Music

The White Buffalo and Buffalo Vs. Train Played The Commonwealth Room on Saturday

The White Buffalo played The Commonwealth Room last Saturday (9/20/2025), the band’s second show in two Salt Lake City nights. Why two nights? Better question: Why not? If your band had Jake Smith as its lead frontman, with the singing energy of a young Eddie Vedder and the kind of beard and locks that every Hell’s Angel anywhere aspires to, wouldn’t you need to book a twofer, too? On that note, the band attracted its share of longhaired male groupies in the crowd, reflections of what was onstage. While the night was kind of like a pleasantly barreling freight train, all speed and song and impressively terrific vocal control, the moment I’ll hold to is when the band took on “House of The Rising Sun,” simply because it’s the best version I’ve ever heard.   

And whether they planned it ahead of time with The White Buffalo or not, similarly-named local band conglomerate Buffalo vs. Train opened the evening with alternately sad and funny Americana music. Singer-songwriter Michelle Moonshine and Triggers & Heaps’ Morgan Snow and John Davis make such pretty music together, it’s hard to only spend an hour with the trio and call it good. Easy highlight: “Phoebe Snow” is a real gem. And I probably need to hear the song about buying a box of beer about 500 more times before I get tired of it.

Photo gallery by Natalie Simpson. Instagram: @beehivephotovideo

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Three local bands played at Provo’s Velour Live Music Gallery last Friday (9/19/2025), including (in order) Paul Jacobson & The Madison Arm, The Last White Buffalo, and Seaslak. each providing innumerable reasons for those gathered to count themselves lucky. The theme was more new than old, perhaps because I’d only seen one of the three ever play before.

Paul Jacobson was my only familiarity in the bunch, and he also opened the evening. Out of all the songs he played, only “You’re The Song” stood out as one I know I’ve heard before. It’s a beauty, that one, one that gets even better as it ages. If I were a betting man, I’d bet on a new full-length from Jacobson and his band in the near future. Call it a hunch. The where and the when are mysteries, but rest assured: there are new songs to add to his pile of classics.

The Last Wild Buffalo was the first “buffalo” band I saw within 48 hours last weekend, and it was hard not to take to the incredible energy they brought to the stage almost immediately. A banjo, a standup bass, a guitar, a fiddle and a female vocalist who can SANG. They’ve honed their talent and it shows. It’s no surprise they performed 114 shows in 2024 alone. Watch for their sophomore album to drop in October, then go see them play just as soon as you can.

Seaslak (and totally not Sleestak, by the way) was the newest of the lot for these eyes and ears. They closed out the night and the crowd took to them right away, clapping and singing along as best they could. Is it Americana? Is it power pop? Is it both swirled gloriously together? Decide for yourself: look up their song “The Funeral” and may it lead to your listening to far, far more by the Salt Lake City five piece.

Photo gallery by Natalie Simpson. Instagram: @beehivephotovideo

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Hermanos Gutiérrez played their hypnotic strings and casual percussion at Salt Lake’s Red Butte Garden on Tuesday (9/16/2025), closing out its illustrious 2025 Outdoor Concert Series.

On what was likely the coldest concert of the whole season, everyone showed up anyway. Fans bought all available tickets, filled up the side of a hill, huddled together covered in fuzzy blankets/jackets and just flat out decompressed throughout the show. It was hard to impossible not to. When the Brothers’ music is within earshot, it’s expected that heart rates will drop a few digits, that immediate cares and worries get temporarily shelved. It’s even better when they’re live and a few feet away, pausing only to share a song title or inspiration behind a tune. The Latin instrumental band formed by Ecuadorian-Swiss brothers Alejandro Gutiérrez and Estevan Gutiérrez chose to let their music do most of their talking, and left the crowd to nod along and smile in return. It’s hard not to connect with that, to fall into a bit of a trace. What they create together is about as mystical and magic as music can get. Period.   

Tuesday’s show was an appropriate finale to rally behind, a performance that heralded the passing of seasons. Even the resident crickets failed to join in this time around, probably out of respect. That, or they were tuning in, too. They didn’t want to mess with an already great thing. 

Photo gallery by Natalike Simpson. IG: @beehivephotovideo

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Osees played to a sold-out-and-immediately-moshing crowd at Salt Lake City’s Metro Music Hall last Tuesday (9/9/2025). Openers DMBQ out of Tokyo effectively lit the fuse leading to the powder keg explosion of a beginning by scream-singing songs I didn’t understand a single word of. Maybe it was all in Japanese and maybe that made it even better? Either way, it’s been a long stretch since I’ve liked (okay, loved) an opening band so immediately.  

