Christie Porter has worked as a journalist for nearly a decade, writing about everything under the sun, but she really loves writing about nerdy things and the weird stuff. She recently published her first comic book short this year.
Some things never change. Wilco and Sleater-Kinney gave audiences at Red Butte Garden Sunday exactly what fans have come to expect from either bands’ live shows. These are the patrons and matrons of their respective genres who keep every number tight and technically clean, whether it’s a new release or a song they’ve been performing for 20 years.
Some things have changed, however. The members of the bands were spaced out 6 feet apart and transparent plastic barricades were erected around the stage. Oh, and we’ve all gotten a lot older. The bands show their enduring appeal though, with the number of multi-generational parties in attendance. Parents were on their feet, dancing and clapping along with their teenaged progeny.
Chicago-based NNAMDÏ opened the night sporting an arm in a sling, saying, “My Bird scooter decided to take a little expedition into a pothole.” The ensemble has an experimental punk flavor with an undercurrent of levity in some songs, likewise demonstrated even by his on-stage jokes (“I never paid attention to how much I used my left hand.”). The tone shifted more toward the serious with the rest of the evening but you wound’t know that given the life in the audience at Red Butte.
Sleater-Kinney opened their set with the title track from their new album, Path to Wellness. It’s Sleater-Kinney’s first record without longtime drummer, Janet Weiss, since Dig Me Out (1997). While the album falls into occasional meandering with a lack of drive (perhaps the absence of Weiss’s influence), the live performance breathes more energy into the title track and beyond.
The rest of their setlist blended the old (“Modern Girl” from 2005’s The Woods and the title track of 2002’s One Beat) and the new (“Price Tag” off of 2015’s No Cities to Love, “Can I Go On” from 2019’s The Center Won’t Hold and “Down the Line” on Path of Wellness). The set is bolstered by Carrie Brownstein’s and Corin Tucker’s undeniable chemistry on stage, even when spaced apart, and Brownstein brings the energy, busting out dance moves, wicked grins and high kicks in high-waisted leather shorts.
Wilco, meanwhile, brings a different sort of ponderous energy, opening their set with the crowd-pleaser, “A Shot In The Arm” from the essential album Summerteeth (1999). Even performing veterans like Wilco slip up from time to time. Frontman Jeff Tweedy started singing one song and the band started playing another. They course corrected quickly, with Tweedy saying, “I know what the song is now.” The audience was forgiving (even charmed), given the 512 days between this tour and the last. It’s also the longest time the song, “Box Full of Letters,” from the 1995 album AM, had gone without being performed.
Wilco performs live at Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre
Wilco rounded out their set with popular tracks from their expansive discography, like “Dawned on Me” (The Whole Love, 2011), “Jesus, Etc.” (Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, 2002) and “If I Ever Was A Child” (Schmilco, 2016). The alt rock band also has a new(ish) album out. They had to push back live touring, including the It’s Time tour (originally slated for last year) and their tour for their latest album, Ode To Joy. Tweedy also had a solo album out in 2020, Love Is The King, concurrently published with a book, also by Tweedy, How To Write A Song.
“We came to Salt Lake City to party!” declared Travis Tritt at his concert on Friday at Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre. And party people did. After the first song (“Drive In Your Country,” Country Club, 1990), Tritt flicked his guitar pick into the crowd, and it landed on our blanket. My accomplice for this evening of Outlaw Country picked it up. One of the Tritt superfans sitting nearby clamored to get a look, ecstatic to behold a little piece of the Tritt.
Travis Tritt performs at Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre on Friday, Aug. 6, 2021
The next time she came over to ogle The Pick That Touched The Hand of Travis Tritt, my accomplice pressed it into her hands. “You can have it,” he said. She positively gushed. She looked at me, asking for permission to give my accomplice a hug (a request I do not have the authority to grant) but she threw her arms around him without waiting for an answer anyway.
She jumped up, showing off the pick to her partner, who immediately offered to us that which is most sacred at a Red Butte show: his cooler. “Can I offer you a drink?” he asked. (The answer to that question should never be “no.”) Our generous blanket neighbors introduced themselves as Britney and Scott and kept us in drinks for the rest of the show. Like Travis Tritt, we had all come to party.
That was the energy at Red Butte that night. Even when Tritt long reminisced about the days you could “Smoke In A Bar” (Set In Stone, 2021) and windingly venerated veterans injured in combat (as well as his own acting career) to set up his song “Anymore” (It’s All About To Change, 1991), the party would not be stopped.
Travis Tritt standing in the spotlight during his live Red Butte Garden performance Friday night.
If you’ve heard a Travis Tritt track before, you’ve heard him sing live (not that there’s anything wrong with consistency), although the singer’s onstage asides make for crowd-pleasing moments. At one point, he looked down at his instrument and begged, “Talk to me guitar.” When Tritt introduced a song off his new album, Set In Stone, his first studio recorded album in nearly 15 years, he leaned into the microphone and crooned, “I’m baaaaack,” earning an approving cheer from the audience. All told, the show came with few surprises. Tritt played the old hits and even the new stuff sounds a lot like the old stuff (once again, not that there’s anything wrong with consistency).
Tritt’s set, for all of its unholstered fun, also included earnest tributes to Outlaw Country legends and “Honky Tonk Heroes” Waylon Jennings and Charlie Daniels of “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” fame, who passed away last year.
Michelle Moonshine opened for Travis Tritt Friday night at Red Butte Garden (photo via michellemoonshine.com).
More in that sober vein, you’ll find the sound of the opening act, Michelle Moonshine. “When I’m happy, I only write sad songs,” she said from the stage at Red Butte. “When I’m sad, I don’t write anything at all.” It comes through in Michelle’s voice—notably with an honest crack in her vocals that will break your heart.
