Discover Salt Lake magazine’s music section. Here you’ll find previews and reviews of upcoming local concerts and performances in Salt Lake City, along the Wasatch Front and Back, and around Utah to help you discover great live music and events.
Sunday marked the fourth and final day of the Kilby Block Party festival (May 18, 2025). While it was the coldest (at times) and definitely the wettest day of the rest — there were soaked attendees and large puddles to navigate around and/or splash through as constant proof — the diehards showed up early. It was not unlike rubbing shoulders with a crowd of sturdy and determined birdwatchers — wide-eyed, smiling, staring, slack jawed — only this one came with a more varied soundtrack, no binoculars required.
Nation of Language. Photo by Natalie Simpson | Beehive PhotoSuki Waterhouse. Photo by Natalie Simpson | Beehive PhotoTennis. Photo by Natalie Simpson | Beehive Photo
The sun started peeking out as The Pains of Being Pure At Heart played, and the shot of warmth was added cause for celebration. Their breezy set was a preview for the rest of the day, too, as it delved heavily into indie music territory with sets by Real Estate, Tennis (taking its final lap and on their last tour ever), Jay Som, Suki Waterhouse, Nation of Language, among a few scattered others. It felt like the dial of time got turned back a decade or two, as elements of the ‘80s and ‘90s were on full and vibrant display in most behind the microphones. In most (if not all) ways, the masterminds behind Kilby gave attendees/customers what they most wanted to hear and experience. If there were any complaints, they were drowned out by those doing all the cheering.
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Photography by Natalie Simpson | Beehive Photo
The most anticipated band of the day easily belonged to TV On The Radio, currently enjoying a welcome resurgence in popularity. As they gave an electric performance (complete with stunning visuals and political messages, reminding us that all the music they played was anti-fascist in nature), the sunset even played its own part. It dropped out of the sky for good shortly before “Staring at the Sun” paved the way for Justice as the final band of the night.
TV on the Radio. Photo by Natalie Simpson | Beehive Photo
A festival rarely gets it so right, but Kilby regularly did so. What started as a little festival competing with the more prominent ones is becoming a growing replacement. It is a thinking man’s fest that challenges itself to think outside the box and “festival better” than others. A favorite part personally was getting to ride the train to and from the festival every day, and leaving parking woes behind. Ticket prices included public transportation for all days; if it’s not something other festivals are doing throughout the country already, it’s a great idea to absorb.
As I reached the halfway point of Day Three of Kilby 2025, I assumed the line of the day would go to the electronic musician George Clanton, who said about Kilby, “This is the new Coachella; Coachella’s dead.” But ultimately, that honor goes to Hugo Burnham, drummer for Gang of Four, who emerged from behind his kit for the first and only time just as his band finished its explosive set. Using a crutch, Burnham walked to the front of the stage to leave us with two directives, of which few in the crowd would contest: “Be the resistance. Support live music.” And with that mic-drop moment, the best show I’d seen at Kilby so far came to a conclusion.
George Clanton. Photo by Natalie Simpson | Beehive PhotoGang of Four. Photo by Natalie Simpson | Beehive Photo
The appearance was part of a farewell tour for Gang of Four, the post-punk pioneers whose combination of angular rhythms, mutant-disco grooves and leftist politics galvanized a movement in late ‘70s England that still reverberates today—and, it must be said, influenced just about every band that has taken a Kilby stage, directly or indirectly.
Their show was exhilarating for every second, and I hadn’t left a Kilby set so sweaty or energized. Jon King is only the latest of this festival’s riveting, instrument-free frontmen, a theme this year following memorable sets from Future Islands and Perfume Genius. Whether crouching down, hands on his knees, and crab walking (crab hopping?) across the stage or lassoing his microphone cord in reckless bombast, King was an irrepressible force in a pale-pink button-down shirt. At one point, a member of Gang of Four’s crew lugged a heavy microwave oven onto a platform, and King proceeded to crush it into bits with a baseball bat, in time with the music, sending small pieces of shrapnel into the front section—a Gang of Four gambit dating back decades that never ceases to thrill.
Not to be outdone, recent addition Ted Leo’s guitar work, so pivotal to master, left a searing imprint on the audience, which started up a mosh pit just from one of his solos. Bassist Gail Greenwood, on loan from L7 and Belly, laid down notes thicker than motor oil, and shared King’s flair for performance. If this really is Gang of Four’s final tour, I can’t imagine a more marvelous send-off.
