Stephen Chilton
Owner/Talent Buyer of Psyko Steve Presents
Stephen Chilton began producing concerts in Arizona in 2000 under the moniker Psyko Steve Presents. For over two decades, Psyko Steve Presents has developed new artists and continued supporting them as they grew into globally celebrated acts including Frank Turner, Ghost, Bleachers, and The Maine. In 2019, Psyko Steve Presents was named “Best Promoter” by the Phoenix New Times in their annual Best Of Phoenix issue.
Today, Psyko Steve Presents is a full team producing over 700 concerts a year across Arizona and New Mexico. PSP produces festivals like 2022’s ZONA Music Festival, 8123 Fest curated by The Maine, and in 2024 announced that Chilton would be taking over talent buying for the M3F Festival for its 21st year in 2025. PSP produces concerts in various venues of all sizes throughout Arizona, ranging from their own space The Rebel Lounge, to Valley Bar and Crescent Ballroom, to venues like The Van Buren, Marquee Theatre, Arizona Financial Theatre, and Mesa Amphitheater. Today, PSP produces events for artists like Mitski, Charley Crockett, TV Girl, Alkaline Trio, Say Anything, Men I Trust, and many more.
Stephen Chilton started promoting small club shows and local events while in high school and college. While working for Stateside Presents in the years that followed, Chilton was part of the team that opened Crescent Ballroom in Downtown Phoenix
2011. In 2015, after leaving Stateside Presents, Chilton opened The Rebel Lounge with partner Chuckie Duff, a concert venue in Central Phoenix in the building that once housed long-standing rock venue The Mason Jar. In 2024, Billboard Magazine recognized The Rebel Lounge as the "Best Venue Under 500-Capacity" in their Top Music Venues list, a recognition that places it alongside some of the world's most iconic music venues.
In March 2020, Stephen Chilton co-founded the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), a trade association representing over 3000 of the best independent venues and promoters in all 50 states. Chilton was one of the original board members, and the organization’s first Vice President. Chilton helped create and lead he organization's public campaign #SaveOurStages. The #SaveOurStages campaign directly led to Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) authoring and passing the Save Our Stages Act, a truly bi-partisan bill that created the $16.25 billion Shuttered Venue Operators Grants (SVOG) crafted by the SBA to rescue venues and promoters nationwide during the Covid-19 pandemic.