The power she brought to the stage might have been a surprise for those who hadn’t heard her before, but she’s been a working musician for more than a decade now. Salt Lake magazine interviewed Michelle Moonshine back in 2018 as part of our Small Lake City Concert Series. Her brand of Americana, as she dubs it, features twangy guitar, smokey vocals and hauntingly beautiful harmonies.
It’s a local outfit, too. Their single “Wait A Minute” (2020) was recorded live, reel to reel, at Orchard Studios in North Salt Lake, with Michelle (vocals, acoustic guitar), John Davis (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar), Bronk Onion (upright bass) and Daniel Young (drums). Their latest single, “Nineteen Ninety-One,” released in 2021, is about the year before Michelle was born and strikes that perfect note of bittersweet nostalgia.
Is it cliché to say there is a little something for everyone this weekend with the Red Butte Garden Outdoor Concert Series? Yes, but not technically untrue. Country musician Travis Tritt has a new album out and his tour is coming to Red Butte on Friday, Aug. 6 with local act Michelle Moonshine opening. On Sunday, Aug. 8, rock duo Sleater-Kinney is co-headlining with alt band Wilco. These three well-established headliners have been on their respective musical scenes for some time and have some new stuff they want you to hear (possibly at Red Butte concerts this weekend).
Tritt’s new album, Set in Stone, is his first studio recorded album in 13 years. In the album release, Tritt said, “When we told people, they said, ‘Well, what kind of album is it going to be?’ The only answer I could come up with is, ‘It’s going to be a Travis Tritt album,’ and a Travis Tritt album to me represents everything I’ve ever done.”
And Travis Tritt has done a lot since he started recording in 1989, including winning two Grammy Awards, four CMA Awards and a Billboard Music Award for Top New Artist. Seven of Tritt’s albums have been certified platinum or higher and he’s had five number one singles and 20 Top 10 hits.
Travis Tritt will perform at Red Butte Amphitheatre on Friday, Aug. 6.
Among his influences for his new album, he lists “straight-ahead country, I love the old stuff, the great storytelling songs, songs that make you feel something with the lyrics that are relatable,” as well as Southern rock, blues, gospel and bluegrass. Tritt says that signature outlaw country edge is in the first track on Set in Stone, “Stand Your Ground,” an uptempo number apparently inspired by a conversation Tritt had with Waylon Jennings. “He gave me a lot of encouragement,” said Tritt. “He said, ‘I’ve been hearing all the things that they’ve been saying about you, how you’re an outlaw. I just want you to know that the same people that said that about you said the same thing about me, Willie, Johnny Cash and David Allan Coe. Don’t pay any attention to what those people say. They’re not the ones that buy your tickets to your shows. They don’t know your audience the way that you do, so you just stick with your program.’”
Travis Tritt will take the stage at the first of this weekend’s Red Butte concerts, with special guest Michelle Moonshine, Friday, Aug. 6. Gates open at 6:30 p.m. and the music starts at 7:30 p.m.
Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney will be live at Red Butte on Sunday, Aug. 8 with Wilco.
Two days later, the audiences at Red Butte will experience quite the tonal downshift. “It’s Time,” said the announcement on the Wilco website, unveiling the It’s Time Tour dates with Sleater-Kinney. “The tour we have waited and waited…and waited for[…]We can’t wait to reconnect.”
The current members of Sleater-Kinney, Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker, came out of the ‘90s riot grrrl scene but forayed into indie rock territory some time ago. They’re first few albums, like Dig Me Out (1997) are basically required listening for any budding feminist or anyone seeking a well-versed punk profile. Now they have a new album branching away from their roots called Path to Wellness. It’s Sleater-Kinney’s first record without longtime drummer, Janet Weiss, since Dig Me Out. Whether or not the band feels like it is missing something without Weiss, we’ll all find out together Sunday, Aug. 8 at Red Butte.
Wilco will be live at Red Butte on Sunday, Aug. 8.
The other half of the It’s Time Tour, Wilco, had some new stuff ready to go just before the pandemic hit. They had to push back live touring, including the It’s Time tour (originally slated for last year) and their tour for their latest album, Ode To Joy. Frontman Jeff Tweedy also had a solo album out in 2020, Love Is The King, concurrently published with a book, also by Tweedy, How To Write A Song.
Wilco’s latest effort, their 11th studio album, largely appears to be a return to form: the mellow, ponderous alt-rock we loved back in 1998 and ‘99 with Mermaid Avenue and Summerteeth, but one or two of the songs (“Hold Me Anyway”) are almost cheerful. Regardless, it’s probably safe to say, we can expect some classic Wilco at Red Butte.
Sleater-Kinney and Wilco, with special guest NNAMDÏ, will be live at Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre, Sunday, Aug. 8. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the show starts at 6:30 p.m.
Opening for Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit Friday night, Lucinda Williams seated herself in front of the microphone and apologized to the crowd for not being able to play the guitar or dance around. “But I can still sing,” she added, drawing whoops and hollers from the audience at Red Butte Gardens Amphitheatre. In some ways, this set the tone for the night: maybe the return to live musical performances wasn’t everything we hoped it would be, but we’ll take it gladly.
Lucinda Williams is touring again after suffering a stroke last year, which, as a testament to her wits and grit, she was ready to joke about. “I just got out of rehab,” she said. “But not that kind of rehab.” Her humor visibly eased the crowd, who were ready to sink into their seats and make the most out of the long-awaited return of the Red Butte Garden Outdoor Concert Series.
Lucinda Williams opens for Jason Isbell at Red Butte Gardens, July 30, 2021.
With that, Williams launched into “Joy,” from her 1998 album Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. William’s voice is more gravelly, deeper now—perhaps even more compelling than on the original studio recording—all earth and heartbreak. “Drunken Angel,” too, a song from that same album, also struck a deeper chord performed live than it might have otherwise.
