Music

Every holiday season, The Lower Lights brings more than a dozen musicians to the stage to celebrate the spirit of the holidays

Provo producer scott wiley had five free days to jam with friends, so he put out a call to drop by the studio and play music. But not just any music. Inspired by a desire to tap into tradition, Wiley wanted to play hymns. As it turned out, so did a whole lot of other Utah musicians. In those five days, artists spanning genres from alt-country, folk and Americana to indie rock rotated in and out of the studio to pull songs  from old hymn books, pioneer songs, Irish hymns, and gospel and harmonize. 

Over 20 musicians successfully recorded what would become their first album, Hymn Revival, under the moniker, The Lower Lights. Next up: Christmas music. Fifteen years and eight albums later, The Lower Lights has become a Utah Christmas institution. 

“We never thought we’d be a band at all, much less become a Christmas band,” says Paul Jacobsen, singer/songwriter and one of 18 active musicians comprising The Lower Lights.

Like all of The Lower Lights collaborators, Jacobsen has a full-time project that keeps him busy: Paul Jacobsen & The Madison Arm. But performing as The Lower Lights has become a Christmas tradition, not just for the musicians who reunite every year to play a few shows—some band members now live out of state and travel back to Utah to participate—but for audiences who have helped the band graduate from smaller venues like Post Theater to Kingsbury Hall. 

“To some degree, we’ve become part of the fabric of people’s holiday traditions,” Jacobsen says. “It’s become this thing that is bigger than all of us.” 

For Jacobsen, uniting with friends in the music scene to bring Christmas music to life through the individual styles of 18 different musicians is a dream come true. One that he hopes to build upon each holiday season as the band continues to add songs to their setlist—each catering to different tastes and beliefs, but always tied to the spirit of the season. Ultimately, it makes for a performance that allows every band member to shine while bringing people together in the way that only music can. 

“It is honestly a dream come true that I get to play on a stage—where I’ve seen so many artists I love—with my friends, and we provide something for people that is meaningful to them. Our Christmas shows are our most successful and well-attended shows because something we do there appeals, I think, to nostalgia and people like to see a real thing happening on stage: a bunch of friends making music.” 

Photography by Natalie Simpson

The Lower Lights lineup 

Principal Singers:

Debra Fotheringham, Dustin Christensen, Dominic Moore, Sarah Sample, Cherie Call, Marie Bradshaw, Kiki Jane Sieger, Paul Jacobsen

Varsity Instrumentalists:

 M. Horton Smith, Dylan Schorer, Ryan Tilby, Colin Botts, Megan Nay, Scott Wiley, Brian, Hardy, Tyler Lambourne

Drummers:

Aaron Anderson, Darin LeSueur

If You Go

The Lower Lights Christmas Concerts
Kingsbury Hall
1395 Presidents’ Circle, SLC
Dec. 11,13, & 14, 2024
thelowerlights.com

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The sixth rendition of the ever-growing Kilby Block Party will take place May 15 to 18 at the Utah State Fairpark, and festival presenters Sartain & Saunders (S&S) have gone all out to provide Salt Lakers with another jam-packed weekend of local and national acts. 

What began as an alt-block party outside of Kilby Court in 2019 has ballooned into the hottest spring ticket of the year. Last year we saw big-draw acts like The Strokes, Vampire Weekend, Wu-Tang Clan and LCD Soundsystem. This year promises more high-quality bookings. In their typical dream-big fashion, S&S has expanded Kilby Block Party 6 from three to four days, featuring 75 artists and an even larger festival footprint. Taking over the Utah State Fairpark, the 2025 Block Party is prioritizing festival goers with added space for amenities like water stations and relaxation areas. Organizers have also taken complaints about audio bleed from stage to stage into consideration and mapped out new areas for smaller stages to spread the sound around.

Ticket Info

The four-day festival begins on the evening of Thursday, May 14, 2025, and runs through Sunday, May 18, 2025. Like 2023, S&S is offering four-day passes only this year which will go on sale Wednesday, Dec. 4 at 10 a.m. Early bird passes for KBP6 went fast before the lineup dropped, so expect some competition when it comes to snagging this first tier of tickets! Of course, we’ll be providing readers with tons of pre-festival coverage as well as day-by-day reviews and photography of the 2025 festival, check out last year’s coverage here. 

The 2025 Kilby headliner list has some stunners, including New Order, which is grinding out late-career touring like pros but might be moving toward the last-chance to-see column.

• New Order
• Beach House 
• Weezer 
• Justice 

The so-called supporting acts are almost more exciting than the headliners. We’re looking at you Devo, which recently just started touring again. Future Islands and St. Vincent also raised our eyebrows. Here’s the full list.

• Devo
• Future Islands
• Yo La Tengo
• Slowdive
• Car Seat Headrest
• Wallows
• St. Vincent 
• Toro Y Moi
• TV on the Radio
• Still Woozy

The supporting, supporting cast has a bright smattering of local acts (in bold) amid an interesting mix of up-and-coming performers and bands. Kilby’s free-range setup makes for a great chance to discover something new. 

• Teen Suicide, Levelor, Julien Baker & Torres, Built to Spill, Perfume Genius, Peter McPoland, Vacations, Youth Lagoon, The Lemon Twigs, Momma, Hey, Nothing, Hovvdy, Lunar Vacation, Wishy, Been Stellar, Being Dead, Cardinal Bloom, Free Range, Melancholy Club, Josaleigh Pollett, Montell Fish, Black Country, New Road, Panda Bear, Gang of Four, The Black Angels, IDKHOW, George Clanton, Wisp, Friko, Youbet, Over Under, Marchall Van Leuven, Hurtado, Nation of Language, Tennis, Real Estate, Boa, Jay Som, Geese, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Vagabon, Frost Children, Nourished by Time, Husbands, Lime Garden, Wlat Disco, Faerybabyy, Beeson, Gift, Hannah Frances, Poolhouse, Elowyn.

Other Kilby Court News 

Kilby Court, Utah’s longest-running all-ages venue and the namesake of its biggest music festival, was recently sold to venture group Blaser Ventures in late October. The ownership change marks a new era for the venue. Buyer Brandon Blaser has assured Salt Lake music fans he plans to preserve the integrity of the venue. “Kilby is just such an essential part of the fabric of Salt Lake City and the Granary District. It’s one of those cultural icons and moments that is very unique to Salt Lake,” Blaser told development news source Building Salt Lake. “The loss of it would be absolutely detrimental to the history of the Granary area and what makes the Granary so special. We view it as an essential piece of our history and culture that we are proud to be partners in helping to preserve.”

The purchase of Kilby is another feather in Blaser’s cap of Granary Area acquisitions, which have included the Post District, Granary Square and the historic Pickle & Hide building next to the music venue. According to Building Salt Lake, all of Blaser’s projects in the area focus on adaptive reuse, rejuvenating local businesses, artist workshop spaces and other community hubs. Plans for the 2.3-acre Kilby Court development will follow suit as Blaser aims to reconfigure existing industrial and residential spaces into a cultural haven. Read Building Salt Lake’s full coverage here. (And let’s hope Blaser keeps his promises.)

Meanwhile, while you anticipate and work the angles on 2025 tickets, reminisce with our 2024 reviews and coverage. 

• 2024 Kilby Block Party: Day One Review
• 2024 Kilby Block Party: Day Two Review
• 2024 Kilby Block Party: Day Three Review

Find images from the 2024 Kilby Block Party Below.

Photo credit Natalie Simpson @beehivephotovideo

It’s hard for me to be even the slightest bit objective about a band like Blind Pilot. Maybe that comes from seeing them a lot over the years and being too familiar with their staggeringly great output. Maybe it’s because hearing them blend vocals and play banjo so well live makes it feel like being wrapped up in my warmest blanket. As far as experiences go, let’s face it: the vibe they create could hardly get any cozier. Anyone there last night could attest to that truth.

And maybe we all expected them to sound as incredible as they did Sunday night at The Commonwealth Room anyway. It’s as if they never suffered a single misstep or played one wrong note from start to finish. But after being absent from these parts for so long (and probably many others) and now in the thick of promoting their first new album in nearly a decade, Sunday night’s sold-out performance felt like a welcome-back celebration.

When the five-piece played “The Story I Heard” (and you know that one even if you think you don’t; it’s the song with the line about Jojo jumping a Utah train), it’s tough to imagine it getting a better reaction anywhere else thus far on their tour. A state mention goes far in these parts. Include us in a song, and we will remember it. We’ll even prove that by singing along with you so loud that we won’t need to borrow any of your microphones.

On a night that felt right in many ways, the band still managed to surprise, too. When Dave Jorgenson magically appeared in the back of the venue during “Things I Cannot Recall,” blowing dutifully on his trumpet at all the times he should have, it felt like a bit of magic got shuffled in along with the price of admission. Besides, horns need not be confined to the stage. That alone was an added reason for joy on a night allowing for plenty of that stuff.

Read our interview with Blind Pilot here.

If Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes were to have suddenly started his own cult in the midst of showing off how well he can still sing and gyrate at the Eccles in Salt Lake City last night, chances are good we’d have followed whatever path he’d led us down.

If there’s one thing those touring as the self-proclaimed Happiness Bastards (after their 2024 album of the same name) wanted us to believe in, it was the joy accompanying good music.

But instead of being invited into their new religion, we were willingly baptized in a lot of the familiar and a sprinkling of the new. Far from being labeled a nostalgia act, The Black Crowes, who initially formed in 1984, appears to be experiencing a career second wind. It’s a good spot to be in.

In a set that lasted 18 songs strong, Chris, brother Rich Robinson, and the rest of their eight-member band set their own proverbial fire Tuesday, helping prove that age needn’t much exist in the land of straight-up rock and roll. While naysayers say the genre is fast fading, it’d be hard to prove that to anyone who took in last night’s performance.

Owning up to a voice that sounds every bit as whiskey-soaked and decades aged as it ever did, Chris sounded as comfortably at home and extra incredible on favorites like “Twice as Hard,” “Sometimes Salvation,” and “Sting Me” as he and the rest of his band ever have. (Side note: Those background singers really helped tie it all together.) The newer songs match the ones that have come before, too. This bodes well.

By the time the one-song encore was presented in all its glory—a speedy run-through of Ellmore James’ “Shake Your Moneymaker” that had everyone on their feet and dancing on both balconies and throughout aisles—a final truth seemed more than obvious: the band better already be planning their return. A mostly filled Eccles theater of believers is probably already demanding it.  

Get the latest on arts and entertainment in and around Utah. And while you’re here, subscribe and get six issues of Salt Lake magazine, your guide to the best of life in Utah.

In the ever-evolving landscape of pop music, the announcement that a band is going “on hiatus” often doesn’t bode well for their future. So for Blind Pilot fans who had watched seven years go by without the release of a new album, the likelihood of the group reuniting appeared slim at best. Blind Pilot will play The Commonwealth Room on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024.

All that changed earlier this year with the release of Blind Pilot’s fifth album, “In the Shadow of the Holy Mountain.” The Portland-based indie-folk band, known for their intimate storytelling and lush instrumentation, emerged from their extended break with a renewed spirit and a transformative approach to making music. And no one was more surprised by that than the band members themselves.

“It feels miraculous that this all came about the way it did after so many years of trying,” said bandleader Israel Nebeker, who’d reached the point where he didn’t know if there’d ever be a fifth album. For the first time in the band’s history, he’d found himself at a total loss when it came to writing new Blind Pilot songs.  

“I read a lot of books on writer’s block and did some therapy around it for quite a bit,” he explained in this early November interview. “But I don’t think writer’s block really felt like what I was going through. It wasn’t like I was sitting there at my writing desk and banging my head against it. I could write; it’s just that the songs didn’t want to come through the way that they typically do.”

After years of trying, Nebeker came to a realization. The type of songs he’d been trying to write wouldn’t work for Blind Pilot. But they could for a solo project. So he set about making a deal with his muse and the songs that were just out of reach. 

“I said, ‘Okay, how about if this is a solo album, I won’t censor you,’” the singer-songwriter recalled. “Whatever you come through as, I’ll bring you through, and I will take care of you. I won’t expose you to the scrutiny of anyone. You’ll just be mine. And that’s when the songs started coming again.”

Nebeker soon found himself writing enough material to record his own album, which he aims to release next spring. But the solution to one dilemma had led to the creation of another.

“At that point, I had a very tricky problem on my hands,” he said. “I had to go to my band and say, ‘Hey, thanks for waiting, like, five years for me to write another album. I have one. But it’s a solo album, not Blind Pilot.’ And I didn’t want to deliver that message to them.”

 As it turned out, he didn’t have to, thanks to a lucid dream that made perfect sense, at least for a moment. “The thought was, just write a Blind Pilot album in a month, and whatever comes through, you can just give that over to the band and it’ll be easy,” Nebeker said. “And I thought, ‘Yeah! That’s the solution!’ And then I woke up and thought, ‘What am I crazy? How am I going to do that?’”

But he did, and the band found itself back in the studio with an album’s worth of songs and a reputation to live up to. Inspired by artists ranging from Joanna Newsom and Gillian Welch to Bright Eyes and Neutral Milk Hotel, they’d progressed from the stripped-down charm of 2008’s “3 Rounds and a Sound” to the more expansive arrangements of 2016’s “And Then Like Lions.” Then “In the Shadow of the Holy Mountain” became their most significant leap yet, and in more ways than one.

The most significant shift for Nebeker was learning to let go of his need to “protect the songs” and be involved in every aspect of the record. This change in mindset led to a more collaborative and adventurous atmosphere in the studio. 

“I wanted to focus on the band as its own living entity, and less about the songwriting part of it” Nebeker said. “I said this time I’m just the songwriter and the singer, and that’s my only role. And that sense of respect and trust started to create a real camaraderie, this feeling of adventure where everyone was kind of magically invested in everything we were doing.”

The adventurous approach was complemented by producer Josh Kaufman’s exploratory methods in the studio, which captured the essence of live performances while pushing the boundaries of the band’s sound. That expertise allowed for spontaneous creativity, resulting in unexpected transformations of songs like “Just a Bird,” which gained its uptempo drum beat in the chorus during the recording process.

The group, which is now on tour promoting the new album, also took advantage of the fact that they were recording in a century-old church that had been converted into a studio, adding a unique ambiance to the sessions. That was particularly the case on the song “Coming Back,” which was recorded in darkness.

“The reason I asked to turn the lights off,” Nebeker said, “was because there was something about that song in that space where I only wanted to hear it. I didn’t want to be reminded of anything visual. I just wanted to be with the piano and my voice in that large, grand space.

“It’s not that I’m into the religion thing,” he added, “but I do love intentionally meaningful spaces, whether it’s a dojo or a yoga studio or a church or a temple.”

Or, for that matter, a mountain, like the holy one that gave the album its name. Nebeker saw it in a vision during a shamanic drum journey to northern Scandinavia, where he sought to reconnect with his ancestral lineage. 

“I think that traveling, especially when it’s off the beaten path, is definitely something close to a spiritual practice,” Nebeker said. “Right now, it’s very easy to be afraid of what’s foreign and unknown. But when you put yourself out there vulnerably, I have found that people show up and repeatedly prove that everyone wants the best for each other.”

Blind Pilot played The Commonwealth Room in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. Read Salt Lake magazine’s review of their performance here.

Chris and Rich Robinson have plenty of reasons to celebrate. They’ve stopped all their fighting and got the band back together. They put out a new album this year—their 10th!—something they’d not done in 15 years. And when their plans to open for Aerosmith got quashed when Steven Tyler hurt his vocal cords and the band abruptly hung it up, The Black Crowes simply extended their own tour and added more dates, moving forward as the Happiness Bastards they are.

There are lessons in resilience and growth mixed in with all that, and fans reap the rewards of the Brothers Robinson getting along and moving on.

If recent setlists indicate what’s in store, Salt Lake City’s in for a real treat next Tuesday, November 19, when their tour lands at Eccles Theatre. The Crowes seem all too eager to please their adoring fans, blending old and new favorites into recent shows, one eye looking back as the other looks forward. In an era where pop appears poised to dominate all other forms of music combined, Chris and Rich and the rest of the band will have a long chance to remind us that, when done right, rock ’n’ roll isn’t going anywhere.

I’ve never seen the full band perform, but I’ve always wanted to. I have seen the Chris Robinson Brotherhood, and it was incredible for many reasons, but more of a resounding echo of earlier greatness. A lot of years ago, when the Crowes’ debut came out — Shake Your Money Maker (1990) — it quickly became one of the most well-loved cassettes in my collection. My best friend and I drove around in his old brown 1978 Pontiac Parisienne and turned his stereo volume up as loud as it’d go, screaming our way through songs like “Hard to Handle,” “Twice as Hard” and “Jealous Again.” It was the soundtrack of unabashed joy.

Years ago, the Crowes felt poised to be as big and important to music history as The Rolling Stones. Or perhaps those high hopes were entirely my own, I don’t know. It never quite worked out that way, and that’s entirely OK. The band found its voice, made its mark, and survived the hiccups that nearly ended them for good.

That’s certainly something worth crowing about.

• Who: The Black Crowes
• Where: The George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Theater
• When: Tuesday, November 19, 2024Tickets and Info: live-at-the-eccles.com

As a band with a quarter-century of gigs to their credit, Lucero has downshifted their touring ambitions in recent years. These days they’re out on the road for a crisp 100 dates or so, a considerable amount by most bands’ count. But for an act that used to eclipse the 200- or even 250-gig mark, this is a real change. One of those 100 dates is coming up on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at The Commonwealth Room, a venue the band says falls into its sweet spot of smaller music halls. 

Ben Nichols, the band’s primary songwriter and founding member, said that Lucero’s career has moved into something of a sweet spot. Though the band’s last album, 2023’s “Should’ve Learned By Now,” is nominally the reason the band’s going out on tour now, the group has always been active on the road, whether there was new material or not. And Nichols believes that the sound he and his bandmates have achieved this time out will be crowd-pleasing. 

 “Right now, we’re a five-piece, a stripped-down rock ’n’ roll band, doing the simpler version of what we were doing 10 years ago,” Nichols said in a recent phone interview. “With our last album, ‘When You Found Me,’ we had a darker, moodier record. Synths are all over that album. A lot of fans came along with us for that. I like that record, it was a fun experiment. But with ‘Should’ve Learned by Now,’ all that is out the window again. We’re back to the classic form of bass, guitar, drums and some keys.”

As has been true for years, Nichols (vocals, guitar) is joined by drummer Roy Berry, bassist John C. Stubblefield, guitarist Brian Venable and multi-instrumentalist Rick Steff. For this round, Nichols notes that some of the extras of recent albums – horn sections, pedal steel players and the aforementioned synths – have taken a backseat to the simpler, straightforward lineup, with a lyrical bent that neatly accompanies the instrumentation. (And there’s more cowbell!)

“I had a couple of songs left over from previous albums,” Nichols said of the assemblage of material for “Should’ve Learned.” “They weren’t quite serious enough for those albums; those had a darker tone, sonically were a little more intense. I had these upbeat, lighthearted songs floating in limbo and needing a place to live. So I wrote the rest of this record with that intention. It’s a fun, rock ’n’ roll record with catchier songs and our old-school, rock ’n’ roll feel. The first song, ‘One Last F.U.’ has got that kind of attitude to it and it wouldn’t have fit on every album. There is some humor in it that’s not appropriate everywhere, but it sets the tenor of the rest of the album. Lyrically, it’s all pretty straightforward, it’s about rock ’n’ roll-type things, relationships and bars and whiskey and regret and guilt and love. It was written to not be too deep and still offer quality rock ’n’ roll.”

Fans are noticing and the press is catching up. “Pitchfork” concurs with Nichols, writing that “After a handful of albums that prioritized southern gothic atmosphere over southern rock riffs, Lucero is back where they started. They’ve been playing barstool blues and ballads for 25 years now, cutting their teeth in the very joints they sing about and surviving even when most bars have replaced rock bands with jukeboxes or, worse, DJs… Like the Hold Steady and the Drive-By Truckers—two other unkillable bands associated with the bar-rock trend of the 2000s—Lucero is still making solid albums that expand their catalogs in unexpected ways.” 

While the current tour finds Lucero adhering to the classic idea of an “album release and tour cycle,” the band’s not exactly shy to hit the road at any time, knowing a base of fans will be at each stop, many of them traveling from place to place to catch the group. It’s not uncommon for the band to see fans that have seen them 10, 20, or even 50 times or more, be those shows in their home markets, or at some of the annual events Lucero plays, like their trademark hometown show, the annual Lucero Family Block Party. That one grew from an annual event held in the countryside to one that finds an entire city block in Memphis shut down for Lucero and a cast of exceptional, complementary bands. 

They’ve also been regulars at other smaller festivals, events that allowed them to get to know their deepest supporters in a more personal way. Add in the fact Lucero will play rooms in smaller towns and it’s easy to see why they have a following that’s been with them for literally decades. 

“The Lucero fan base,” Nichols began, “isn’t the biggest audience. We don’t draw the biggest numbers. But we’ve been going for 25 years now and the folks who’ve been coming to shows have been very loyal. Some of them have been with us since the very beginning. They’re bringing their kids to the show now, which is just wild. There’s no way we should be that old! It’s also encouraging that some of those kids actually like it. The fact that two, even three generations of a family enjoy us, I take as a compliment. It says something about the songwriting, that they keep coming back. It’s pretty simple rock ’n’ roll when it comes down to it, done on an accessible level. It’s pretty easy to come see us. We play at manageable venues and it’s always a very laid-back kind of show. So, yeah, if you like rock ’n’ roll and don’t wanna go to a venue that’s monster-sized, we’re a decent bet.” 

Over the years that the group’s been touring, venues have changed, whether it’s the rise of mini-chains (like a City Winery) or larger ticketing agencies taking on the ownership role in some rooms. Nichols notes, “Today things are so complicated that you don’t know who owns what. But we’ve been mostly playing the same venues for 20 years. We might play a 500-seat venue in one city, or something smaller, like 300. In some places, we’re lucky enough to play a 1,000-seat theater. We’re very comfortable with that range and size of venue.” 

These days, Nichols is also comfortable in saying Lucero is a well-tuned unit, onstage and off, with a manager, a booking agent and a publicist. Beyond that, they release music on their own label, Liberty & Lament. They keep a tightly-knit road crew. And they’re even working on music videos, as Nichols has become pretty adept at various editing platforms via his trusty iPad, of which he said “I’ve gotten my money’s worth.” 

If it sounds as if Lucero has things figured out, a chat with Nichols doesn’t indicate anything different. The band’s goals are clearer than ever, the fans have grown alongside them, and the quirks of the industry are either shaken off or handled in-house. 

• Who: Lucero in concert
• Where: The Commonwealth Room, SLC
• When: Friday, Nov. 8, 2024Tickets and info: thestateroompresents

Touring without your band in tow must be like performing without a safety net. There’s no mind-bending 15-minute-long Nels Cline solos to stand aside and marvel at. No soft backing vocals from John Stirratt to combine with.

But if Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy was nervous about standing alone on a large stage with only a mic and several acoustic guitars to keep him company, he hid it well for 20 songs and 90 minutes straight on Wednesday night at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center. This was a rare chance for him to hold a magnifying glass up to the songs he has written, pass it over to the audience and let them examine what they probably sounded like in their earliest stages.

You could hear the careful poetry comprising well-loved Wilco hits as well as Tweedy’s growing solo catalog. For the real diehards, he even threw in a couple of favorites from his lesser-known outfits, including one each from Uncle Tupelo (“New Madrid”) and Golden Smog (“Please Tell My Brother”). For a genuinely good time, go find “Lou Reed Was My Babysitter,” a song he wrote about how badly he missed live music mid-pandemic. It’s worth your three minutes, promise.

If there’d been a campfire nearby, it’d have felt apropos. There were invitations to sing along. There were well-timed anecdotes. But, best of all, Jeff was the ultimate gift, along with the ambiance he brings. He was relaxed, comfortable, and—for my money—the best he’s ever sounded live. If he’s not perfected his craft yet, he is dangerously close.

And it’s completely OK if you don’t get Jeff Tweedy. Some just don’t (and they love to share that for some reason). No matter. It’s comforting that many in Utah get it and have for a while now. They did him the kindness of buying every available ticket. Hat tip to the rabid fans.

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One of many reasons Jeff Tweedy’s Salt Lake City show is nearly sold out: his reputation precedes him.

The Wilco frontman has a lot of songs he can play. The books he’s written prove he has stories to tell. And he’s hilarious. You get the feeling that, no matter what he attaches himself to lately, he’s enjoying himself. He’ll be flying solo on Wednesday, Oct 23, 2024, at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center. And while we can expect that this performance will be a far quieter affair than we’re used to when Wilco visits, that is perfectly OK. 

