Music

I was a bit surprised as I walked in to Red Butte last Sunday, Sept. 15, 2019. For a show that supposedly hadn’t sold out, Boz Scaggs appeared have to packed the house just about to bursting. Once I sat down and took a closer look though, I realized what actually had happened. Apparently, Boz Scaggs fans are also Red Butte veterans. Every group had their picnic setup maximized. Lawn chairs, coolers, and sun protection framed picnic blanket after picnic blanket. It wasn’t that Red Butte was full, rather, it was that everybody at Red Butte was professional-level serious about the picnic parts of Red Butte, spreading their gear far and wide across the grass. The crowd (largely white haired, and long in the tooth) busily chatted as the sun dove towards the horizon.

Jeff Blanc emerged from backstage alone, acoustic guitar strapped over his shoulder, and marched up to the microphone with purpose. Despite his vigor, few in the crowd seemed to pay him much attention. He started strumming bright, open chords, and pouring his soul into the microphone. LeBlanc’s music is exactly what you’d expect from a singer/songwriter. He sings ballads and love songs, thick with vocal “Oooohs” and simple chord progressions. But the Chardonay and hummus continued to hold-sway, most of the crowd spent the majority of his set clinking glasses and chatting as the sun went down. Then, out of nowhere, Jeff played a cover of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together.” At that point, cheers went up, dancers stood up, and LeBlanc dazzled the distracted crowd of of its reverie. With some light comedy between the rest of his songs, Jeff finally roped the crowd’s attention in for the end of his brief, 25-minute set.

As the stage was set for The Boz, clearly, this was the moment everyone was waiting for. As soon as the house music died down the crowd was on their feet cheering. Boz Scaggs and his entourage strutted onto the stage like a pack of wolves. Within moments, Boz was singing “What Can I Say,” catcalls erupted from the crowd, and our journey through the Boz Scaggs discography commenced. 

The mood was electric as two guitarists (including Boz), a drummer, a bassist, a percussionist, a keyboardist, and a saxophonist started jamming on classics like “JoJo” and “Sierra”. Before the show I was honestly a bit skeptical that Boz would have any voice left to sing with after his 50-plus years of gigging. As soon as the band started, though, it was clear he still had his A-game. His trademark nasal voice sounded as good as ever as he moaned over the lyrics to “It’s Over.” While the thick vocal choruses all sounded just like the Boz I know and love, the band kept things fresh with saxophone and guitar solos thrown into every song.

From the moment he started, the crowd was in awe and Scaggs delivered exactly what they wanted. Scaggs and his band still knows how to dial in a killer show, playing through about half the songs from his seminal album, Silk Degrees and giving us all an update on his style with tracks from his newest record, Out of the Blues. Boz ended the night with a double encore, which had the whole crowd on their feet. Before they could be convinced to triple down by the incessant cheering, the band jogged off stage, and sent us all home humming lines from “Lowdown” and “Georgia.”

Also the picnicking was excellent.

See all of our music coverage here.

What: Boz Scaggs with Jeff LeBlanc
When: Sunday, Sept. 15, 2019
Where: Red Butte Garden Amphitheater
How: Tickets and info here

Boz Scaggs. You read that right; the very same Boz Scaggs who released the seminal funk/rock album Silk Degrees way back in ’76 is coming to Red Butte Amphitheater on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2019. Scaggs’ music picks up right where The Beatles set down, combining groovy beats, a goofy voice, and thick orchestrations to create hit after hit. The Boz will be joined by Jeff LeBlanc, an up-and-coming singer with a neo-soul sound, so make sure you’re there to catch a taste of old -guy stuff the new kid’s music alike.

I’m particularly excited to see how refined Scaggs has his act. He’s been gigging since the mid-’60s, so he has certainly had some time to practice. Scaggs’ 19^th studio album, Out of the Blues, dropped last year, so I expect to hear some material from that. Though whether it’s “What Can I Say”, or any of Scaggs’ literally hundreds of other songs, we’ve all probably heard and/or jammed out to something Boz Scaggs wrote at some point. I’ll see you at Red Butte on Sunday for a walk down memory lane with The Boz.

See all of our music coverage here.