Williams was not the only one making a big return. After taking a season off, even the regular Red Butte goers were rusty but happy to be back. Even before the music started, energy was high. “Hello fellow concert goers!” our neighbors on the grass greeted as they plopped into their chairs, twisting around to face us and gush about Williams and Isbell. My companion had never heard of Isbell, but that did not deter our new friends. “You’re in for such a treat! It’s a perfect way to start off the season after these last 18 months.”
Lucinda Williams performs with her band at Red Butte Gardens, July 30, 2021.
That celebratory energy was everywhere. Williams performed a version of “Take Me To The River” that had people clapping, dancing, rising out of their seats. During the song, a woman in a fringe denim jacket, paisley pants and a Stetson hat took to dancing through the rows of people and swinging around a whirring bubble-making machine.
The joy of the return was made only brighter by the contrast of the decidedly Nashville, emotional heaviness of the music. Williams did not back away from the personal as the night went on, using her struggle with depression to set up the song “Big Black Train,” “big black train, big black train / I don’t wanna get on board that big black train,” a deep, rhythmic number from her 2020 album Good Souls Better Angels.
Not everything about the return of the concert series went off without a hitch, either. For those looking to buy concessions, card readers were down and only cash sales were accepted. When you can bring a cooler full of your own food and drinks to the show, that isn’t exactly a dealbreaker, and it didn’t appear to ruin anyone’s good time.
Jason Isbell headlines the first show of at Red Butte Gardens Outdoor Concert Series 2021.
Jason Isbell was likewise gracious as he took the stage, praising the beauty of the venue and even thanking Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall for allowing musicians to perform in her town. Songs from Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit’s latest album, Reunions (2020), featured heavily throughout the night. The track “Dreamsicle,” played early in the evening’s set, captures and distills the nostalgic storytelling and thesis of the album in an understated way, with its string of childhood images and vignettes, from the standard and seemingly sweet, “A dreamsicle on a summer night / In a folding lawn chair / Witch’s ring around the moon / Better get home soon,” to the devastating, “New sneakers on a high school court / And you swore you’d be there / My heart breaking through the springtime / Breaking in June.”
Isbell, too, remarked on the personal significance of the songs, some of which draw inspiration from his battle with alcoholism and eventual sobriety. The driving, pristine guitar rhythms breathed new life into songs like Never Gonna Change, a ditty from Isbell’s days with the Drive-By Truckers (his former band who performed on that same stage two nights later in the pouring rain). The band likewise lends the stirring backbone to the plaintive “What’ve I Done To Help,” in which Isbell laments his own decisions and the state of society.
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit at Red Butte Gardens, July 30, 2021.
That’s not to say it was all a soul-wrenching look into past actions. “Be Afraid,” a rock anthem from Reunions, is more hopeful and forward-looking with the lively support from the band, who had people on their feet and belting along with the chorus. After the final chords of the song faded, Isbell leaned into the microphone, overlooking the crowd and declared, “That was fun!”
Jason Isbell stands well on his own, too, (if his multiple successful solo albums weren’t proof enough of that already) with the aching ballad “If We Were Vampires” from the band’s album The Nashville Sound (2017). At the end of the night, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit returned to the stage for a soulful, string-plucking encore of “St. Peter’s Autograph” from the Reunions album. Neither song left a dry eye in the house (or on the lawn, rather).
They closed out the show with one more encore, “Super 8” (Southeastern, 2013). Looking around at the crowd, the effect of the more raucous, southern rock closer was restorative. Or, maybe, that was the cumulative results of a night filled with a little regret, a little heartbreak and a little hope—just what we needed to trigger a collective catharsis after the last 18 months.
Tickets are on sale to other shows for the Red Butte Outdoor Concert Series website, including Travis Tritt on Aug. 6 and Wilco and Sleater-Kinney on Aug. 8. See the full Red Butte summer lineup and Salt Lake’s guide on how to Red Butte.
Red Butte Garden’s 2021 Outdoor Concert Series kicks off this week with a show that sold out before most of us could even try to get our hands on tickets: Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit.
I first became interested in Jason Isbell’s music in an unusual way. Not on the radio or music streaming app or even a friend’s insistent recommendation. I first took note of Isbell in an interview with him on the political commentary podcast Pod Save America in 2018. From his thoughts on empathy to partisan politics to The Chicks, what struck me was his thoughtfulness and his frankness in sharing his beliefs. In a show of my own ignorance, it wasn’t what I expected from someone known as a Nashville country/Americana singer. I wanted to hear this man’s music.
It’s apparent why Jason Isbell is widely regarded as one of the Americana genre’s best songwriters (if not one of the best songwriters in general). Isbell seems to apply that same thought to his music as well, and the latest album adds a healthy dose of nostalgia to the mix. Reunions (2020), recorded with his band the 400 Unit, is also a response to their previous success.
“Success is a very nice problem to have but I think ‘how do I get through it and not lose what made me good in the first place?’” he’s quoted saying in a band release. “A lot of these songs and the overall concept of this album is how do I progress as an artist and a human being and still keep that same hunger that I had when I wasn’t quite so far along in either respect.”
Just for fun (and maybe as a bit of a palate cleanser after Reunions, rife with personal history and deep emotion), check out the cover Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit did of Metallica’s Sad But True, featuring a mean slide guitar, for the 30th anniversary of Metallica’s Black Album.
Rounding out the band are Sadler Vaden (guitar, backup vocals), Jimbo Hart (bass, backup vocals), Derry DeBorja (keyboard, accordion, backup vocals), Chad Gamble (drums, backup vocals) and Isbell’s wife and creative partner, Amanda Shires. Shires plays fiddle and sings backup in the 400 Unit, and Isbell plays guitar for Shires’s The Highwomen.
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit perform Friday, July 30 at the Red Butte Gardens Amphitheater as part of the 2021 Outdoor Concert Series with special guest Lucinda Williams. No matter where you stand on the politics, you’ve still got good music to enjoy.
Tickets are on sale to other shows for the Red Butte Outdoor Concert Series website.