Of course, the day had plenty of other highlights as well, starting with Panda Bear, the solo project from the Animal Collective singer-songwriter, whose Day-Glo psychedelia really hit home, adding vibrancy to the overcast afternoon. The songs flowed together without breaks, functioning like an endless groove or a multipart symphony, and manifested as perhaps Kilby’s most cohesive merger of the analog and digital, the human and the synthetic. Panda Bear’s guitar fused with electronic squiggles reminiscent of vintage video games, samples of breaking glass and other quirky sound collages, while the hectic animations shuffling behind the band proved at once distracting and appropriate to Panda Bear’s avant-pop, which felt like surf music for a five-dimensional future.
Black Country New Road. Photo by Natalie Simpson | Beehive Photo
Black Country, New Road (BCNR), which followed Panda Bear on the Kilby Stage, entered their set to a recording of the Band’s “The Weight,” an Americana classic and the first indication that their show would be an outlier among the festival’s most common genres. Indeed, it’s difficult to classify this outfit at all. I can think of no obvious antecedent, at least for this version of BCNR, which shifted some of its gears for their 2025 release Forever Howlong following the departure of their original lead singer, Isaac Wood. This version of BCNR, at least, jettisons typical song structures, and earworms are not their forte. It’s difficult music to dance to, and seems more tailored for cerebral venues—art museums, botanical gardens—than even a big-tent music festival like Kilby.
But the result, once you clued into its wavelength, was enchanting, and patient listeners were rewarded with more instrumental color than anywhere else in the lineup, from banjo and mandolin and bowed bass to accordion, flute, recorder and saxophone—and even whistling. If headliners Weezer are a dog of a band—cuddly, eager to please, easy to love—BCNR are a bunch of cats for whose affection you need to win. By the end, I certainly felt the purr.
Ovlov. Photo by Natalie Simpson | Beehive Photo
I spent a minute or two with Ovlov over on the Desert Stage and was taken with the Connecticut-based band’s infectious enthusiasm for being on the Kilby lineup, which singer Steve Hartlett called “surreal as f***,” adding “we are not professionals. We shouldn’t be here.” Even when Hartlett’s guitar cable malfunctioned, leading to a delay in the set, he was quick on his feet with a rejoinder: “We wanted to drop a song anyway.” Ovlov’s sludgy post-punk hit home with many—slam-dancers moshed to nearly everything, and there were so many crowd surfers that they collided while aloft—but it was the only set I encountered that was certifiably too loud, and having neglected to bring earplugs, I ducked out of it early.
Without further ado, the aforementioned Weezer constitute the biggest “name” on the Kilby lineup this year, and their goofy, high-concept “Voyage to the Blue Planet” tour did not disappoint. The show opened with a faux news report, projected on video, that introduced the plot: The members of Weezer have been called upon to embark on an interstellar voyage to a blue plant dozens of light years away. Another video followed, this one a five-minute countdown accompanied by borrowed sounds of a rocket preparing to launch, which led to yet another video, this one showing the Weezer guys dressed as NASA astronauts and striding toward the spacecraft. One impatient wag behind me, ready for the blessed beginning of live music, joked, “skip intro, skip intro!”
Weezer. Photo by Natalie Simpson | Beehive PhotoWeezer. Photo by Natalie Simpson | Beehive Photo
He wasn’t wrong: This was much ado for a rock ‘n’ roll show. Weezer finally emerged, space suits and all, opening with newer material while projected animations progressed the story. Yes, we were expected to follow the narrative as well as the music, as Weezer’s craft soared above clouds, planted a “W” flag on the moon, traversed the planets and exited the Milky Way for the final frontier, en route to what Rivers Cuomo referred to as “an important and dangerous planet,” where only the music from their debut LP, colloquially called The Blue Album, can revive its barren topography.
“Hash Pipe” saw our boys arrive at a neon space station; “Island in the Sun” was, literally, an island in the sun. At one point, an alien called Bokkus, Weezer’s green-skinned nemesis, flew in front of them in a UFO and pelted them with desserts, which damaged the ship and forced it to crash-land on the “Pinkerton Asteroid Belt,” leaving Weezer to salvage components from a desolate wasteland in order to complete their flight. It’s only fitting that material from Weezer’s most angst-ridden album was the soundtrack for their existential crisis.