San Francisco’s Osees is a band other musicians will tell you to see — the band other bands are okay to go record with liking — and that small nugget of knowledge was enough for me. Without knowing many songs at all, I ranked reputation a little higher than familiarity and managed to score a ticket before the rest sold. From their very first song, it was wildly evident what would continue to happen for the remainder of the show. As the band began thundering away with its two equally intense drummers and the weight of a very fast, very powerful steamroller, the audience of mostly moshing men knew what to do next: they reacted. As long as a song was in play, they were slamming into some and pushing others. Put another way, when Osees called, fans responded, and neither seemed to ever tire of the other.

Maybe the most honest review of the night came without words, though: they were all the happy, exhausted faces of the slam dancers who had to find exits and tap out for a long second or more. The smiles on their faces said all that needed saying. The look of absolute fulfillment is rare in a concert, but it was all over the place Tuesday.  

Photo gallery by Nathan Christianson. Instagram: @npcplus

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Jon Batiste played to an appreciative, sold-out crowd at Salt Lake City’s Red Butte Garden last Monday (9/8/2025), and it was filled with the exact kind of energy everyone wanted.

Batiste played his heart out. With at least 10 musicians backing him onstage at any given moment, he was sometimes singing, sometimes piano playing, sometimes leading the collective with the waving of his arms or simply blowing the hell out of his trusted melodica. He had the time of his life and took us all along for the ride. He exudes a barely bridled joy in his playing, and that transfers to the players and the people enjoying the band. It allows for an energy that hums and sustains. (True story, I had a hard time falling asleep long after the concert had ended.)

There was a looseness afforded to the night, where not everything that transpired seemed wholly planned. By the time the musician invited vocalist Andra Day out to sing songs, there was a shift in the direction of the evening; it felt like he’d invited us into a candlelit lounge. Their combined take on “God Bless The Child” was one of the most beautiful, yet playful versions I’ve heard, period. His playing riffed off her singing (and vice versa) and the duet was a long, welcome moment of beauty. They even dabbled in a little Erykah Badu at one point (“Bag Lady”) and the crowd ate it up.

By the time Batiste led a long line of still-playing musicians straight into the crowd—and again playing his melodica like a dreadlocked Pied Piper of Hamelin—it felt like an expected moment, another way of connecting with a peak-level excited crowd. The band stopped in the middle of everyone as Batiste clambered to the highest point he could manage, then offered a medley of songs that included leading the audience in a sing-along of “You Are My Sunshine.” That felt like a needed hug. And, for my money, it was one of the best concerts Red Butte has hosted this season.

Honorable mention: The occasional resident fireflies that joined the party, adding a touch of sparkle to festivities (and the crickets can always be counted on to add to the music). 

Photo gallery by Justin Hackworth. Instagram: @justinhackworth

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When Horse Bitch returns to Salt Lake a few days from now, it wants another shot at gaining new friends here. Because they didn’t make enough last time; this counts as a do-over.

The honky tonk emo boys and girls from Denver play at The DLC (Quarters) on Monday, Sept. 15, along with locals Baby Ghosts and Tampa Chess Club. Doors are at 7pm.

I got to sit down with Horse Bitch guitarist Riley Merino and lead singer/guitarist David Knoble at Dougherty’s a few weeks back in The Mile High City. In the midst of a lot of conversation and a little pizza, both shared their goals for touring. Spoiler alert? It’s all about expanding their growing circle of buddies. 

“It feels like a cheat code, the chance we get to tour the country, the chance to go to new places and make money as we do so,” Merino says. “I get to make friends everywhere I go.”

The math checks out: the more cities they play, the more friends they’ll make. With a band name like theirs, though, it’s not easy to advertise. That said, they try. The fact they’ve made it this far — playing in faraway Nebraska and Kansas, or even dissecting the origins of their name presently — was never the expectation. With three albums to their name and six years of playing shows behind them, they’re eager to see where their journey will lead.

Knoble calls Horse Bitch “a COVID band” as it came together in 2020, amidst weeks of Mario Kart competitions, emptying beers and writing songs. What started as a haphazard band of two has ballooned to now include seven, which includes a just-added horn section of exactly one saxophone player. Having over-the-top performances all across Colorado has either made locals want to join their ranks or make sure they don’t miss their gigs.

“Our shows allow for a lot of audience participation that comes naturally. I’ll see people singing along to our songs, or they’ll have little dances they do,” Noble says. “And I think it would be cool to create that same environment in other cities, to throw music out and find friends through it. I hope we end up being a magnet for people who want to connect.”