So, what are we doing about the drought, again? As of Thursday, Utah Governor Spencer Cox announced that a state drought plan to tackle water conservation efforts is in the works. The Governor declared the drought an emergency back in March, activating the Drought Response Committee. Other Utah drought response efforts came in the form of subsequent executive orders which addressed the amount of irrigation allowed on state property, putting emphasis on individual responsibility and a call to pray for rain.
We finally did get some rain, but not enough to offer any relief to severe drought conditions. A drought update for the week of July 26 from the Utah Department of Natural Resources stated plainly, “Drought continues to have a stranglehold on the state despite wild weather swings that dumped rain in some areas. The U.S. Drought Monitor categorizes 100% of the state as ‘extreme’ or ‘exceptional’ drought.”
Salt Lake reported in our July/August issue that there did not appear to be a coordinated, unified drought plan in place for the state. Water conservation efforts were largely piecemeal and mostly voluntary. Now we have a clearer picture of what this Utah drought plan could entail, and here’s what we know:
The governor announced four focus areas the state will “fast-track to further advance water conservation and water planning.”
Installing secondary water meters
Better integration of land use planning and water planning
Optimizing agricultural water use
Starting a turf buyback program
According to the Governor’s office, areas that have installed secondary meters include Spanish Fork, Saratoga Springs and Weber Basin Water Conservancy District, and they have seen a reduction in water use by about 20-30%.
On the land use and water planning front, state leaders say they are enlisting the help of local officials to adopt water efficiency standards for all new developments.
Meanwhile, the agriculture industry remains the largest water user in the state, and the Governor’s Office says the state has invested about $7.3 million in agricultural optimization for research and projects, improvements in agricultural water use practices, creating benefits for farmers, optimizing water use and protecting water quantity and quality—largely through an ongoing grant program created by the state legislature back in 2019.
The soon-to-be statewide turf buyback program would be similar to programs like Jordan Valley’s “Flip Your Strip” program to help incentivize people to replace grass lawns with waterwise landscaping options.
According to the Governor’s office, a turf buyback program is scheduled to be made available to Layton City residents within the week, and several other municipalities are working towards them as well, including one in Washington County.
Many of the current efforts still seem to be piecemeal, but water districts and municipalities are implementing their own plans as Utah’s water agencies are in the process of developing a comprehensive state water plan.
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Pioneer Day is just one of those quintessentially Utah things. No one celebrates it anywhere else. Its offshoot, the subversive Pie and Beer Day, is only celebrated in Utah, too. The former marks the arrival of the Mormon settlers to the Salt Lake Valley, and the latter eschews the Latter-day cultural and historical significance, instead taking advantage of the state holiday to consume the eponymous pie and beer.
No matter how you want to celebrate July 24 this year, there is an event for you.
Classic Pioneer Day Celebrations
Days of ’47 Cowboy Games & Rodeo July 20–24, 2021 at 7:30 p.m. Days of ’47 Arena at Utah State Fairpark (155 1000 W., SLC) Contestants from the junior high level all the way to the pros of the sport compete in bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, barrel racing, women’s breakaway roping and bull riding.
Ogden Pioneer Days Rodeo and Celebration July 20-24, 2021 Ogden Pioneer Stadium (668 17th S.t, Ogden) Each year, Ogden hosts events ranging from concerts and firework shows to art strolls and parades and, of course, the Ogden Pioneer Days rodeo. Ogden’s Grand Parade route begins on 31st Street, continues northbound on Washington Boulevard and ends on 20th Street.
Celebrate Pioneer Day at Discovery Gateway July 21-22, 2021 Discovery Gateway (444 W. 100 South, SLC) Celebrate Pioneer Day with the kids, participating in historical crafts, games and experiences. Free with the cost of admission to Discovery Gateway.
This is the Place Heritage Park (Photo courtesy Utah Office of Tourism)
Pioneer Days at This Is The Place July 23–24, 2021, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. This Is The Place Heritage Park (2601 Sunnyside Ave., SLC) A family-friendly affair with a booming “Candy Cannon” raining old-fashioned taffy down Main Street and pioneer games. The celebration wouldn’t be complete without enjoying the everyday This is the Place activities: panning for gold, train and pony rides and art and craft projects.
Days of ‘47 Parade in Salt Lake City July 23, 2021 at 9 a.m. Route starts at South Temple and State Street; runs East to 200 East; turns South to 900 South; the turns East to 600 East (Liberty Park) Many families camp out on the streets the night before the parade to secure superior parade seating with the best views of floats, bands, horses, clowns and other parade entries.
Provo Pioneer Day July 24, 2021, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Kiwanis Park (1019 N. 1100 East, Provo) The annual Provo Pioneer Day celebration features old-timey games, live music, food trucks, animals, artisan demonstrations and more. New this year is the Children’s Entrepreneurship Market that will have a market on-site with over 100 youth vendors.
Mapleton Pioneer Days Celebration July 24, 2021 Ira Allan Sports Park (1728 S. 800 West, Mapleton) Expect free carriage rides in Old Town Square, a dance through the ages on Main Street, carnival games, bounce houses, pioneer games, contests and lots of food! Fireworks go off Saturday night. Registration is required for some events.
Bountiful Handcart Days July 24, 2021 Mueller Park Jr. High (955 E. 1800 South, Bountiful) The Handcart Days fireworks show will launch at dusk (around 9:30 PM) at Mueller Park Jr. High. South Davis Recreation is also hosting Handcart Day Races. Other Handcart Days events, like the parade and park activities, have been cancelled.
Brigham City Pioneer Day Celebration July 24, 2021, 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Rees Pioneer Park (800 W. Forest St., Brigham City) A day, free for the whole family, featuring pioneer games and activities and train rides.
