25 Years of Psyko Steve Presents 🎉

On December 15th, 2000,  a small DIY art gallery in Downtown Phoenix called Modified Arts decided to let a totally naive high school kid host a show with a few of his friends. It was a huge success, with maybe just over 100 friends paying $5 each and packing the small space to see Redfield, Kilnemia, The Manhattan Project and Strickland play. It was the kind of underground show that happens all the time, and if you were there, it was awesome, and if you were not there, you never noticed it was happening. 

That show became the first of what would be known shortly after as “Psyko Steve Presents.” There was no plan, no goal, just helping friends play shows, and making new friends, and helping them play shows. It was just a fun side hustle in high school and college. There was no education or training, just kids having fun and learning from making all sorts of amateur mistakes. Oh, and a deep love for discovering amazing new music regardless of who else had heard it yet. 

25 years later, some aspects of Psyko Steve Presents look totally unrecognizable from those early days. Psyko Steve is no longer just a kid with a dumb nickname and his parents’ landline phone number, it is a full team of a ton of amazing professionals who work diligently to produce events at the highest caliber possible. We now can produce more shows in a week across Arizona and New Mexico than I would do in that first year. Now not only do we get to work with great local artists, but also some of the most respected artists in the world, from Alex G and Mitski, Bleachers and The Maine to LCD Soundsystem and Justice. We run our own venue, The Rebel Lounge, produce festivals like 8123 Fest and ZONA Music Festival, and promote sold out shows in large clubs and theaters… all at scale I never would have thought possible back then.

But for as much that has changed, 25 years later the core of Psyko Steve Presents is still the same: we are still trying to promote amazing new music regardless of who else has discovered or fallen in love with it yet. We are still taking a chance to help new bands play some of their first shows or their first tours. Still helping high school bands in Phoenix play a “real” venue for the first time (now including some bands who were not even alive in 2000 when that first show happened). Still just trying to help our friends bands, only now with a lot more friends… and we are still trying to create amazing real world experiences for those who attend, whether anyone else notices or not.

This year, on December 15, 2025, we celebrated 25 Years of Psyko Steve at Walter Studios, surrounded by our favorite artists, closest friends, industry colleagues, local photographers and designers, venue partners, and just about everyone in between. You could really feel the love in the room.

Here Arizona Secretary of State, Adrian Fontes, declared December 15 “Psyko Steve Day” in Arizona. It is an honor to be recognized, and I am so thankful to celebrate “Psyko Steve Day” every year with all of you.

Thank you for supporting the music you care about.