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Montoya

Move over, "Yellow Submarine." There's a blue one in town thanks to The Marias.


Maria Zardoya of The Marias singing
Maria Zardoya of The Marias performing in Phoenix, AZ on July 20, 2024. Photographed by Montoya.

On their tour for their new album "Submarine," THE MARIAS stopped by Phoenix, Arizona at the Arizona Financial Theatre on July 20, 2024. From giving you “Paranoia" and making you “Run Your Mouth,” this show was sure to leave you “Over The Moon.”


Opening up for the evening was Los Angeles-based band, AUTOMATIC. This three-piece was the perfect choice to open as they brought the exact vibe the audience was preparing for. With a smooth mix of vocals, synth, drums, and bass, Automatic was an automatic winner for this concert.


With their mix of English songs like “Echo" to their Spanish bangers like “Lejos De Ti,” The Marias are a growing musical force in the entertainment industry with plenty of room to bloom. The visuals on this tour brought the soon to be iconic pose of MARIA ZARDOYA backlit behind the portal, to a literal jump session to get the crowd into the right energy for the night, to outfit changes, one due to a very good reason I will reveal later on.


Speaking of Zardoya’s soon to be iconic pose, she must have been a contortionist in another life with how she bends backwards while performing. Like a marionette with their strings tangled up, she would move her body in ways that would definitely give one arthritis just watching it. Contorted movements aside, she always seems to be one of the most comfy (yes, comfy) entertainers on a stage. The way she moves, and the way she lounges during her performances is so effortlessly switched and swapped between.


You would have to be a fool if you thought The Marias did not have a little surprise up their sleeve… a lovefool, that is. Between their songs “Ruthless” and "Care For You,” they slipped in a cheeky little cover of “Lovefool" by THE CARDIGANS. While that may have been a surprise, it was not the only surprise for the evening. Lights go black, the portal opens up, lights up on the portal, Zardoya in the center of the portal. To be exact, Zardoya in a glass bathtub in the center of the portal. Performing “If Only,” Zardoya flowed and swayed in the bathtub with actual water in it (some fans on social media were questioning the validity of the water) as if the crowd was inside of a submarine and peering out through the portal window into the ocean as a siren charmed us with their song. Of course, this is where the outfit change occurred, as there were still a handful of songs left and we cannot expect her to remain drenched.


If Zardoya would have remained drenched, she would have taken a hit to her health. And speaking of a hit to health, during one of the songs, she eased into speaking out to a member of the crowd while the band continued the instrumentals softly. An individual in the crowd caught her eye as she appeared to be having some type of medical issue, perhaps from overheating, but the attendee assured Zardoya that everything was alright and she went straight back into her performance once she verified. Speaking of overheating, the venue provided bottled water for those individuals in the pit as a means to mitigate any dehydration issues, which is always a thoughtful plus. 


All in all, this was a beauty of a show and I would recommend attending if you get the chance. You can check them out and see a list of their upcoming shows on their website.

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