Music

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.

Last Saturday, June 29, was the LOVELOUD sophomore year, and proved itself to be a continuously-growing event that brings together SLC’s LGBTQ+ youth, and commands the attention of their allies. Live streamed worldwide from USANA Amphitheater, the event spoke to international audiences more broadly about the very real, life-or-death consequences of stigmatizing these youths, and the unified goal we should share in one day eradicating conversations surrounding LGBTQ+ discrimination, once and for all. VIDEO BELOW.

Kalen Allen, Tegan and Sara, Dan Reynolds. Photo by Charissa Che

Once again, festival founder Dan Reynolds took the helm in the day’s festivities, beginning with the red (see actually: blue) carpet. It was the first appearance of many in which, upon his entrance, a hush swept over the room. Humble as ever, though, Reynolds took his time answering reporters’ repeated questions about what LOVELOUD means to him. The other stars of the day-long festival strutted by for the cameras, including emcee Kalen Allen, who hilariously pointed out how hot it was to be in his one-piece, reflective getup. All the while, the anthemic “Born This Way” provided the soundtrack for the catwalk.

Miles McKenna. Photo by Charissa Che.

Musical performers including Tegan and Sara, Tyler Glenn, Gnash, VINCINT, PVRIS, Ty Herndon, Andy Allo, and Parson James were joined at this year’s LOVELOUD by “influencers” perhaps more familiar to the event’s young attendees; Tyler Oakley, Meghan Currie, and Miles McKenna.

Photo by Charissa Che.

As with previous installations, the message of the day (which lasted from about 2:30 to 11) was love, love, love. The lineup of performers was mostly new, and featured an array of genres including rock, pop-meets-dubstep, indie pop, and guitar ballads. For efficiency’s sake, perhaps, their acts were rationed between the main stage and a stage set up in the center of the amphitheater: Gnash, the first act performer to take the latter, amusingly took audiences a while to spot.

K. Flay. Photo by Charissa Che.

K. Flay was a total mood, gliding; eyes closed; filling in Louis the Child’s dubstep with her breathy vocals in “It’s Strange.”

Atom Willard. Photo by Charissa Che.

Watching the sheer joy plastered on drummer Atom Willard’s face in between Laura Jane Grace’s (a la Laura Jane Grace and the Devouring Mothers) coy crowd banter was an absolute delight.

PVRIS. Photo by Charissa Che.

Tegan and Sara. Photo by Charissa Che.

PVRIS hearkened Paramore’s early days, with an added bit of rock. Whereas she came solo last year, Tegan Quin brought along her twin and bandmate, Sara, to sing their poppiest tunes from Love You to Death and Heartthrob. At one point, a fan proposed to Sara, and both sisters jokingly reassured her that she didn’t want to be married to Sara given her eccentricities.

Kesha. Photo by Charissa Che.

One of the biggest names of the festival was, of course, Kesha, who showed us the strength she has developed as a survivor in her own right with an unapologetic set comprised mostly of her biggest hits, circa early 2000s. “Woman” and “Praying” came from her new LP, Rainbow, and the latter performed live was just as tear-jerking and captivating as its studio version.

In a somber moment, she told us that “equality is my constitution,” and cited a key piece of advice that has been passed down to her: “Don’t wait to love yourself until fill in the blank. And it just struck me ‘cause I’m always that person that is feeling insecure. F*ck that, I’m gonna love myself right now. Because this is all we have. All I can say is, love is the f*ckin answer to everything; that’s all I know.”

Prior to singing “Take it Off,” she invited anyone who was comfortable doing so to take off their clothes and toss them to her, so she could swing them around like a makeshift whip.

Emma Gonzalez. Photo by Charissa Che.

Later, when the sun set and the heat mercifully abated above Loveloud, Parkland shooting survivor and LGBTQ activist Emma Gonzalez helped throw back some of the bras onstage to their rightful owners. While performing this service, she read from her phone a speech directed at the young audience about why they should vote, and love themselves in spite of the tense political climate in which they currently find themselves. “I didn’t realize until after the shooting at our high school that I wasn’t just tired with school…I had capital D depression,” she admitted. To demonstrate how widespread mental illness is within the LGBTQ+ community, she asked everyone to “holler” if they had depression, anxiety, or PTSD, respectively – and in a painfully funny moment, each illness was met with cheers.

Gonzalez demanded social change in the form of pop culture, to boot telling the LOVELOUD crowd: “There should be more books and movies about LGBTQ+ kids of color that don’t carry the burden and fear that we face on a daily basis,” she says. “It’s good to have representation for people to see the things we go through, but it’s also good to have an escape from the crushing depression and anxiety.”

Dan Reynolds. Photo by Charissa Che.