Red Butte was at maximum capacity on Friday, Sept. 6, 2019, because every direction I looked families, students, hipsters and “Wine:30” types filled my vision. For once, the concert actually started exactly on time, with Los Coast warming their hands (and the crowd) up with a guitar driven instrumental. Los Coast’s singer, Trey Privott, has a voice which sounds almost exactly like Charles Bradley, and when the band broke into a heavy rendition of their most popular song, “Monsters,” I heard cheers and a handful of catcalls from the crowd as Privott smoothly belted out the lyrics.

Los Coast at Red Butte Garden September 2019. Photo by Amanda Jones/Salt Lake magazine.

By the time Los Coast played their grooviest song, “(Everything But) The Kitchen Sink,” they had clearly dialed in their sound—people throughout the crowd started getting onto their feet to dance. At some point, someone started blowing bubbles, and the cocktail of psychedelic scenery and phaser heavy grooves had me on my feet too. Unfortunately, at about that same moment, Los Coast announced that they were done. Their short, 30-minute set left me desperately wanting more music from Los Coast.

Clark stood atop a small riser on the stage, silhouetted by intense stage lights to looking like a movie star cowboy. Photo by Amanda Jones/Salt Lake magazine.

Keeping with the prompt and organized theme of the night, Gary Clark Jr. was out on stage after one of the shortest gear switches I’ve ever seen Red Butte pull off. Clark stood atop a small riser on the stage, silhouetted by intense stage lights to looking like a movie star cowboy. The band kicked the set off with a sassy version of “Bright Lights,” while behind them an awesome array of hypnotizing lights ushered the crowd forward on a cosmic journey through guitar riffs and head-pounding choruses.

As I listened to Gary Clark Jr. I couldn’t help but think of The Black Keys. The twangy guitar sounds, the deep, heavy singing, the thick organ pads. It all sounded so similar. But the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach only wishes he had the guitar chops that Gary Clark Jr. has. I was blown away by guitar solo after guitar solo as Clark played. Clark’s incredible falsetto, and his band’s ability to create a roller coaster of energy for each song were the icing on top, as the band played “Feed the Babies” and brought the energy up about as high as it could go. By the time the sun had fully set, the crowd was on their feet swaying with the music.

Deas showed off his skills with a couple funky solos which had the crowd jumping with the pulse. Photo by Amanda Jones/Salt Lake Magazine

Sometime the second half of the set, Gary Clark Jr. let us all know it was keyboardist Jon Deas birthday, and then the band jumped right into a sassy, synth heavy version of “You Saved Me.” Deas showed off his skills with a couple funky solos which had the crowd jumping with the pulse. During the rest of the set, Gary Clark Jr. used a much more narrative melodic style akin to the style of Tauk with furious solos thrown into every song.

Photo by Amanda Jones/Salt Lake magazine.

There’s no doubt about it, Gary Clark Jr. and Los Coast blew the roof off the place (well … at least they could have if Red Butte had a roof). Gary Clark Jr. closed off the night with a clean, upbeat encore, which even after three solid hours of music still filled me with energy. The band ended the night with a surprisingly heavy cover of The Beatles’ “Come Together”, and the explosive finale had everyone dancing and singing along. After such a killer show, there’s no doubt I’ll be first in line next time Gary Clark Jr. or Los Coast are in town.

See previews of the last of the Red Butte 2019 season here.

See all of our music coverage here.

Red Butte Summer Concert Series is almost over for the year with just a few more shows. Let’s see if the folks at Red Butte can push those rocking arms up into the sky and give us one more day of summer. Here’s what’s left:

Mark Knofler will play Red Butte Sept. 11, 2019. Photo provided by Red Butte Gardens

Boz Skaggs will play Red Butte on Sept. 15, 2019. Photo provided by Red Butte Gardens

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit will play Red Butte on Sept. 19, 2019 Photo provided by Red Butte Garden.

Friday, September 20 Modest Mouse

Modest Mouse will play Red Butte Sept. 20, 2019. Photo provided by Red Butte Garden

Tash Sultana will play at Red Butte on Sept. 23. Photo provided by Red Butte Garden

See all of our music coverage here.