Pioneer Day Celebration in Orem July 24, 2021, 11 a.m.–9:45 p.m. The Orchard at University Place (75 East Univ. Parkway, Orem) Festivities include yard games, bounce houses, contests and live band performances. To finish off the celebration there will be a performance by Utah’s own Jersey Street Band and a fireworks show choreographed to music.
Heber Valley Railroad’s Fiddlers ‘n Fireworks July 24, 2021 Heber Valley Historic Railroad (450 S. 600 West, Heber City) The annual Pioneer Day evening train includes a fried chicken dinner at the Depot while you enjoy music from the Utah Old Time Fiddlers, The Saltwater Bunch gunfighter show and a 2-hour round trip to Decker Bay on the shores of Deer Creek Reservoir, directly across the lake from the Charleston Fireworks. Food and snacks available for purchase in the concession car.
Washington City Pioneer Day Celebration July 24, 2021 Washington City Community Center (350 Community Center Dr., Washington City) and Veterans Park (75 E. Telegraph St., Washington City) There will be a parade down Telegraph Street at 8 a.m. and, afterward, visit the children’s booths in Veterans Park. When the park fun has ended, head over to the W.C.C.C. and spend the rest of the day swimming.When the sun goes down, there will be a 10 p.m. fireworks display.
Pioneer Day Festival July 24, 2021, 10 a.m.– 5 p.m. American West Heritage Center (4025 S. Hwy 89-91, Wellsville) Explore the heritage of Cache Valley by joining living history interpreters to learn all about the early settlers. Expect train rides, pony rides and bison tours. Dress your kids up in time period clothing, decorate your bikes and participate in the Pioneer Parade at 11 a.m.
Spring City Pioneer Day July 19-25, 2021 While the fireworks have been cancelled because of extreme drought conditions and fire danger, you can still expect a celebration with talented performers, ice cream, fun runs and a parade on Main Street. Don’t miss the Corn Hole Tournament.
Pie and Beer Day Events
Pie n’ Beer day/ Moonlight Boogie! July 23, 2021 at noon Ogden Bicycle Collective (936 28th St., Ogden) An event in two parts: a more kid-friendly part one during the day and a rowdier night celebration with the option to camp.
Pie & Beer Day Eve at Uinta Brewery July 23, 2021 at 6:30 p.m. Uinta Brewing Co. (1722 South, Fremont Dr., SLC) Uinta’s backyard concert features Folk Hogan sharing the stage with Vincent Draper & the Culls. There will be plenty of Uinta beers and food along with the music.
Pie and Beer Day With Fisher Beer July 24, 2021 at noon A. Fisher Brewing Company (320 W. 800 South, SLC) Celebrate Pie and Beer Day with Fisher Beer and pizza pies from Bella Pizzeria.
Pie and Beer Day at Urban Lounge July 24, 2021 at 3 p.m. Urban Lounge (241 S. 500 East, SLC) Urban Lounge is celebrating our state’s grand tradition with a Pie & Beer Day Backyard Show featuring an all local line-up: The Pickpockets, Fur Foxen, Marny Proudfit, Mia Hicken and Michelle Moonshine. Tickets are $10. Food catered by Salt City Kitchen. Patio bar and limited seating available.
Pie and Beer Day Celebration with Epic Brewing Company July 24, 2021 at 3 p.m. Epic Brewing Company (825 S. State St., SLC) Flourish Bakery and Epic Brewing Company join forces to celebrate Pie and Beer Day. Grab a pint or two and some signature cutie pies from the Flourish truck parked outside. There will be a special “pie and beer pairing” menu to help you pick the perfect items for your celebration.
Pie N Beer Day July 24, 2021 at 8 p.m. Blues Katz Grill (307 N. Bluff St., St. George) Grab a slice of pizza pie and a beer and dance the night away to EDM, progressive house and trance music. Tickets sold at the door; cash and Venmo only ($20).
For more ideas of how to celebrate (for any reason), subscribe to the print edition of Salt Lake magazine and check out our City Life section.
You’ve seen the memes. Leos will sulk if they’re not the center of attention. Your Taurus friend is your prettiest friend. And if everything is going to hell, Mercury must be in Gatorade, right? Astrology was already seeing a resurgence, with popular astrology apps making it a billion-dollar industry. Then, we entered the Age of Great Uncertainty and collectively began scrambling for answers and meaning.
Skye Payne, an astrologer based in Utah and owner of Astro Mixtapes, has been immersed in the world of astrology since she was a kid. But in 2020, she had an influx of friends and clients coming to her for readings who had never shown an interest in astrology before. To her, it makes sense. “We had to stop doing anything else and had to focus on ourselves. And our knowledge of ourselves was all we had to cling to. It’s an introspective time.”
So, what can the stars tell you about you? To demonstrate what people hope to learn, we asked astrologer Payne to examine the natal charts of a few Utah celebrities.
Jen Shah
Jen Shah (Photo by: Chad Kirkland/Bravo)
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City cast member was arrested on federal fraud charges this past spring, and has a very interesting chart. She has a natal Mars retrograde, which basically means that, your whole life, you’re fighting uphill. Even when you’re successful, there’s something nagging at you or hindering you. Her Mars is in Taurus, a fixed Earth sign who’s stubborn and always has a goal. She’ll stop at nothing for her success. A moon in Capricorn means you feel you don’t have enough resources to support yourself emotionally, and you’re more likely to sacrifice your values to succeed.
Ty Burrell
Ty Burrell; Courtesy Wikimedia Commons
The actor, who is part owner of Beer Bar, Bar X and, recently, The Cotton Bottom Inn (and played the hapless dad on Modern Family, Phil Dunphy), has a natal aspect of Mars square Jupiter, which is full of high energy and enthusiasm. Many people with this aspect become performers to take risks and channel that energy creatively. His Uranus conjunct Pluto in Virgo transit means new ventures are usually successful. It’s also about giving back to the community, like when he started that virtual tip jar for his staff during the pandemic.