Speaking of connecting, Noble’s sister Sierra was more or less responsible for the band forming. She introduced David to her friend and coworker Ashley McKinney, who became fast friends with David. Ashley then became the second band member to join after David, and now sings and plays tambourine in Horse Bitch. In fact, the band got its name from Ashley’s nickname for Sierra, who earned awards as a one-time rodeo queen and barrel racer. 

And because that was too good a story to let slip by, I reached out to his chemist sister for specifics.

“Ashley and I were best friends for a year before she sent me a screenshot of something I’d said. I was surprised to see that the contact at the top read: Horse Bitch,” Sierra shared via e-mail. “She said, ‘That’s you! I couldn’t remember your name when we first met, but you said you rode horses a lot” and, after a lot of laughing, the placeholder in her contacts stuck.

“When David heard about the interaction he said, ‘That would be such a sick band name,’” Sierra wrote. Without much more thought, he added, “It has to be a band name.”

Sierra once managed the band and says everyone should get to experience the so-called “mountain punk” band sometime in their lives, even if they don’t know a single song in their catalog yet. Liking songs can come later, but it might have to be seen to be believed. Just imagine a lot of barely bridled chaos — dogpiles on stage while instruments are still being played, for example — that sometimes comes with a little blood, too.

Merino busted his arm mid-performance last time they played Salt Lake but, instead of taking a pause to get bandaged, someone attempted to do so for him, while he was still moving. There was blood, but there was no time to take a knee. Ask him about it. Chances are he’ll tell the whole story.

“I would die for this shit,” Merino says with a grin.

And he will, too, but not before he and the rest of the band make a few new friends first.  

Get your tickets now.

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Bassist Tim Nordwind talks new music, singing alongside the Muppets and filming in zero gravity.

When Los Angeles-based quartet OK Go visits Salt Lake City’s Red Butte Garden on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, it’ll be their first time playing in the state in nearly a decade. Bassist and founding member Tim Nordwind spoke with us from California a couple of weeks ago and said he’s excited to return to Utah.

And if the band’s name doesn’t ring any bells, chances are good you’ve seen their music videos. An early one was dropped in the first days of YouTube, featuring a few treadmills and a lot of precision. It cost $5 to create and has earned over 68 million views on the channel.   

True or false: The dancing on treadmills video helped put OK Go on the map.

To a certain degree, that’s true. We started in ’98 in Chicago, and have had so many moments since then that have felt like, ‘Whoa. That’s the moment.’ Our first concert felt like the moment for us. But then getting signed was another moment. Going on an international tour felt like a third. When the video for “Here It Goes Again” with the treadmills came out, it was a big moment for us, and a big one for the internet. New creative spaces were opening up, and we happened to make something that fit perfectly in what was pitched to us as a user-generated content site (aka YouTube). We were already making our own videos, so it was a perfect fit.

As the public’s awareness of the videos we were creating grew, we got the opportunity to make a music video with The Muppets, who we all grew up with. To me, that felt really absurd.

It also feels like another ‘I’ve made it’ moment, right? I mean, it’s The Muppets.

For sure. I remember that week so clearly, because it was filled with bucket list moments. We made a video with The Muppets, flew to Chicago to play Lollapalooza, and then played at Barack Obama’s 50th birthday party. I was thinking, ‘What a crazy life we’ve developed for ourselves!’

One of the scariest things we’ve ever tried is making a video in zero gravity for “Upside Down & Inside Out.” [Editor’s note: That video has over 29 million views.] Others in the band were less scared than I was to do that. We flew on 21 airplane flights and did 15 parabolas each time, which meant flying 30,000 feet up and taking a free-fall dive for 20 seconds, dropping us 20,000 feet down. I’m still recovering from that.

Doesn’t doing that make you pass out at a certain point?

It can. Thankfully, I never did. Our singer, Damian (Kulash), passed out briefly while shooting, and it was caught on camera. That’s scary to watch. The first time I saw it, I didn’t think it was funny. It was more like, I didn’t like watching that happening to my friend.

Do you think there’s an expectation for people to see similar feats like you do in your videos when you play live? Does that ever become a regular part of your live show?

Our main goal for performing live is to connect. We have performed with video before, but if you put something on a screen, everyone watches the screen. It feels counterproductive. We look at our shows as throwing a party for everybody. And if I were throwing a party at home, I certainly would not then play a movie. We have a similar philosophy for our shows: we are here with you. We do have an awful lot of confetti that we shoot off; it feels like we’re creating an environment of joy that we can all be in for a couple of hours. That’s the hope.