Weezer. Photo by Natalie Simpson | Beehive Photo
By the time the set list finally arrived at a full-album run-through of Blue—and the band had landed at its destination, with Cuomo now dressed as Captain Kirk—I all but abandoned any concept of following this kitschy nonsense and gave in completely to the music. Our group reward was the unalloyed joy of belting “Buddy Holly,” “Surf Wax America,” “My Name is Jonas” and, of course, the greatest of all modern rock singalongs, “Say It Ain’t So,” in unison with several thousand fellow devotees. The band occasionally made reference to Salt Lake City during their set, name-dropping the famous Red Iguana in the spoken-word intro to “The Sweater Song,” after which the locals in the audience went expectedly bananas. But otherwise, the band didn’t tinker with perfection, playing the songs as they appeared on the landmark album, which recently celebrated its 30th anniversary. And if we needed to go to outer space to get there, so be it.
Yo La Tengo’s Ira Kaplan had the line of the night during the Kilby Block Party 2025 first-ever Thursday event, and it came before night even fell. Noting the presence of turn-of-the’80s staples New Order and Devo at the top of the bill, Kaplan, 68, then quipped, “It’s nice that Kilby is giving a young band like ourselves a shot.”
Yo La Tengo frontman Ira Kaplan. Photo by Natalie Simpson | Beehive Photo
Indeed, the alternative-music tapas of this abbreviated first night did skew older than the festival’s typical demographic, both in the talent and the audience. It was billed as a legacy night, with the four main touring acts dating back at least 20 years. (OK, 19 ½ for Future Islands, but who’s counting?) Festival organizers are considering it an experiment of sorts, and judging by the staggering turnout and rapturous reception these artists received, I’d say it’s a successful tweak to Kilby’s formula.
My evening started with Yo La Tengo, Hoboken’s finest, who opened their set at the Lake Stage with the screeching feedback and blissed-out noise of “Big Day Coming” and ended it with the guitar freak-out of “Ohm,” filling these bookends with partly a greatest-hits set and partly a tour through their many avenues of musical influence—a tall order for a 50-minute show. This included the infectious shuffle of “Autumn Sweater,” the honeyed ballad “Aselestine,” the sunny psychedelia of the Harry Nilsson-esque “Shades of Blue” and the vintage AM-radio soul anthem “Mr. Tough.” “Fallout” segued into an interstellar instrumental interlude, which threaded straight into “Sugarcube,” just one example of a band wasting nary a second of its too-short set.
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Scroll to see the photo gallery by Natalie Simpson | Beehive Photo
The evening leaving little time for catching one’s breath, I had five minutes to trek to the Kilby Stage just as Future Islands entered the chorus of their opener, “King of Sweden.” To be fair to this quartet, I should give equal weight in my praise to the instrumentalists onstage, especially the dreamy shimmer of Gerrit Welmers’ keyboards and Michael Lowry’s flawlessly executed four-on-the-floor dancehall drumming, but let’s be honest: Like most who have caught a Future Islands gig, I could scarcely take my eyes off of vocalist and songwriter Samuel T. Herring.
Future Islands. Photo by Natalie Simpson | Beehive Photo
“Force of nature” only begins to describe this guy’s gladiatorial charisma. From jogging in place to balletic twirling, from vogueing like a 1980s fashion model to kicking like a Rockette, Herring was a perpetual motion machine, clearly feeding off the crowd’s adoration and vice versa. More than on his albums, he sang certain notes in a guttural death-metal growl, and was never approached as a novelty: He seemed, at times, to be exorcising his own demons. He belongs in the lineage of other great non-instrumentalist singers such as Henry Rollins and Morrissey, but he exceeds both in ageless exuberance. Herring didn’t simply graduate with honors from Frontman School; he wrote the curriculum.
I expected excellence from DEVO, having seen them a few years ago at a music festival in California, and they did not disappoint. The group is steeped in retro-futuristic fashion signifiers that bled from stage to crowd; the most faithful fans in the DEVO cult had been sporting iconic red energy domes for hours leading up to the set. The band entered initially wearing identical black suits emblazoned with an energy-dome icon that, not coincidentally, resembled a cryptic corporate logo. Videos evoking the VHS era projected behind the band, including an interlude straight of a Carl Sagan documentary, with astronomical data on the enormity of the cosmos and Earth’s infinitesimal place in it, to which Devo is “an insignificant blemish with a lifespan too short to mention,” the voice-over opines. After this bit of self-effacing humor, the group returned in their familiar yellow jumpsuits, which they promptly began to shed.
