The 11th annual Phoenix Rock Lottery embraces randomness to raise funds for Rosie's House

A Phoenix Rock Lottery attendee takes a Snapchat video of one of the five new bands' performances at the Crescent Ballroom in Phoenix, AZ on Saturday, February 1, 2025. Photographed by Digeshwar Vasava.

The 11th Annual PHOENIX ROCK LOTTERY was hosted at Crescent Ballroom in Downtown Phoenix on Saturday, February 1st, 2025. The concept and setup was very interesting: 25 local Phoenix musicians from different genres would participate, being randomly teamed up into new groups and spending the entire same day writing songs, also being able to cover one original song. The event was sold out and all of the sales went toward Rosie’s House, a nonprofit that provides music education to local children. So in entirety, it was a pretty nice event for supporting the local music community, and for the performing artists to get a different perspective to their own music. 

There were quite a few amazing performances from five different bands, each a unique creation because of what each artist contributed. From a saxophone player to electronic drum pad, to heavier guitars and drums, there were covers of the “Friends” TV theme, OUTKAST’s “Hey Ya,” and quite a few others. The audience was having a blast to the tunes and it was sure a fun night for a Saturday evening.

Local musicians included:

Mae Agloro (Maeby)

Pablo Bastidas (Lovetrain; Pijama Piyama; Alex & The Moondaze)

Sophia Bavishi (Sophia Bavishi)

Wills Brinton (Practically People)

Sarah Cannon (Sarah June)

Agnia del Carmen (Agnia del Carmen)

Mike Cassidy (Prince Mirth)

Steven Culebro (Badlands.)

Josh Every (Droll)

Ellie Fern (Ellie Fern & The Evergreen)

Chaz Fertal (The Hourglass Cats)

Tyler Flanagan (Skin Ticket; Dreamcast)

Betsy Ganz (The Sunpunchers; Das Wildlife)

Lexie Gaston (Jules)

Joey Gutos (Joey Gutos)

Lauren Henschen (Lo Wren)

Keire Johnson (Glixen; Animal Shin)

Pete Anthonly Gonzales, Jr. (Goldwax Revival)

Giovanni Kiyingi (Giovanni Kiyingi)

Cameron McGregor (Bethany Home)

Miles Naffah (Prefect; Chambers)

Shane Ocell (Surf Through Death; Via Vengeance; Hillbilly Devilspeak)

AJ Odneal (AJ Odneal)

Bailey Pyritz (Kylo Gun; I Am Miss Havisham)

Joshua Strickland (The Bayou Bandits)

11th Annual Phoenix Rock Lottery Bands Created:

Electric Zebraz

(Tyler Flanagan, AJ Odneal, Sophia Bavishi, Alexis Gaston, and Josh Every)

Mother Byrd

(Mike Cassidy, Betsy Ganz, Mae Agloro, Lauren Henschen, and Ellie Fern)

The Peeling Ceilings

(Keire Johnson, Giovanni Kiyingi, Wills Brinton, Chaz Fertal, and Cameon McGregor)

These Are Aliens

(Pablo Bastidas, Bailey Pyritz, Joshua Strickland, Steven Culebro and Sarah Cannon)

Ten Souls

(Shane Ocell, Miles Naffah, Agnia del Carmen, Pete Gonzales and Joey Gutos)