You released your new album, And The Adjacent Possible, earlier this year. Where are you and the band musically now? What’s changed over the past 25+ years?

We’re a lot less self-conscious. We’ve been at this long enough now that we feel like we have planted a flag. We know who we are, but we want to keep ourselves challenged. In prior records, we’ve always tried to stay in one sound. But we decided to give that up and embrace the music nerd side of ourselves, genre blending and bending to make more of a mix tape.

I’ve stopped paying attention to current trends and that’s allowed me to make music from a new place. I don’t care what’s popular. I don’t care if the next song I write sounds anything like the last one. I want to write whatever comes out of me today. So we have a record that is fun to listen to, but it sounds like a Frank Sinatra song next to an early Bowie song next to a tune Nile Rodgers might have produced next to a song that sounds like Phil Spector. We travel a wide distance on this record in a way we haven’t before.

And that’s what music should be about anyway: exploration.

Scene breaking, yeah. We kind of love scene changes within records and even within songs. The production completely turns at the drop of a hat within one song. And, yes, it does feel like it should be about exploration and experimentation, constantly trying to reach for sounds that feel just outside of what we’re able to grab.

Tell me who was cooler for you to meet: Barack Obama or Kermit the Frog?

Oh, God. That’s hard. As far as who’s been in my life longer, it’s got to be Kermit the Frog. I feel like I’ve known Kermit since I was two years old. But meeting both was equally wonderful.

Want to see the show? Tickets are still available.

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Gregory Alan Isakov played a sold-out concert at Salt Lake City’s Red Butte Garden last Thursday (9/4/2025), one of the final shows remaining there this year.

As luck would have it, his visit ushered in appropriate weather for a change in seasons (cool, never cold). The moon was appropriately high and full. Thousands of resident crickets chimed in, too. Beauty and relaxation were constants, and the night felt like a finally let-out sigh at the end of a long week. It got the best of Salt Lake magazine’s Executive Editor Jeremy Pugh, who quipped that Isakov “orchestrated songs built to make your tiny Grinch heart swell so much, it might pop.”

The 18-song set probably had most of the songs fans liked, including “Amsterdam,” “Chemicals,” “San Luis,” and (my favorite of his) “Second Chances.” There’s a line from that final song of his encore that always echoes like a long reminder in my mind: “If it weren’t for second chances, we’d all be alone.” So they were often sad songs, yes, but they were lovely and hopeful, too. No matter how many times you witness Isakov do all he does so well (and that includes all his bandmates, each a master of their own realm), it’s hard not to be grateful for all he gives, and for the consistency in quality he’s developed. It’s been a couple of long years since he released his last album (2023’s Appaloosa Bones), but nobody cared.

Instead, we flocked to Isakov like we do crunchy fall leaves, temporary autumnal rainbows of oranges, yellows and reds. We sold out the side of a mountain because we wanted gentle lullabies to cure what ailed all of us, if only for a little while. Mission accomplished.   

Photo gallery by Natalie Simpson. Instagram: @beehivephotovideo.

Gregory Alan Isakov performed his Americana lullabies in Salt Lake City last Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025, at Red Butte Garden, part of its 2025 Outdoor Concert Series. Photos by Natalie Simpson of Beehive Photography.

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Bright Eyes brought all its favorite songs to The Depot last Tuesday (9/2/2025).

And for everyone who gathered to see Conor Oberst and his band of 30 years share both old and new favorites, it felt so much more like catharsis than it ever did wistful nostalgia. The band is a collective of motion and progression. Oberst will always feel like one of the hardest working musicians still giving everything he does an average of 150%. After all, he’s been doing this song-and-dance long enough to perfect his craft and all stripes gained along the way have been earned. Devotion feels like a natural cause of events at this point.

While the band didn’t disappoint in giving us what we’ll largely claim as the band’s tried-and-true hits by singing proudly along (“We Are Nowhere and It’s Now,” “First Day of My Life,” “At The Bottom of Everything,” “Land Locked Blues”), we still got songs like “1st World Blues” that felt like a happy nod to The Clash. A new classic. One we can already sing along to. And because Oberst is never shy about sharing his political leanings, having the words UNMASK ICE across the front of his acoustic guitar felt, if not expected, entirely appropriate. 

At the band’s most energetic, the 21-song performance felt like an explosion of happy energy, a defiance that comes with a lot of joy. It meant a combination of blasted horns and Oberst happily spinning himself around dizzy over and over again. It meant unhidden smiles and finding a lot of familiar friends in the audience, people who still understand what a good band feels like. And when you know what Bright Eyes can do (and most always does), you clear schedules immediately. You respond by showing up.

Photo gallery by Nate Christianson. Instagram @npcplus

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September 5 (Friday)

Who: Japanese Breakfast w/ Ginger Root, Tomper

Where: SLC Gallivan Center

When: 6 p.m.

What: Her music is ethereal. Her writing is exquisite (and that spills over into books; singer Michelle Zauner’s memoir Crying In H Mart is a favorite). It’ll be good to get back to the Gallivan for this one. If it’s anything like the Waxahatchee show we saw there last month, it’ll be the perfect place to experience their music. Fully expecting plenty of unbounded beauty. 

Tickets

September 9 (Tuesday)

Who: Osees

Where: Metro Music Hall 

When: 7:30 p.m.

What: They dominated with their set at Kilby Block Party earlier this year, so why not return for a victory lap? Went down some rabbit holes lately and learned very quickly that Osees are the band your musician friends want to see perform. The band the other bands like and will gladly pony up dough to see. I mean, that’s enough for me to want to see them for my first time ever. There will be unbounded energy. There will be raucous joy.

Tickets

September 12 (Friday)

Who: WITCH

Where: The Commonwealth Room

When: 7 p.m.

What: There’s a lot on this month’s list that points towards flat out curiosity, of getting to hear what hasn’t been heard or experienced live yet. While I don’t know a lot about this band, their name is short for We Intend To Cause Havoc. AND this band was at the heart of Zamrock, the afro-rock genre that became prevalent in southern Africa in the 1970s. Four decades later, the band has resurrected itself and — go ahead and mark my words — this’ll be one of the most exciting bands Utah has seen in a very long minute.  

Tickets

September 15 (Monday)

Who: Horse Bitch

Where: The DLC (Quarters)

When: 7 p.m.

What: This septet of emo honky tonkers is headed here from Denver for its second ever show in the state. It’s wild to witness a band become an accidental Colorado favorite, then see them try to establish that kind of cult following elsewhere. It’s totally possible, even if they know it takes their fair share of due diligence. They’re going for it anyway. I sat down with a couple members of the band weeks back in their hometown and discovered, among other things, that the band name is a tribute to the lead singer’s sister. Because she was a barrel racer in rodeos. Naturally. Watch for that article in the coming days.

Tickets

September 19 (Friday)

Who: Daniel Young w/ Jenny Don’t And The Spurs

Where: Aces High Saloon

When: 7 p.m.

What: In these parts, we trust the sounds of local sanger/twanger Daniel Young. On any given day of the week, you can spot him backing up someone else on drums, waiting to get into a Red Butte concert, or making folks at the Owl Bar all kinds of happy on a Saturday evening. Here’s the best place to see him this month, though, as he’s sharing the bill with Portland’s Jenny Don’t And The Spurs. It’s what you call smart music shopping. It amounts to more cowboy hats on stage, and the more hats up on stage at a time, the better. Promise.  

Tickets

September 20 (Saturday)

Who: The White Buffalo

Where: The Commonwealth Room

When: 7 p.m.

What: There’s a merch girl I know who likes to kid about The White Buffalo being her husband. It’s a small thing, that, but maybe that’s what first put him onto my radar. Then I learned the man could sing far better than many. And that he was also easily hilarious (the music video for “C’mon Come Up Come Out” is ample proof). The band has so many fans, they had to book a twofer in our city. I’ll be at his Saturday show so if I see you before you see me, you’re getting a mostly enthusiastic fist bump.  

Tickets

September 22 (Monday)

Who: Big Thief

Where: Library Square

When: 5 p.m.

What: The timing of this one feels like an incredible gift. Yes, the concert is largely sold out, but can we all agree how cool it is that we’ll be one of the first cities to see Big Thief playing brand new songs off their album dropping THIS WEEK? 2022’s Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You has a staggering amount of songs that are adored and covered and explored, so their brand new Double Infinity is bound to capture and magnify some of that prior magic. It’s kind of a “saved the best for last” scenario for the Twilight Concert Series, and I am so here for it.  

Tickets

September 27 (Saturday)

Who: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Where: The Depot

When: 7 p.m.

What: Maybe this show’s the only throwback of the bunch, and that’s never a bad thing. Go back in time and take in their self-titled 2001 debut. Follow it up with Howl and Beat The Devil’s Tattoo. Rinse and repeat. The band can and does combine psychedelia with rock in a way few others can or have. To see them surface at a wholly unexpected moment is less a shock to the system and more of a deliciously needed surprise. Yes and please. 

Tickets

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