DEVO performed with the polish of a band that has played the same set—with minor variations for set length—hundreds of times: It was loud, in your face, tightly choreographed and damned infectious, with the musicians adjusting their playing style to fit the song, from Josh Freese’s caveman drumming on “Down Under” to the deliberately apelike synthesizer playing on “Are We Not Men?,” a highlight among highlights.
The night culminated with New Order, and while it’s unfathomable to imagine the group as anything but the main headliner, they showed why, for so many artists at so many festivals, DEVO is a tough act to follow. Don’t get me wrong—I love New Order’s music, and there was enough to like in the legendary synthpop act’s career-spanning set, especially in the bells-and-whistles department, such as the elaborate light show that blanketed the audience, and the often-trippy videos that accompanied the songs.
New Order’s Bernard Sumner. Photo by Natalie Simpson | Beehive Photo
But having finally seen New Order live for the first time, I tend to agree with former bassist Peter Hook, who split acrimoniously from the band in 2007, that the version without him underwhelms. Part of it was the low energy coming from the stage. I felt a weariness in leader Bernard Sumner’s singing and presence, and his comparatively toothless vocals on the smattering of Joy Division songs in the set list only underscored how irreplaceable Ian Curtis was. Furthermore, Sumner’s vocals were too low in the mix, and the sound was often muddy and inconsistent, cresting high and then curiously dropping out before retaining its proper volume. Despite an unexpected cameo from guest vocalist Brandon Flowers, of the Killers, on “Bizarre Love Triangle,” the show began to resemble a subpar bootleg recording.
The general vibe in the Fairpark didn’t seem to mind, with spontaneous dance parties popping up everywhere. Crowds can forgive a lot when the music itself is so wonderful; certain substances probably didn’t hurt either. Nor did the absolutely idyllic weather, with a couple of tiny flirtations with rain on an otherwise overcast evening. Many took advantage of the agreeable climate to relax on loungers shaped like Andy Warhol’s famous banana painting from the Velvet Underground’s debut LP; fight gravity on themed pinball machines in the arcade bar alcove in the VIP lounge; and play beer pong with enormous red Solo cups—activities I hope to enjoy over another jam-packed Kilby weekend ahead.
Sharon Van Etten heralded a busy week of music in Salt Lake City when she played Metro Music Hall on Tuesday (May 13, 2025), supporting their latest, 2025’s Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory. Without leaning on any opener, the band started out quietly and powerfully with “Live Forever,” and kept an attentive crowd nothing less than captivated from that point on. On one hand, it immediately felt like a band that’s risen to the full extent of its superpowers. On that other hand, it was just ethereal. Powerful. Emotional. If a resident (or touring) witch cast a spell on the lot of us on Tuesday, we were all the better for it.
This album is the first the band’s ever written together, and the concert felt like an extension of that. Throughout the evening, Van Etten did her share of checking in with all on stage, pulling attention and giving the rest their due whenever it felt right to do so. While new songs were primarily on display — they tackled all but “Indo” off their 10-track album — Van Etten still dabbled into crowd favorites territory, with a nod to the late, great David Lynch (“Tarifa”), a sped-up version of “Every Time The Sun Comes Up,” and, of course, “Seventeen”. That last tune found Van Etten bending down and sing-screaming directly into a fan’s face on the front row, which was likely a far better souvenir to take home than anything at the merch booth.
It’s worth noting that the new album feels especially good and already fits whatever your most comfortable tee feels like. If you’ve not scooped up or streamed it yet, you’re doing yourself a grave disservice. This review comes with the best kind of homework: go listen to all of it. Dance along. Sing. You may even accidentally fall in love.
ICYMI, Amos Lee and his band performed with the Utah Symphony last Saturday (May 10, 2025) at Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City. In short, it was lovely. It’d be easier to say “no notes,” but that would defeat the purpose of this review. Instead, I’ll say it was like hearing some of your favorite songs with a lush movie score along for the ride as added emphasis.
While it isn’t uncommon for some of the more easy-to-love voices and singers in our midst to have their songs rearranged for classically-trained musicians — and it’s practically a rite of passage for some — it wasn’t just the ticket buyers who benefited; it was a home run for all involved. It was a way of giving the audience above and beyond what it could have ever expected. Lee’s band was constantly thrilled by what the orchestra behind them did with their pieces, and it regularly showed in their expressions.