Post Malone
Post Malone; Courtesy Wikimedia Commons
The sometimes-Utah resident’s album Hollywood’s Bleeding showcases the emotionality of his Cancer Sun and his ability to be open about his feelings. His Mercury is square Mars, both in mutable signs. Mutable signs are adaptable but also a little hard to pin down. It’s like your brain moves a million miles a minute. You’ll make rash decisions that you might regret later. There’s a thinly veiled cynicism as well, which shows in his music. When you have a difficult aspect like this, consider taking a step back and slow down.
Astro Mixtapes
Skye Payne is an astrologer based in Utah and owner of Astro Mixtapes. In 2020, she saw an influx of first-time clients. “We had to stop doing anything but focus on ourselves. It’s an introspective time,” she says. She offers readings and curated astrology-based playlists at skyepayne.com. She’s also on Instagram @astromixtapes.
The Bard said it best, something is rotten in the state of Utah. Our current housing market has seen better days, and it is the topic on every tongue. Talk of the crisis has become a way to break the ice. We’ve all been subject to a housing-related rant or enrapt by rental ruminations. Has it ever been this bad before? How can anyone afford a home or rent nowadays? And what’s causing it to be this way? The consensus seems to be that this housing crisis is the result of too much of a good thing. It is the pound of flesh owed in exchange for the state’s booming economy.
UT ZIP Codes With the Most Expensive Homes
Source: Stacker compiled list using Zillow data Feb. 2021
1. 84060 (Park City) Typical home value: $1,261,961
2. 84098 (Park City) Typical home value: $946,545
3. 84004 (Alpine) Typical home value: $875,101
4. 84108 (SLC) Typical home value: $728,630
5. 84124 (Holladay) Typical home value: $642,792
Growing Pains
The latest U.S. Census data confirms it. Utah is the fastest-growing state in the country. Population growth, job growth and economic growth have Utah bursting at the seams of the fabric of our society, exposing our soft, fleshy weaknesses. Authorities and advocates alike have been trying to call attention to one such weakness for decades: housing affordability.
“We’re in a deep affordability crisis. It’s not the first time, but it’s the deepest one we’ve been in, and it’s the most widespread,” says Steve Erickson, a housing advocate for the Crossroads Urban Center. “A lot of people have been left behind, even in a burgeoning economy.”
All of that dramatic growth is applying upward pressure on housing prices. From 2015 through 2020, Utah was the fourth highest in the nation for housing price increases.
To demonstrate just how unhealthy the current housing market is, Jim Wood, Director of Research and Science at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah, provided an example at a Greater Avenues Neighborhood Council meeting this past spring. In the last five years, housing prices have gone up about 10% on average every year in the Avenues neighborhood, all of Salt Lake County and the entire State. “That’s a really unhealthy market,” says Wood. “If you did that for 7 or 8 years, you’ve doubled the price of a home. You can’t do that. It’s just not sustainable.”
Not sustainable and a seemingly impossible barrier for anyone trying to enter the housing market. The only way to get into the market is to rent, buy an old home or buy a new home, “and all three of those show stress,” says Wood.
Apart from COVID, it’s what everyone is talking about, so we asked our readers to share their stories. The situations we received largely fell under three separate scenarios.
In 2015, the median sale price of a home in Salt Lake County was $269,000. In 2020, it was $405,000.
Source: Housing Affordability: What Are Best Practices and Why Are They Important?, Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, University of Utah
Scenario One: Left Behind
“My family moved into my parents’ basement at the beginning of the pandemic. We’re back to work now, but our income doesn’t stretch as far as it used to. We want to rent but can’t find a place that meets our needs within our budget, after fees, utilities and everything else. We’ve even been priced out of an apartment in our old building.”
“All indications are we do have a housing shortage,” says Wood. “Before, at least people could get in the rental market. Now that’s pricing people out, too.”
That shortage is hitting low-income residents the hardest. While overall housing affordability is not improving at all, Utah also has a huge shortage of available affordable housing (housing set aside for low-income households through government assistance). According to the National Low Income Housing Commission, there are not enough affordable units available for the 22% of Utah renters (66,855 households) who are extremely low-income households. That means those whose incomes are at or below the poverty guideline—30% of their area’s median income (AMI)—or, for example, a family of four making only $25,800 annually.
“Many do have some sort of housing assistance, but it’s not sufficient to meet demand. They are on the edge of homelessness,” says Wood. As many as 40,000 households, about one-eighth of all Utah renters, are extremely low income and severely housing cost-burdened.
Housing advocates, experts and policymakers alike have long employed the 30-percent rule to determine not only housing affordability but as a guide for how much we should be spending on housing. In general, we should not spend more than about 30% of our income (before taxes) on housing costs. That should include rent or mortgage as well as necessary utilities and associated fees. Households that pay more than 30% of their income on housing are considered “cost-burdened.” Those who pay 50% or more are considered “severely cost-burdened.”
“If you’re in that position, you think of the pain every day,” says Wood. “You think of how you’re going to make ends meet when your housing is eating up so much of your income. There’s a lot of pain out there.”
It’s more than just a supply problem. It’s a wage problem and an investment problem, according to advocates. “The supply issue is real, but even if we had sufficient supply, we would not be housing our folks making 30% of the AMI,” says Erickson. “They’re never going to own a home or build wealth with that income. So, you either have to raise incomes or subsidize more housing.”
Utah wages have not kept pace with the increasing housing costs, but that’s been going on for a while. In Salt Lake City, between 2011 and 2014, rental rates increased two times faster than the wage increase for renters. Additionally, home sale prices increased four times faster than the wages of homeowners.
Low income or not, on average, most renters are spending too much on rent along the Wasatch Front. An analysis of rental rates by the Policy Institute reported, by 2017, the average rent had risen above 30% of the renter median household income in Salt Lake, Utah and Weber Counties.
