The Phoenix Symphony is about to shut down for the summer but not before staging a megawatt tribute to the most successful composer in pop music history.
This Friday and Saturday, the Symphony enlists Tucson singer-songwriter Tony Kishman for “Live & Let Die: A Paul McCartney Tribute,” with a pair of 8 p.m. concerts at Symphony Hall.
Kishman will perform hits from Sir Paul through the Beatles and Wings eras, with songs like “Eleanor Rigby,” “Live and Let Die,” and “Let it Be” with orchestral support from the Symphony.
Starting in 1979, Kishman played bass and guitar for six years as Paul McCartney in both the national and international tours of Beatlemania. He later joined the supergroup Wishbone Ash.
These concerts will be a celebration of an artist who has written or co-written over 188 charted records, with 91 Top 10 singles and 33 No. 1s. Tickets start at $18 and can be purchased by calling the Phoenix Symphony Box Office at (602) 495-1991 or by visiting their web site.
June 10 / Jethro Tull
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of their seminal release, Aqualung, Ian Anderson and company play an 8 p.m. show at Comerica Theatre. Tickets are $40-$65, call (800) 745-3000 or visit livenation.com
June 15 / Bruno Mars
The Hooligans In Wonderland Tour featuring Janelle Monae visits Comerica Theatre for a 7:30 p.m. show. Tickets are $32 to $45, call (800) 745-3000 or visit livenation.com
June 16 / RUSH
Arguably Canada’s greatest gift to rock music, RUSH’s legendary lineup of Geddy Lee, Neil Peart and Alex Lifeson visit US Airways Center for a 7:30 p.m. show that will include the band performing its entire Moving Pictures album. Tickets are $59.25 to $105.25, call (800) 745-3000 or visit ticketmaster.com
June 19 / Luis Miguel
The legendary Mexican singer and winner of four Latin Grammy Awards visits Comerica Theatre for a 7:30 p.m. show presented by Ranch Markets. Tickets are $32 to $89.75, call (800) 745-3000 or visit livenation.com
June 21 / Alison Krauss
One of the most influential bluegrass-country artists of the modern era (and at the time of her first Grammy win in 1991, the youngest to ever do so), Krauss and her amazing band visit Comerica Theatre for a 7:30 p.m. show. Tickets are $56.50 to $74, call (800) 745-3000 or visit livenation.com
June 30 / NKOTBSB
We saved the best for last, ladies. The most powerful boy bands of the last 25 years, New Kids On the Block and Backstreet Boys, share one stage at US Airways Center for a 7:30 p.m. show. Tickets are $69.50 to $89.50, call (800) 745-3000 or visit ticketmaster.com
NRG Energy has purchased Northwind Phoenix LLC from APS Energy Services Company. Northwind District Cooling provides air-conditioning services for most of the large venues Downtown including US Airways Center, Chase Field, Symphony Hall and the Phoenix Convention Center. Facilities are located south of Chase Field and at the Convention Center. At night ice is created at the main distribution points and then chilled water is distributed through much of downtown via an underground duct system. NRG Energy is based in Princeton, NJ and owns district energy companies across the nation including San Diego and San Francisco. For more information please visit: 
Downtown Phoenix has so many different ways to entertain yourself and satisfies so many different interests, that at this moment I couldn’t imagine myself living anywhere else in the Valley. I would not be able to experience the crowds of the World Series or the annual Mexico vs. (fill in blank) soccer game from my patio.
The 
Well, my fellow Downtown Pioneers, we have our victory at long last! The community we’ve cared for and lovingly nurtured with scraped and bleeding hands has finally come to life. Its energy is palpable, heavy in your hand. You can breathe it in like fresh herbs or your favorite corner restaurant. And we can laugh in the faces of the naysayers as they now scramble for a plot in our beautiful urban garden.
