Ed Masley

The Republic | azcentral.com

What's the concert event of the summer for Valley music fans? It probably depends on what you're into. Some of the higher-profile names in the season include Drake, Black Sabbath and 5 Seconds of Summer.

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9/20: Def Leppard

Def Leppard ruled the rock-radio landscape in their '80s prime with such headbanging pop-metal hook-fests as "Photograph," "Rock of Ages," "Foolin'," "Pour Some Sugar on Me," "Armageddon It" and the power ballad that landed them at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100, "Love Bites." Two Def Leppard albums from that era — "Pyromania" and "Hysteria" — have sold more than 10 million copies in the States, with "Pyromania" turning up on a Rolling Stone list of the 500 greatest albums ever. They're joined for the summer by REO Speedwagon, which topped the album charts in 1980 with the nine-times-platinum "Hi Infidelity," which spawned the platinum chart-topper "Keep On Loving You" and the Top 5 "Take It On the Run." Their other hits include "Keep the Fire Burnin'" and a second chart-topping smash, "Can't Fight This Feeling."

Detail: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20. Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix. $25-$125. 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com.

9/20: Leon Bridges

A quick glance at the retro-tastic cover of this 26-year-old's astonishingly soulful debut, "Coming Home," should tell you everything you need to know about what kind of record Bridges has set out to make. And he delivers on that promise in track after track after setting the tone with the wistful, Otis Redding-worthy ballad from the album takes its name. "I'm not saying I can hold a candle to any soul musician from the '50s and '60s," Bridges says, "but I want to carry the torch." Consider it carried.

Details: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20. Mesa Arts Center, 1 E. Main St., Mesa. $37-$45. 480-644-6500, mesaartscenter.com.

9/21: Black Sabbath

Phoenix is hosting the final date of the aptly titled End Tour (although Sabbath will go on to play an Ozzfest date in California later that same week). Inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, Black Sabbath are often credited with giving birth to heavy metal with their classic 1970 debut and the quadruple-platinum followup, “Paranoid.” MTV once declared them the greatest metal band of all time, which seems about right (unless you call Led Zeppelin metal). Founding drummer Bill Ward left the fold in 2012, saying he wouldn’t return until he was given a “signable contract.” But Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler carried on, releasing “13” in 2013, and embarking on a world tour, which was pretty amazing.

Detail: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 21. Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix. $30-$150. 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com.

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9/21: Squeeze

Washing up on U.S. shores at roughly the same time as fellow pop classicists Elvis Costello and XTC, Squeeze never enjoyed the commercial success that had greeted the previous generation of British Invaders. But back in the day, Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook were frequently looked upon as the Lennon-McCartney of their day, packing albums with literate pop gems as timeless as “Take Me I’m Yours,” “Goodbye Girl,” “Cool for Cats” and their eventual U.S. breakthrough, “Tempted.” They're touring in support of "Cradle to the Grave," their first album of new material in 17 years, on which effortlessly channel the spirit of their most enduring work for nostalgic effect.

Details: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 21. Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, 7380 E. Second St. $40-$80. 480-499-8587, scottsdaleperformingarts.com.

Anthony Sandoval, Randy Cordova and Kellie Hwang contributed to this article.