADBADNOTGOOD knows to sprint to a live show when the band visits your area, but if you haven’t had the chance, they should be high on your list for the M3F Festival. The prolific band is coming from the release of their monstrous Mid Spiral LP, an album comprising three EPs demonstrating the band’s mastery of jazz fusion.
ALEXSUCKS
ALEXSUCKS combines glistening pop melodies with the attitude of punk. This young band seems hellbent on revitalizing a lost sonic landscape. Their pairing of angsty writing, minimalistic instrumentation, and velvet-lined melodies gives them a refreshing yet familiar sound. This sound is sure to radiate throughout Phoenix upon their visit to M3F.
Leisure
The New Zealand quintet Leisure strikes a balance between over-the-top danceability and indie rock sway, and they’re bringing this marriage to the M3F festival this year. Since debuting in 2016, the band has built a reputation as pop’s chameleons, dipping in and out of influences to achieve their interdimensional sound. The band is emerging from 2024 with a string of appearances in the States under their belt, priming them for their appearance in Phoenix this March.
Monster Rally
Led by sampling mastermind Ted Feighan, Monster Rally crafts jazzy instrumental bliss that will surely be a show-stopper live. Their music explores the overlap between jazz and Hip-hop, lending to the head-nodding hypnosis listeners fall under. The M3F lineup is filled with DJs, but Feighan separates himself from his dance-focused peers by grabbing his grooves from the past and elevating them to modern times.
Summer Salt
Summer Salt is the Austin, Texas-born indie rock duo dealing with subtle surf rock influences and lo-fi tones. The band’s 2014 debut EP introduced the world to their indie-pop prowess and sentimental songwriting. The beauty of their writing comes out of their sonic dreamscape more clearly when experienced live, adding another layer to their stunning sonics.
late night drive home
One of the more diverse acts to grace the 2025 M3F lineup, late night drive home effortlessly transitions between distorted punk and acoustic indie rock. The young band has no genre to call home, allowing their lofty visions to be fully realized and following no traditional rules. With such a colorful selection of songs in their catalog, their setlist for their visit to Phoneix promises something for everyone.