UT ZIP Codes With the Fastest Rising Rents
Source: Stacker compiled list using Zillow data Feb. 2021
1. 84041 (Layton) 1 year rent change: +10.3%
2. 84404 (Ogden) 1 year rent change: +8.8%
3. 84015 (Clearfield) 1 year rent change: +8.5%
4. 84043 (Lehi) 1 year rent change: +5.6%
5. 84005 (Eagle Mountain) 1 year rent change: +3.8%
Scenario Two: The Rents Are Too Damn High
“My family has been renting for a long time, living below our means. Now we’re ready to buy our first home. To keep it in our budget, we’re looking at older homes, but we keep getting out-bid by people offering way above the asking price. In the meantime, our landlord keeps raising our rent, and we’re afraid that will start eating into our savings meant for our future home.”
For anyone trying to buy a home in this economy, expect a bidding war. “People try to buy a home and it’s an auction every weekend,” says Wood. Days on market are the lowest they’ve ever been in the Wasatch Front. In the first quarter of 2020, the median number of days for a home on the market was 20. In the first quarter for 2021, it was just five days. “That’s another indicator of severe shortage,” says Wood. “It’s really competitive out there.”
Utah is also seeing more cash home sales and more above-list sales than ever before. Low interest rates are partially to thank (or blame, depending on which side of it you’re on) for that. The Federal Reserve responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by reducing interest rates, stimulating the demand for homes. “We’ve seen a rush of renters trying to become homeowners,” says Wood. “All of that feeds into rising prices.”
With interest rates low, there’s an incentive to take the money that would be saved on interest and offer an additional 5 to 10% above list price when buying a home. If the buyer can afford the gambit, it doesn’t add much to their long-term mortgage payments. (Although, the monthly mortgage payment on a median-priced home in Salt Lake County has gone up from $1,490 in 2015 to $2,110 in 2020.)
“The Fed is providing a lot of liquidity to the system,” explains Wood. That extra money in the economy is also driving up the demand for housing. Before the Great Recession, the Fed’s balance sheet was about $800 billion. After quantitative easing and COVID, the Fed’s balance sheet is now approaching $6 trillion. “They’ve pumped a lot of money in,” says Wood. “So this year will run really hot. The economy is going to be gangbusters. It’s going to be blazing.”
By the end of the year, Wood suspects that more new housing inventory opening up could provide some easing on rents, but he says, “I don’t see any relief this year for people getting into the housing market.”
From 2015 to 2020, the median monthly mortgage payment has gone from $1,490 to $2,110.
Scenario Three: We Got Lucky
“We bought a house in a friendlier market. We could never afford to buy our house now. We’d like to sell it and upgrade to a new home, but the market is too crazy right now and we could end up with no place to go after we sell. So, we’re staying put until the market becomes less competitive and considering renovations instead. It could be worse. We were lucky we bought our house when we did.”
People who bought their homes in the 1990s, 2000s or 2010s consider themselves fortunate to have become homeowners when they did. Now, many of them don’t want to move or simply can’t move. In fact, fewer people are moving out of places like Salt Lake City than ever before, which is another stress factor contributing to this housing mess.
While some are quick to blame the mass exodus of Californians to Utah for the growing housing shortage (and all of the subsequent ails of the housing market), in reality, it’s not just that more people are moving in; fewer people are moving out. The Utah Foundation actually looked into whether we were seeing more demand as a result of an influx of Californians, and that does not appear to be the whole answer. The increase in housing demand appears affected more by fewer residents than normal leaving the Salt Lake area.
But still, Utah is an attractive and affordable market for “Californians,” which has become a catch-all term for locals. It’s our boogeyman. The word applies to anyone coming out of other, more expensive markets to take advantage of Utah’s comparably cheaper home prices. “So, while we still see people getting priced out of the market here, people are coming in to replace them,” says Wood. This means it could be some time before the housing affordability crisis starts to threaten the booming economy that helped create it. The Salt Lake City metropolitan area is ranked 21st out of 180 cities for the highest housing prices, higher than 89% of the metro areas in the U.S. And if Utah prices keep climbing, it could start pricing out even people moving in from other, more expensive markets. Yes, Utah homes could get too rich even for the dreaded “Californians.”
“It would take time before we would see it start to hurt us,” says Wood. “But, at some point, it could start to impact growth.”
As with most widespread crises, some will and are profiting from it. And it’s not just one-percenters. People who already own homes are accumulating wealth that renters and those priced out of the housing market cannot hope to access. From 2015 to 2020, the median sales price of a Salt Lake County home increased from $269,000 to $405,000. Housing wealth accounts for about half of the net worth of moderate-income households. Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies found that, nationally, moderate-income households with a head of household between 50 to 64 years old have a median home equity of $75,000. That’s national. In Utah, housing prices have increased at more than double the national rate in the last 30 years. So, the same moderate-income homeowner in Utah could have as much as $150,000 in home equity. Lucky, indeed.
There are some things existing homeowners can invest in that could help alleviate the current affordability crisis, albeit incrementally. This year, the Utah State Legislature passed a bill designed to relax zoning restrictions on internal Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), such as basement apartments. With more ADUs, lawmakers hope to increase housing supply, and building an ADU can give homeowners an additional revenue stream by renting them out.
Ask A Lot, Get a Little
While in most cases housing advocates did not get as much as they wanted from the state legislature, Wood sees some glimmers of the hope ahead in the recent progress made by local lawmakers:
In 2019, lawmakers passed S.B. 34, which encourages local city officials to plan and zone for affordable housing.
In 2020, they passed S.B. 39, allocating $10 million to fund housing for low and moderate-income residents.
In 2021, we saw H.B. 82 (the ADU bill) and S.B. 164, which set aside $35 million for affordable housing projects this year.
Now What?
State and local governments have not given themselves direct control over the market forces contributing to the current lack of housing affordability. Land to build on is limited and expensive. Material and labor costs are up because of supply chain issues and labor shortages.