Lee paused frequently to share how thrilled he was to be the glue holding all the swirling pieces together. In the generous 20-song set that included songs like “Street Corner Preacher,” “Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight,” “Sweet Pea,” and “Arms of a Woman,” Lee showed his impressive range throughout. He was a singular talent surrounded by rich talent (his band), which was backed by even more talent (Andrew Lipke was conducting the orchestra and, by the looks of it, having a lot of fun doing so). Maybe it’ll never be repeated, and that would be a shame. But if there is another night like this one, even if it’s a few years down the road, let’s hope the sequel has as much magic as they created this time around.
When Sharon Van Etten performs with her band in Salt Lake City on May 13 at Metro Music Hall, it’ll be one of 14 shows she’s set to play during the month. When we connected with her via Zoom recently, she was at home and readying for that long stretch, and she admitted that even though she hasn’t toured this intensely in years, she has a lot of reasons to enjoy returning to the road.
Van Etten loves playing with her band, for one. Touring and playing live allows her to connect and reconnect with the songs they’ve created viscerally. The chance to see firsthand how those at their shows react to the music every night they play? That’s another high point.
After a few scattered warmup shows on the East Coast and a couple of weeks playing in the UK, this is the first time the band has toured regularly behind 2025’s Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory, released in February on Jagjaguwar. Van Etten said she can’t wait to roll back into Utah, as she recalls how beautiful the state is and how kindly she’s been treated.
“I love connecting with people in different cities,” she says. “After everything we’ve been through in the past five-plus years, connection is everything.”
The new album feels gauzy and ethereal, never straying far from the topics of mortality, parenthood, and love. And even though some songs feel darker thematically, they enjoy playing them as much as they enjoy each other. Van Etten says a natural chemistry has surfaced over their past several years, a stronger connection built a deepened friendship.
One local radio deejay recently quipped that Van Etten was in her “goth phase” with the new release, and she’s fast to agree with that, but only with a short explanation.
“I feel like I’m always in a goth phase, but not everyone can tell. Many of the influences for this record are bands I have listened to since I was a kid and into my 20s. As I’ve learned how to have a band, I can now showcase my influences differently, but I always felt them at my core,” she says. “The Cure and Portishead and Siouxsie & The Banshees and Joy Division were bands I grew up listening to. Hopefully, what I am recording now is more of an homage to the sounds that shaped me, not just as an artist, but as a music fan.”
Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory album artwork.
The members of the band making up the rest of The Attachment Theory include Devra Hoff (bass guitar, backing vocals), Teeny Lieberson (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals), and Jorge Balbi (drums). Van Etten feels like she and her band have reached their next creative stage, the inevitable progression of their relationship, and getting to explore that together is compelling.
“Whenever you get to know anybody in a certain way, especially creatively, you get to this point where it’s time to take the next step, a make-or-break commitment. In a way, writing together means we trust each other. We want to explore that, but we also have to be vulnerable. You have to throw paint at the wall and know you might make mistakes anyway. We could let our guard down and open ourselves up to trying things we wouldn’t normally or naturally try otherwise.”
And a lot of that should be evident when they play together. That closeness she and the rest of her band share has allowed them to create their own semblance of a community, and that’s highly important. It allows for added strength in difficult times, and Van Etten is keenly aware of that as a mother. Her overall view is that being attached to a community can and does carry us forward.
“Being a parent and aging and having aging parents, under the umbrella of what’s happening in the world, I feel now more than ever, we have to embrace each other and redefine our community. Even as the times can feel so dark, the community and being a good neighbor will help us get through right now,” Van Etten says. “As a mother, I have to be vigilant against the horrors and try to be positive because what’s my alternative? Be a good role model. See what you can salvage with the things you actually can control.”