It’s not often I get to go to a show with only one band on the ticket, so I was particularly excited to discover exactly one band, Gov’t Mule (AKA Mule), on my Red Butte Concert ticket last Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019. These guys play classic rock right down the line with greats like Led Zeppelin and The Beatles (not so much Gerry Rafferty), but they have enough of a jam band groove to attract old Heads and old rockers. In front of a massive, groovy tapestry, and some spinning, psychedelic, purple lights, the band was greeted with a cheering roar as they blared the opening riffs of a thundering three-hour set. Cheers from an intensely tie-dyed crowd were turned up to 11 as Warren Haynes broke out his first of what would be many shredding guitar solos. And thus, we began our expedition through the deep track repertoire of Gov’t Mule.

Haynes is most certainly a monster on guitar (his solos were being eaten up by the crowd as fast as he could cook them up). Photo by Amanda Jones/Salt Lake magazine

Guitar gets top billing in Gov’t Mule’s sound. The sound guys took this to heart, because I could hardly hear anything but guitar and the faintest hint of bass drum for the entirety of the first song. Haynes is most certainly a monster on guitar (his solos were being eaten up by the crowd as fast as he could cook them up), but it was a bummer to watch the drummer, bassist, and keyboardist giving it all they’ve got with no sound to show for it. Thankfully, the sound crew realized this, and by the middle of “Lola Leave Your Light On,” the keyboards and bass finally found their way into the mix, and I could comfortably savor the drum fills.

Gov’t Mule let their music speak for itself, with hardly a word between any of their three hours of songs. The show was a machine gun of classic rock, well, rocking. Guitar solo after guitar solo, riff after riff—the crowd, who was clearly not too old to rock ‘n’ roll, dutifully had their faces melted. Gov’t Mule even played a half-time cover of “She Said She Said,” as well as an instrumental, and definitely psychedelic cover of “Norwegian Wood” to stoke the fire. After the sun went down, things got way tripper, with drugged-up sound effects on the guitar and bass, longer and more jam-driven songs, and massive light and fog effects. Even so, crowd was surprisingly sober, with only a faint whiff of cannabis and barely two handfuls of glow sticks catapulting through the air. (The Umphrey’s McGee show last month was a different story.)

After the sun went down, things got way tripper, with drugged-up sound effects on the guitar and bass, longer and more jam-driven songs, and massive light and fog effects. Photo by Amanda Jones/Salt Lake magazine

With multicolored fog seeping into every nook and cranny, Gov’t Mule played arguably their most popular song, “Thorazine Shuffle.” At last the rest of band stole the spotlight from Haynes and took solos of their own. With the crowd still going wild in a “it’s a school-night way,” Gov’t Mule closed the evening off with a speedy, solo heavy rendition of “Soulshine.” In all, Gov’t Mule proved that they can still rock the hell out of the night and sent us all home humming bass lines and guitar solos.

See all of our music coverage here.

What: Gov’t Mule
When: Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019
Where: Red Butte Garden Amphiteatre
Tickets and info here.

Get ready for phasers (not the Star Trek kind), fiery guitar solos, and an abundance of dress shirts over denim jeans—Gov’t Mule are coming to Red Butte on Wednesday, September 4. This sultry jam band combines a clean rock ensemble with some of the most savory guitar licks I’ve heard all year to create a nostalgic, classic rock vibe. Keep your eyes on Warren Haynes, the band’s singer and lead guitarist. His deep voice melts like butter over the band’s riffs, and his guitar solos would make Hendrix proud. This is the kind of music you definitely want to hear live, so make sure you’re there!

Gov’t Mule have a vast discography to sample from, and with their last album released over two years ago, any songs are fair game for this concert. I’m eager to hear stuff from their heavy, and occasionally psychedelic roots, as well as stuff from their more recent and more technical albums. Most of all, though, I’m going for crazy instrumental solos which have been the highlight of Gov’t Mule’s sound throughout it all. Make sure you’re ready to rock out to some classic rock, and get over to Red Butte on Wednesday, September 4, for An Evening with Gov’t Mule.

SLmagazine sent me to the Utah Symphony with what we figured was a crazy idea. We asked if I could sit on stage during a performance. Turns out that this was, in fact, a crazy idea. People spend their whole lives to get on that stage, after all, and I just show up with a tuba? Bang on the tympani a bit? However, the symphony’s publicist, Renée Huang, suggested that perhaps a rehearsal might be arranged.