“The trajectory is in the wrong direction right now for affordability,” says Erickson. “And the only way you’re going to change that course is a real big downturn in the real estate market on the macro level. But, what we’d prefer to do is build more units at prices that are affordable.”
Wood hedges away from comparing the current crisis to the housing bubble burst that brought on the Great Recession. “Are we in a bubble?” Wood asks. “I don’t know. But, we don’t have the situation we had in 2008 and 2009 when credit markets were way out of whack and then froze. We are in a very different time. A very unique period. I’m not sure how it’s going to play out. But I think, right now, we have an unhealthy market.”
“In the meantime, let’s take advantage of the crisis by passing the right policies,” says Erickson. “Every time we miss the opportunity, we’ll run into it next time because we’re already behind the curve and the next boom will be worse.”
One hopeful sign: there is much more interest in housing affordability now among the general public. A Salt Lake Chamber survey found housing was one of the issues that Utah households are most concerned about, along with education, air quality and transportation. Wood hopes that awareness, along with more education on the issue, will make people less resistant to the possible solutions.
Solutions to Utah’s housing crisis have largely come down to two words: increase supply. That includes incentivising the repurposing and renovating of existing property and investing in building more at higher density. And therein lies the rub, as it were. Established residents often don’t want to see their neighborhoods change to incorporate much-needed high-density housing. Even in seemingly more progressive areas of the state, it’s a struggle.
Wood detailed an Ivory Homes plan to develop an empty lot in the Greater Avenues Neighborhood that met heavy opposition from residents. The three-acre lot on F Street at 13th Avenue would have become 25 new single-family homes, 20 of them with ADUs already built-in. A neighborhood coalition resisted the plan, afraid of the increased traffic and diminishing values of existing homes in the area.
While concerns over the possible strain on infrastructure are valid, Wood raises recent evidence that suggests falling home values is a misconception about bringing high-density housing to a neighborhood. The Gardner Policy Institute found that new high-density housing had no adverse effects on the value of nearby single-family homes in Salt Lake County. But, changing people’s minds takes time, and anecdotal examples like the snarl of development in the heart of Sugar House remain cautionary tales for the average Utahn.
When it comes to solving the housing crisis, “In a lot of ways it’s like climate change,” says Wood. “It takes dedicated, committed focus, high intensity and the political will. You have to get everyone on board and coordinate to make a difference.”
After missing a year in 2020, the Utah Restaurant Association Restaurant Industry Awards Gala returned to honor excellence within Utah’s foodservice industry. Among the honorees, the late, great Salt Lake magazine editor and food maven Mary Brown Malouf posthumously received their Excellence in Food Journalism Award for her contributions encouraging the food community to be the best it could possibly be.
“Let’s just say, when Mary was in your restaurant, you knew it,” said Melva Sine, President and CEO of the Utah Restaurant Association, who presented the award. Malouf’s daughter, Anna, and nephew attended the event to receive it in her name.
“Mary would have hated this,” said Anna Malouf upon accepting the honor for her mother.
Mary Brown Malouf receives a posthumous award from Utah Restaurant Association.
Mary’s tenure as executive editor of Salt Lake began in August 2007. Her reputation as a feared food critic at Dallas’ D magazine and The Salt Lake Tribune preceded her but it was her keen mind and her crackling writing that is why she became the longest-serving editor in Salt Lake magazine’s 30-plus-year history. Mary spoke the language of the kitchen, the lingo of servers, the banter of the bar—the Esperanto of anyone who has ever waited on a table, slung a drink, cleaned a grease trap or prepped on the line. But she also knew the language of dining, being served and what a diner should expect. She was critical on both sides of that divide. Cajoling, teasing the best from the back of the house and lecturing Utah diners on not just where to eat but how to eat and to dare their palates and pocketbooks on local food. She respected food and the people who make it; she understood the life of a chef and the language of service. Her work defined and championed our city’s culture.
More than 300 people packed into the Grand Ballroom in the Union Depot Building at The Gateway in Salt Lake City on June 30 for the awards gala—most of them members of the restaurant industry—to celebrate each other and mourn what they had lost during the previous year.
Utah Restaurant Association Restaurant Industry Awards Gala(Photo: Elizabeth Ashdown Photography)
The Utah Restaurant Association had intended to honor Malouf last year, before she passed away in December 2020. But the world had other plans, and the pandemic postponed the gala. The moment eventually did come, over a year later and months after when the gala is usually held in the spring. For those who attended, it was a moment of community and grieving and appreciation for the giants of the industry, and their first chance to mourn collectively.
“We’ve weathered an unfathomable storm, we are still weathering it. We are recovering and WE ARE NOT recovered,” said Sine at the gala. “But we are doing it united, together and in support of one another. We know there are many restaurants, peers, and people who we lost this year.”
Caputo family accepts Utah Restaurant Association award for Tony Caputo.(Photo: Elizabeth Ashdown Photography)
Another giant of Utah’s restaurant scene, the late Tony Caputo received the URA Legacy award. The award is given to those who leave a lasting legacy on Utah’s culinary landscape. “It’s rare to say that one person can impact the trajectory of an entire industry,” said Sine, “But Tony Caputo did just that while simultaneously contributing to shaping the community of Salt Lake City.” Matt Caputo, Tony’s son, accepted the award in his father’s stead.
Other winners included Chef of the Year Phelix Gardener of Pago. Wood.Ash.Rye, Nomad East, Ginger Street and Crown Burger were among those restaurants receiving the Concept of the year award. Scott Evans, the Founder and President of Pago Restaurant Group, took home the coveted Golden Spoon award as Utah’s 2021 Restaurateur of the Year. Cherie Bartleson from SLC Eatery received the Heart of The Industry Front of House award and Executive Chef Justin Shifflett of Stoneground Kitchen and Francis Fecteau of Libations Inc. received the Heart of the Industry MVP award.