Who: Victor Wooten & The Wooten Brothers Where: The Commonwealth Room When: 8 p.m. What: As one of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones’ superpowers, Wooten is a force to witness live. He’s a showman all on his own; he does things with the bass that are beyond comprehension and with a lot of joy. With his brothers in tow, it makes tonight even more special. Plus, it’s the first time the brothers have released new music and toured together since their brother, Rudy, passed. FUN FACT: In 1972, the Wooten Brothers were hired as the opener for Curtis Mayfield‘s hugely successful Superfly Tour. Eldest Wooten Brother, Regi, was 14 years old, and Victor was five. Tickets
May 10 (Sat)
Who: Amos Lee w/ Utah Symphony Where: Abravanel Hall When: 7:30 p.m. What: He’s released five albums on the famed Blue Note label. He was handpicked to open for Norah Jones on her tour. He wrote that song “Sweet Pea” that you probably haven’t been able to quite shake since 2006. And now he’s set to tackle what it’s like to have up to 85 full-time, classically trained musicians learn and play his songs along with him. As far as accolades go, that’s got to be about as beautiful as it can possibly get. Tickets
May 12 (Mon)
Who: Deep Sea DiverZ Where: Urban Lounge When: 7 p.m. What: For my money, this is the hidden gem of the month, the diamond halfway buried in the rough and awaiting discovery. The short story: I discovered Deep Sea Diver when they played on an island outside of Seattle more than a decade ago (and ferry rides are the best way to arrive). The experience was akin to being struck by lightning: as shocking as it was surprising. Following their journey ever since has been a treat, as the band’s only gotten progressively better. Shows are selling out this tour, and you’d be wise to grab a ticket while some are still available. No time like the present.Tickets
May 13 (Tues)
Who: Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory Where: Metro Music Hall When: 7 p.m. What: We spoke with Ms. Sharon Van Etten recently, and she shared this about her creating her latest album: “I didn’t know what I was writing. I was trying to write about my experience and what everybody else had been going through. Mortality is a big subject as we age. I’m the only parent in the group. Still, being a parent and having aging parents under the umbrella of what’s happening in the world, I feel that now, more than ever, we have to embrace each other and redefine what we think our community is. Focus on community and love, even as the times can feel dark. Being a good neighbor and person will help us get through.” Watch for our full feature when it’s published in the coming days. Tickets
May 14 (Wed)
Who: Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Bobby Rush Where: The Capitol Theatre When: 7:30 p.m. What: Shepherd is a busy guy, and he’s remained that way since he landed on the blues scene many years ago. He was So Damn Good at the guitar from such a young age; still, it feels like he’s had to prove himself over and over, regardless of how incredible he really is. That aside, having a 91-years-young legend accompany him (Bobby Rush) this time around doubles the thrill of attending: two masters for the price of one.
Who: Kilby Block Party Where: Utah State Fairpark When: 4:15 p.m. (Thurs) What: Kilby, you’ve come a very long way, baby. This festival has grown so much (and so quickly) that it’s hard not to be weirdly proud of all it’s become. It’s also hard to underestimate how much talent will be crammed into four days and nights, but here are 10 of the best names attached: New Order. Rilo Kiley. Gang of Four. The Black Angels. Justice. Built to Spill. Future Islands. The Lemon Twigs. St. Vincent. TV On The Radio. There are so many more to sink your teeth into, I promise. Hit the link for the already-published schedule and start your planning now. And please don’t forget to wear your sunscreen. Tickets
May 19 (Mon)
Who: White Denim Where: Urban Lounge When: 7 p.m. What: Storytime: Back when the alt-country movement was making its waves across the music blogosphere, I connected with a guy in Denton, Texas. Once he learned I liked bands like Slobberbone and Drive-By Truckers and Uncle Tupelo, he made it his mission to fill in the gaps for me, sometimes mailing me 50+ dubbed compact discs at a time to help. As far as drinking from a firehose went, it was the best way. White Denim was a band he made sure I became familiar with at that same time, too, because, well, Austin pride and all that. It sure warms the ticker that they’re a) still playing rock shows and b) visiting our City of Salt so often. Tickets
It’s time to dust off your picnic baskets and unpack your Tommy Bahama festival chairs! Red Butte Garden just announced an amazing 30-concert lineup for summer and, as usual, I am very excited.
My must-see list includes Rhiannon Giddens and Elephant Revival, two artists whose ethereal music is meant to waft through mountain landscapes.
Snuggled against the Foothills in the state’s botanical garden, the Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre offers the perfect. outdoor concert experience. Generations of Salt Lakers continue to enjoy the stellar mountain and valley views, a lush setting and unparalleled sound, and an easygoing, picnic-with-friends energy. Music just feels better here.
From rock legends and Grammy award winners to genre-blending performers you’ll experience nowhere else, Red Butte Garden’s 2025 Summer Outdoor Concert Series offers something to captivate every music lover.