There will be strumming in place of meandering solos. Musical poetry subbing for rock anthems. Idle musing stage banter. Listening. Appreciating. Vibing.   

Because, hell yes, Jeff Tweedy has earned the right to do whatever he wants. Who else has a band that has earned its audience without ever landing a radio hit? Who else was dropped by his label after recording a record, then brought back by a smaller label within that label, before leaving to start his own? Who else has his own on-again, off-again music festival, handpicking his favorite acts?

If it’s not obvious by now, I don’t just like Wilco. I love Wilco. I love each member of the band like a weird estranged family member I’ll never get rid of. The only lyrics I’ve ever wanted to tattoo on my body come from one of their songs. As further bona fides, I once flew to the Catskills and slept in a forest, just so I could see them play a couple of gigs in the mud and rain. Will I ever tire of all Jeff and/or his band does? Clearly. No.

Once a serendipitous string of events led me backstage after a Wilco show at Red Rocks in Denver. As we walked around with wide eyes and pretended like we belonged (when we so didn’t) we noticed the whole band was milling around. The whole band, that is, except for Jeff.

Wednesday night’s show will be the exact opposite experience … and it’ll be glorious.

• Who: Jeff Tweedy (sans-Wilco)
• Where: Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center
• When: Wednesday, October 23, 2024
• Tickets and info: thestateroompresents.com

Some things just go together: Lennon and McCartney, Cheech and Chong, Willie and weed and now Hayes and The Heathens. On Sunday September 15th, fans of both musical heavyweights experienced sonic kismet when the two acts joined forces for one amazing night of Salt Lake City concert at The Commonwealth Room.

Hayes Carll and The Band of Heathens (BoH), who trace their musical roots to Austin, draw legions of loyal fans who love their poetic style of Texas country rock. So why not headline together, draw from both fan pools, share the spotlight, and enjoy economy of scale? That’s the fine formula they followed when they formed Hayes and The Heathens. 

Salt Lake City fans delighted in two-great acts for the price of one as the supergroup started off with a BoH classic “LA County Blues” before delivering a Carll favorite “Times Like These,” setting the back-and-forth pace for the night. They followed with their recently released collaborative tune “Any Other Way,” Carll’s “I Got a Gig,” and offered us a taste of their soon to be released album with “Nobody Dies From Weed,” a light-hearted tune that captures the playful nature of both their songwriting styles. 

The 23-song set included some of my favorites from both camps. Adding in Carll’s vocals on “Jackson Station” complimented Ed Jurdi and Gordy Quist’s harmonic sound. BoH’s backup on Carll’s captivating hits like “KMAG YOYO,” “Beaumont,” and “Drunken Poet’s Dream” started the venue jumping. A BoH show wouldn’t be complete without an extended jam on their stellar version of “Miss Ohio.” They also thrilled us with a rockabilly hoedown, “Stomp and Holler.” For the set’s finale, we all joined in as members of The Commonwealth Choir for the BoH singalong “Hurricane.”

The Band of Heathens are no strangers to collaborating with other artists. During the pandemic they managed to record an album of cover tunes with friends who were also in lock down. The end result is Remote Transmission Vol. 1, a must-have album for fans of Americana (their rendition of Lucinda Williams “Joy” with Margo Price is epic.)

Sunday evening’s magical performance ended with a rambunctious three-song encore starting with a cover of Dylan’s “The Man in Me” that the BoH recorded with Carll on the 2020/2021 Remote Transmission project. They played homage to the men who put Austin on the musical map with a spirited rendition of Waylon & Willie’s “I Can Get Off On You.” Hayes and The Heathens sent us off into the night with a roots rockin’ gem “Bad Liver and a Broken Heart.”

These two powerhouse performers have amassed a voluminous catalog of great songs and enjoy a reputation for playing majestic live shows. On Sunday, September 15, 2024 at The Commonwealth Room Salt Lake City music fans got to witness both. 

Who: Hayes & The Heathens
What: Hayes Carll and The Band of Heathens together
Where: The Commonwealth Room
When: Sunday, September 15, 2024
Info: https://thestateroompresents.com/the-commonwealth-room

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