Taking notes on the notes.

Beginner’s Luck

Last spring, I attended the symphony for the fist time. My date for the evening was Becca, my 13-year old. We attended UNWOUND, the Utah Symphony’s modern-day attempt to make going to the symphony less serious and more approachable. When the audience lights dimmed and as Rachmaninoff’s “Piano Concerto No. 2”  was being played, my emotions got the best of me. Not prepared for kleenex, the tears just fell. For the first time in a long time, was caught completely caught off guard, holding my little girl’s hand, enjoying and listening to real humans playing instruments.

And thus, I entered Abravanel Hall, carrying nothing but my notepad and a pen (no tubas allowed) for the symphony’s rehearsal in advance of the Deer Valley performance on August 2, 2019. I entered in through the back entrance and was led onto the stage, a chair was waiting for me, right next to Second Bassoon Jennifer Rhodes.

“Hey, you may want one of these,” said one of the horn players behind me as he pointed to the plastic acoustic shield many of the members of the orchestra use and added, “It can get a little loud.” I showed them my set of earplugs but he assured me that I’d need additional measures to protect my ears while they were performing. This was after all to be a rehearsal for Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” you know, the one with the cannons.

As Principal Conductor Conner Covington joined us on stage, the orchestra tuned up and welcomed guest Ukrainian pianist Anna Fedorova, who was there to rehearse Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Wearing jeans and her hair pulled back in a pony-tail, the casual look stood in contrast to the the immensity of sound and proficiency while playing—it’s astounding.

The symphony also rehearsed an American classic, Aaron Copland’s “Appalachian Spring”. While I seem to always pay attention more to the strings, I was right in among the woodwinds. I started paying attention to the prelude and conclusion with the woodwinds out in front of the melody. Without the oboe, the bassoon, the clarinet and the flute there is no “Appalachian Spring.”

Above: Guest performer Ukrainian pianist Anna Fedorova

Conner Covington is definitely not my middle school orchestra instructor.

I played in the orchestra when I was in middle school but this experience was a far cry from my 1st-period orchestra class. Without a cello (or a tuba) in hand, I watched as musicians would stop to meticulously adjust their chairs or obsessively clear out the spit in their instruments. Did you know that when not in their mouths, a woodwind’s reeds are kept moist during breaks by dunking them in a cup of water? I didn’t. Basically, it looks like musicians at this level are seriously having fun, in a very serious way. I kept watching all the non-verbal signals that would travel around the stage, a grimace from Covington after a misstep, a smile for the strings hitting their cue, rolled eyes above a clarinet at missed notes, nods and head shakes, winks and foot taps all added up to a complicated camaraderie among the musicians and between them all and the conductor.

With all this activity around me, it was still impossible to miss the commanding presence of the conductor. That’s sort of the point right? And while Covington makes it look effortless; it’s everything but. His brain is going in about 100 directions at once. Keeping precise tempo, thinking forward to the next line and who next needs to be prompted at exactly the right moment and to what degree.

Like a time-traveler, he’s also listening to the collected instruments as one giant, well, SUPER INSTRUMENT. As Covington explains, “Downplaying themselves, our musicians see themselves as one unit, which is one of the goals or intentions of a symphony orchestra.”

The Deer Valley Music Festival pairs well-known, popular vocal artists such as Kristin Chenoweth, or jazz trumpeter Chris Botti and of course, esteemed musicians like Anna Fedorova in the beautiful outdoor setting at Park City’s Deer Valley Snow Park Outdoor Amphitheatre.

Other upcoming performances
STING WITH THE UTAH SYMPHONY, Saturday, August 31, 2019, 7:30 PM, USANA Amphitheatre
THE PLANETS, September 13th and 14th, 2019, 7:30 PM, Abravanel Hall
THE MUSIC OF JOHN WILLIAMS, September 20th and 21st, 2019, 7:30 PM, Abravanel Hall
UNWOUND: Rhapsody in Blue, Saturday, November 16, 2019, 7:30 PM, Abravanel Hall

Covington added another element that I didn’t think of, and that is during all of it, he is making mental notes on what needs to be addressed or adjusted and will bring to the attention to the musicians later. While in his second season, in our interview, I asked Conner what he hopes to bring to our community in the future?

“The material we perform now is the best we have ever created. The Utah Symphony has a tremendous opportunity to create authentic human connections in an age inundated with electronics and social media.”

Don’t think stuffy, and don’t just think Beethoven’s “No. 5 in C minor”—Da-Da-Da-DAAAAAA. Admittedly I’m a sucker for the classics. Instead, scroll through some of these upcoming Utah Symphony events and kick back against your current entertainment comfort zones.

Jen’s symphony experience will be part of a larger story in our upcoming November/December issue celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Utah Symphony.

Read all of our A&E postings, right here.

The first annual Park City Songwriter Festival (PCSF) will take over five iconic Main Street venues on September 13 and 14 this year with an intimate, immersive, live music experience. “There’s a misconception that the artists you hear are the ones who write all the songs,” said Aaron Benward, PCSF founder. “This festival is a peek behind the curtain at the songwriters who create the music, and it showcases the storytelling and the personalities behind the art in addition to live music.”

PCSF Co-Founder Aaron Benward

Benward’s a music industry veteran who’s been a songwriter, recording artist and touring musician over a 27-year career, and lately he’s focused his efforts on putting songwriters in the spotlight with a platform to share their craft. The PCSF is modeled after a Las Vegas show Benward co-created in 2009 called “Nashville Unplugged: The Story Behind the Song.” “It’s an all acoustic format to tell the stories behind the music,” Benward said. “There’s no smoke and mirrors. No moving lights. Just a stool, an acoustic guitar and the troubadours.”

The two-day festival features 32 shows across five venues including The Spur, The Cabin, O.P. Rockwell, The Rockwell Listening Room and Flanagan’s. Mark Broussard, Anders Osbourne and North Mississippi Allstars headline a list of performers who have earned 17 Grammy Awards, 12 American Country Music Awards and 54 Number One hits. In addition to live performances, PCSF is hosting a series of workshops with singers, songwriters and industry professionals to provide educational opportunities for people who are looking to make a mark in the music industry. “Whether you’re an aspiring singer/songwriter or want to be behind the scenes in other aspects of the industry, it’s an incredible opportunity to learn.” said PCSF co-founder Ben Anderson. “From writing songs, to making some money off your work or really making a career out of music, the people running these workshops have been there and found success.”

North Mississippi Allstars are one of the festival headliners.

Benward may live in Los Angeles and be Nashville born and bred, but he sees Park City as the ideal setting for a songwriter festival. “Park City is perfectly set up for a festival like this,” he said. “Walking down Main Street I saw all these laid-back venues that were perfect for intimate storytelling and performances. Add to that, the town is very much a destination that both festivalgoers and artists alike are excited to spend time in.”

PCSF aims to go beyond just the songs by supporting the musicians who make them. The festival was founded with an emphasis on combatting mental health and addiction recovery challenges which are prevalent in the music industry and persist in the shadows. “Mental illness and substance abuse issues are so common, but so few people are talking about it,” Anderson said. “It’s not just musicians, either. It’s road managers, lighting crew and guitar techs. A lot of people are struggling, and we want to bring attention to that and show it’s okay to reach out for support.” The event is partnered with the Grammy’s MusiCares organization, and a portion of the festival proceeds will go to the Send Me a Friend Foundation, which has more than 3,000 vetted members who are available to help touring musicians and crew stay accountable and sober while touring.

Ticketing options range from $150 for the Two-Day General Admission Festival Ticket to $600 for the Platinum Two-Day Ticket. Tickets are available now for purchase online, and limited day-of ticketing will be available in person during the festival.

Park City Songwriter Festival Ticketing Options

Platinum 2 Day Festival Ticket – very limited quantities!

• Only guaranteed access to any show
• 32 shows to choose from including Main Stage with First Entry for best seats
• Reserved ticket to Headliner and Hall of Fame Songwriter Rounds at The Listening Room
• Artist Dinner on Friday or Saturday night
• Access to industry workshops and Grammy’s MusiCares Discussion with Harold Owens & Paul Williams
• Swag Bag
• Dedicated platinum service concierge to help make the most of your festival experience
• All the benefits of a general festival ticket

Gold 2 Day Festival Ticket

• 32 shows to choose from early entry
• Early Access to Main Stage shows on Friday and Saturday night
• Gold ticket holder only Artist Mixer on Saturday
• Limited Standby access to Listening Room Headliner Round
• Access to Saturday’s workshops and standby access to MusiCares Discussion

General Admission 2 Day Festival Ticket

• Access to all shows on a first come, first in basis
• Access to workshops
• Limited standby access to Main Stage nightly concerts

Read all of our A&E postings, right here.

If you believe what a crowd wears to a concert is a good indicator of the band’s vibe, then you’ll know why I was pleased to see so much tie-dye at the Red Butte Garden Amphitheater for the Umphrey’s McGee show on Sunday Aug. 5, 2019. Umphrey’s McGee attracted a younger, rowdier than average crowd to Red Butte, with at least three people drunk enough to tear their shirts off (See: “Shirtless Guy” on our Concert Bingo Scorecard) before the music even started. Unsurprisingly, a dopey haze floated throughout the venue as well. (Another Concert Bingo score!)

Play SL Mag’s Concert Bingo!

People Watching With Purpose. It doesn’t matter where you get your summer concert-fix—some things are just universal. Bring our handy Summer Concert Bingo Card to your next Red Butte show and play along.

The opening act, Baltimore-based Pigeons Playing Ping Pong (band site here), kicked things off promptly with their funkadelic collection of strong bass lines, danc-ey riffs, and Zappa-esqe vocals. Between the screaming guitar solos and groovy breaks, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong used elaborate melodies and high energy singing to keep things lively. With most of the band giddy and animatedly grooving to their own music it was hard not to dance along and indeed most of the crowd decided to do that very thing.

Singer Greg Ormont wore pajama pants. Photo by Amanda Jones/Salt Lake magazine

It was so hot that Red Butte had decided to start madly fanning mist onto the stage for the bands. In turn, Pigeons playing Ping Pong were totally keeping their cool, linking groovy riffs, elaborate melodies, and funky singing into tight songs.

After a brief intermission, and with both their drummer and percussionist caged in huge arrays of cymbals, their keyboardist ringed by at least six keyboards, and a trippy light show blazing from the rigging above, Umphrey’s McGee launched into a heavy set of guitar solos and thundering rhythms. Guitarists Jake Cinninger and Brendan Bayliss frequently traded bars as the rest of the band grooved on tempo changes and syncopated rhythms. Umphrey’s McGee like to use strong dynamic shifts in most of their songs, mixing stringy rhythmic breaks with heavy head pounding riffage, and this was their style throughout the night as they rocked out. The highlight of it all, however, had to be Cinninger’s ridiculous guitar chops, as he wreaked carnage over his fret board with every screaming solo.

Photo by Amanda Jones/Salt Lake magazine

Umphrey’s McGee is a highly technical band that specializes in lightning fast guitar licks, tight rhythmic kicks, and many overlapping voices. This level of technical precision is hard to pull off live and counts on a great sound engineer at the board. Did it work at Red Butte? Well… not quite. While Umphrey’s McGee did an excellent job controlling the energy of their songs, and while there were more than a couple breathtaking moments, the open-air amphitheater was not exactly conducive to the precise acoustics the band needed. At the end of more than a few songs, I was left feeling the mix was a bit soupier than the band had hoped for.

But the tie-dyed, red-eyed crowd cared not. Umphrey’s McGee gave them the show they wanted. A jam-heavy set with frugal use of vocals, radical light effects, and intoxicating bass lines pulled them (and me) into the groove time and time again. The crowd ate it up, still dancing with enthusiasm even as the band played well into a second hour. At some point, glow sticks and a beach ball started flying through the air (more Concert Bingo scores), and then a final, face-melting guitar solo brought an end to the show and Red Butte unleashed its crowd of drunken students and next-gen hippies onto the upper university campus.

See all of our music coverage here.

Outside Vivint Smart Home Arena, the massive crowd of Arianators seemed to be split into two camps: those hyperventilating from excitement, and those in a panic because they didn’t know about the show’s clear bag policy and had to figure out what to do about their purses. Hype and security were high, and understandably so: one of music’s biggest popstars and gun control activists, Ariana Grande, was headlining.

Photo by Charissa Che

Neither the vigilance nor the rain clouds dampened the frenzy one bit, though, as opener Social House noted; “SLC, your energy is crazy!” The hip hop duo already had everyone jumping and lighting up their phones to their hit, “Magic in the Hamptons.” While still new to the scene and with a first yet album yet to drop, they are credited for writing and producing songs for Grande, as well as Meghan Trainor and Jennifer Lopez.

Photo by Charissa Che

Normani is of course a former Fifth Harmony member, but as her intro made clear, she was an emerging soloist in her own right. Fiercely, she tossed her hair and gyrated in a nude, glittery bodysuit. Her slightly less sparkly backup dancers kept pace with her, and during interims, took front and center stage with alternating solo dance numbers. Wrapping up this show of girl power and solidarity was an all-girl band. Along with performing her own songs, “Dancing with a Stranger” and “Waves” and doing an ethereal cover of Rihanna’s “Diamonds,” she blessed fans with a surprise medley of hits from her past life, beginning with “Work from Home,” transitioning to “We Found Love,” and rounding things out with the ode to powerful women everywhere, “BO$$.”

Photo by Charissa Che

Perhaps it was the impossibly high pumps; more likely, it was the indelible stage presence: when the petite Grande emerged from a hole in the middle of the stage to the backdrop of “raindrops (an angel cried),” the entire stadium immediately filled with high-pitched screams that left my ear drums ringing until the next morning. She and her dancers were splayed around a long, rectangular table, Last Supper-style. Appropriately, she was at the center, singing “God is a Woman.”

Photo by Charissa Che

The almost three-hour set that followed was replete with hits mostly from her last two albums, Sweetener and thank u, next: produced and released within a year of each other following the mass shooting at her 2016 concert in Manchester, England. She has stated in interviews that the albums were written in large part to process the traumatic events of that summer. To have that knowledge in mind while watching her perform these songs for the 50^th time – this was the last show of the first leg of her tour – was in itself moving. “Breathing” is one of the songs she had written for her fans in light of the shooting, and as one of her more sonically-understated songs, it got a resounding sing-along.

Photo by Charissa Che

Grande showed all sides of her persona; playing seductive during “Bad Idea” and “Into You,” and perky during “sweetener” and “NASA.” Without her collaborators Nicki Minaj and The Weeknd, respectively, she still treated us with “Side to Side” and “Love Me Harder.” She boasted about her riches in “7 rings” with a personalized touch chilling behind her: a lowrider graffitied “Salt Lake.” Throughout, she stunned with her trademark whistling high notes. Could there have been more personalization, say, in the form of audience interaction and banter? Perhaps. But for a musician to have been doing the same act for so many nights, to simply have had her level of energy was remarkable.

Photo by Charissa Che

The stage and light show was a feast: an orb partially protruded from the projector, while another orb eventually descended entirely from the ceiling. Depending on the song, projections of the galaxies or Grande’s dancing filled the screen, as well as the U-shaped catwalk that took up the floor of the arena. Hearkening its music video, the dancers toted umbrellas in front of a backdrop of blue skies and puffy white clouds during “No Tears Left to Cry.”

Photo by Charissa Che

“This is our 50^th show,” Grande announced, when she came back for her encore. “And this is our final show of the first leg of the tour, which is amazing. I’m so grateful.” Loud-pitched screaming followed as she thanked her band, dancers, and her openers. In a seemingly unplanned moment, she admitted through nervous laughter, “I didn’t think…I didn’t know if we would make it this far, so I thank you guys for your love and your energy. It’s truly inspired me.” With that, she wrapped up the night with “thank u, next.” Instead of emulating the song’s Mean Girls-themed video, she and her dancers sauntered around the catwalk, pride flags in hand. Confetti rained from the ceiling – and it was personalized with album art. It was a joyful way to end a show that covered so many triumphant and tumultuous moments of Grande’s past few years. When the show let out, the traffic was understandably crazy and a fan had vomited on the ground (perhaps as a residual effect from the excitement), but the skies had cleared.

Photo by Charissa Che

See all of our music coverage here.