TaThe full concert lineup and ticket purchase details are available on the Red Butte Garden and Arboretum website, redbuttegarden.org.
Concert tickets will go on sale in two waves.
Wave One ticket sales for show dates between May 19 and July 27, 2025
Monday, April 21- Member online-only presale at 7 pm
Tuesday, April 22- Member in-person sales at 9 am
Friday, April 25- Public on sale at 10 am
Wave Two ticket sales for show dates between July 28 and September 16
Monday, April 28- Member online-only presale at 7 pm
Tuesday, April 29- Member in-person sales at 9 am
Friday, May 2- Public on sale at 10 am
Mark your calendar because tickets can go fast.
What: The 2025 Red Butte Garden Outdoor Concert Series Where: Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre When: Throughout the summer Info and tickets: www.redbuttegarden.org/concerts
Vieux Farka Touré and his band of the very merriest men played on The State Room’s stage in Salt Lake City last Saturday (4/12/25), and everything about it felt electrified.
For a sold-out show, it never felt like one. Instead, the air was thick with a swath of palpable joy as smiles hardly left their faces (or ours). It was an out-and-out celebration care of Mali, and it felt like briefly going on a vacation to a warm and inviting country we may never have the opportunity to visit otherwise. To further paint that picture, the band wore traditional clothing from their far-off West African homeland, too — a tunic and loose-fitting trousers — immediately resembling the most stylish, comfortable pajamas on the market.
Photo by Jesse JusticePhoto by Jesse Justice
When singer/guitarist/composer Vieux Farka Touré and his small band of three performed, he absolutely commanded with his guitar, as the others played a combination of bass, percussion (drums & calabash drum), and ngoni. There was more singing than speaking, and that hardly mattered. When there were vocals, they were rarely in English (and again, totally unimportant). Instead, we tapped into how they were feeling, marveled at the rare treat we were experiencing, and gladly lost track of time. It hardly felt like enough when a one-song encore got tacked on to the end of 90 minutes. And yet? It was hard not to be grateful.
While it’s a little early in 2025 to throw this prediction out, here goes: Vieux Farka Touré may have given us the best concert of the year. It’ll be hard to see any local or touring bands top that kind of magic.
Salt Lake City’s thriving art scene is always finding ways to celebrate local, national, and international artists dabbling in all mediums from music to painting. Get ready for one of Utah’s legacy events celebrating its 49th year: the Utah Arts Festival! Returning to Library Square in Salt Lake City, “The Great Utah Get-Together” is a community celebration of any artistic medium: visual, music, dance, film, literary, culinary arts, and more. Mark your calendars for June 19-22 for a colorful celebration.
There is plenty to marvel at over the four-day event. Browse over 170 visual artists’ work displayed in booths. Admire entries to the festival’s film program, and engage in hands-on workshops. With over 125 performing arts shows to choose from, applaud performers engaging in anything from hip-hop to street theater. And don’t forget the main headliners taking the big stage each night! Four incredible and renowned music artists will perform each night of the event.
Leftover Salmon Photo Credit Tobin Voggesser
Opening on Thursday, June 19, is Leftover Salmon from Colorado. As one of America’s most beloved festival acts, they’ll kick off the event with a rockin’ mix between traditional bluegrass and rock, Cajun/Zydeco and folk music. Robert Randolph takes the stage on Friday, June 20, with his four-time Grammy-nominated guitar skills.
Following on Saturday, June 21, Souls of Mischief will rock the crowd with their groundbreaking hip-hop. Don’t miss their blend of old-school and contemporary beats! The final performer on Sunday, June 22 is the Venezuelan songwriter, musician and producer MV Caldera, bringing her talent for contemporary Latin music to the stage.
MV Caldera.
With a lineup like this, you’ll want to snag your tickets ASAP. Buy them now on the UAF website. You can find 4-pack and 10-pack options, along with VIP options for hospitality patio access.
As Festival Executive Director Aimee Dunsmore said, “This year’s lineup reflects the Festival’s commitment to presenting transformative musical experiences. Each of these artists has helped shape their respective genres while continuing to push artistic boundaries.” With more than 35,00 attendees, the Utah Arts Festival is the largest outdoor multi-disciplinary arts event in Utah. You don’t want to miss this grand event featuring some of the most talented artists all in one place.
When you go:
Where: Library Square. 200 East 400 South, Salt Lake City When: June 19–22, 2025 Hours:
