Homegrown Phoenix music festival M3F keeps evolving

In 2004, wanting to do something to benefit the community, John Largay’s company, Westpac Construction Inc., put on a little event called the McDowell Mountain Music Festival. The idea was somewhat novel: Instead of lining the pockets of the organizers, the proceeds from the festival would go to local charities.

Today, as the 20th festival is about to open, the mission is still the same, though the numbers have grown. From the first year, which hosted 2,000 people with “hundreds of lawn chairs, one stage (and) Grandma’s cooking,” the event, which now goes by the moniker M3F, saw tens of thousands of guests and more than 30 acts on three stages in 2023.

And since its inception, M3F has donated almost more than $5 million to nonprofit organizations, most of whom are local.

Though the mission doesn’t change, the specifics often do. For instance, for 2024 M3F has moved from its longtime home at Margaret T. Hance Park a little farther up Central Avenue to Steele Indian School Park, a move RJ Largay says opens up opportunities for the future.

Largay, John’s son, has been involved with the festival as a volunteer, intern and finally, for close to a decade, as a talent and marketing manager.

“I think the question got brought up a couple years ago: ‘Well, where do you see yourself in five years,'” RJ Largay says. “And with the current market and where things are headed and the growth of the festival … we weren’t going to be able to fit any more people in Margaret T. Hance Park, so we started to poke around and see what else was an option, and Steele Indian School Park got presented by the city of Phoenix, and it felt like a really great opportunity.

“In the next five years, we hope that we can turn this thing into 30, 35,000 people a day and make it very eclectic. … It’s always been a local staple, but maybe it can become a national staple. Maybe we can shine a light on doing something cool for our community, and maybe it inspires more festivals and more events to take this approach,” he adds.

Another aspect of M3F’s evolution is its lineup. The first festival showcased sets by David Crosby, Keb’ Mo’, Derek Trucks and Little Feat. Over the years, artists including Bon Iver, Flaming Lips, Odeza, RÜFÜS DU SOL, Dwight Yoakam, Slightly Stoopid, The Shins and many more played the event. In earlier iterations, M3F hosted more local bands, including Phoenix Afrobeat Orchestra, Wyves, Banana Gun, Sara Robinson and the Midnight Special, Fayuca and Decker.

This year, the lineup definitely skews a little younger, Largay says. EDM artist Lane 8 and singer-songwriter Dominic Fike headline a bill that also includes British EDM duo Gorgon City, indie rockers Hippo Campus and Danish pop trio WhoMadeWho.

“The overwhelming majority of our fanbase wanted to move in this direction, so we did that,” he explains.

One unwelcome change for 2024: C3 Presents, the organizers of
 Innings Festival, announced a second weekend of music, which they named Extra Innings and scheduled for March 1 and 2 – the same weekend as M3F.

Largay says the attitude of the M3F team was, “‘Well, this is another hurdle to overcome,’ and we were confident we were going to be able to do it.”

Still, he found C3’s decision “a little tone-deaf and insensitive. There’s room for both of us. Why would you go out of the way to inhibit the growth of something that’s so good for the community? It’s not like we’re over here making millions and millions of dollars and putting it in our pockets. It all goes back to the community.”

C3 Presents declined to comment.

To look at the lineups of M3F and then Extra Innings, which features Chris Stapleton, Dave Matthews Band, Sheryl Crow and Gin Blossoms, one could theorize that the demographic for each event is different enough that they don’t compete with one another.

Largay doesn’t believe that.

“I like country music. I love Chris Stapleton. I also love Dominic Fike. Music is so versatile now. It’s not like you can pigeonhole people like that,” he says.

So what continues to set M3F apart from other local events? Largay points to an increased focus on immersive experiences and art activations at the festival. The M3F Instagram account teases elements with names like “Cosmic Forest” and “The Crossway.”

And of course, M3F’s nonprofit status is unique. One project Largay is particularly proud of is M3F’s collaboration with local business Cowtown Skateboards on Skate & Create, a program for youth.

“Writing checks to beneficiaries is good and very, very necessary, but having some things where we’re more hands-on with,” is great, too, he says, and in Skate & Create, “We teach you how to skateboard, we teach you how to use Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop and then we teach you how to make music and make movies, and at the end of the program, you make a skateboard video, you produce the music behind it, as like your backing track, and then you design a skateboard, and at the end of it, you take home your skate video that you just made, and you take home your skateboard that you just made.

“I loved skateboarding as a kid, and I think the subculture, music and skateboarding, especially in Arizona, go together like peanut butter and jelly. So that’s something that I was personally excited about.”

But for M3F to continue to evolve, it requires the support of the community it benefits, which to Largay means advocating for local, nonprofit events over corporate, out-of-state ones.

“If we value M3F and we think it’s good for the community, then it’s our job and our obligation to speak up for it,” he says. “There will always be a level of competition. That’s business, and that’s the music industry, and I totally understand it. We’re still very successful and continue to grow.

“(M3F) is driven and funded and worked on with the intention of giving back to the community. If we don’t support it, if we don’t shine a light on the positive elements that are the good things M3F does, well then, it goes away.”

M3F. Friday and Saturday, March 1 and 2. Steele Indian School Park, 300 E. Indian School Road. Tickets and information are available on the website.