Reynolds capped off the night with a moving sermon, of sorts, that calls religious leaders and lawmakers to attend to the humanity of their LGBTQ+ constituents. In between singing Imagine Dragons hits from past and present on his own, he paused to implore youths to embrace who they are, and know that they had an ally in him. “There are people here tonight who have lived a life where they have not received equal love,” he says, as the keys to “It’s Time” swelled in the background. “It’s taken us decades to get to a point where we are finally starting to say, ‘You know, maybe the color of your skin shouldn’t matter.’ There’s still racism, but we’ve progressed. But oh my gosh, it’s taken decades of people who have stood up and fought.”

Dan Reynolds. Photo by Charissa Che.

And, in true LOVELOUD fashion, he brought out a bright rainbow flag, and let the wind carry it into the atmosphere. At the same time, the rainbow confetti left from Kesha’s set swirled into the sky, making for the perfect snapshot of pride in action.

View more photos from the blue carpet and festival here.

To find out more about the LOVELOUD Foundation, go here. And go here to see all our music coverage.

We have selected a few performers we think you should check out, but there are so many great ones, see the full schedule here.

THURSDAY

Thursday, June 20th is the first night of the festival and the line up is pretty stacked from Flutes to Folk, you’re not going to want to miss this. See the full schedule for Thursday here!

THURSDAY NIGHT HEADLINER · THE SLACKERS

Ending the first night of performances will be the ska, reggae and soul group, The Slackers. They have been performing together for 28 years and will be joining us here in Utah Thursday night at the Amphitheater Stage at 9:45pm.

AFTERNOON · FLUTES AFIRE

You don’t want to miss these 4 best friends fluting away on stage, they have been performing together for 17 years! They will be performing at the Garden Stage this year at 1:15pm.

EVENING · JAIL CITY ROCKERS

Another 4-piece group you need to see on Thursday is the Jail City Rockers. Jail City Rockers will be performing at The Amphitheater Stage at 8:15. They mix everything from ska and 70’s punk rock to 60’s R&B and a little bit of 50’s rock-n-roll, with a performance that will definitely get you up and dancing the night away.

FRIDAY

Friday features some pretty powerful females in the Utah music industry and there are a few that we think you need to stop by and see. See the full line up here and keep reading to see our top female artists for Friday.

FRIDAY NIGHT HEADLINER · CAROLINE ROSE 

Friday Night’s Headliner is Caroline Rose. After touring for her new album, Loner, she is making a stop at the Utah Art’s Fest and closing off Friday Night with a bang. She will be performing at 9:45pm at the Amphitheater Stage.

AFTERNOON · MIA GRACE

Mia Grace is an Utah Native and a women who rocks. Just to give you a little background her music is inspired by the likes of Joni Mitchell and Emmylou Harris, her and her band will be performing at 1:15pm at the Park Stage.

EVENING · MICHELLE MOONSHINE
Small Lake City is right. One of our favorite local artists Michelle Moonshine will be performing Friday evening at 5:15pm at the Park Stage. This is her first time performing at the Utah Arts Festival, be sure to go and see her folk/bluegrass inspired performance. If you miss it, we got you covered here at one of our SLMag Concert Series performances.

SATURDAY

Saturday is one of the busiest days of the festival so there is plenty more music to enjoy if you missed out the first two days. See the full line up here and keep reading to see our Saturday picks!

SATURDAY NIGHT HEADLINER · HOT BUTTERED RUM 

Not the usual suspects coming into town from the Bay Area. This 5 piece bluegrass ensemble closes out Saturday night starting at 9:45 pm at the Amphitheater Stage.

AFTERNOON · PUDDLE MOUNTAIN RAMBLERS

Veterans of the Utah Arts Fest, the Puddle Mountain Ramblers will be back again at noon on the Garden Stage serving up some danceable bluegrass for everyone at the festival!

EVENING · MOTHERS OF MAYHEM

Mother musicians, without the mom jeans. Mothers of Mayhem pop/rock foursome will be performing all of your rock favorites at 4 pm on the Park Stage.

SUNDAY

Sunday is the final day of the Utah Arts Festival and is full of many more performances. From stilts to Jazz, you’re in for a treat. See Sunday’s full line up here.

SUNDAY NIGHT HEADLINER · MARCH FOURTH

They have saved the best for last this year. Oregon Natives, March Fourth, combine music and visual performance on the stage. The artists are sure to entertain Sunday night and you can see them at our very own Utah Arts Festival. Catch them at 9:45pm at the Amphitheater Stage with drums, stilts, and hopefully some acrobat tricks, you won’t regret this one.

AFTERNOON · LARUSSO

To start off your Sunday check out Salt Lake’s favorite band next door, Larusso. They have been writing and playing together since 2004 and this year they will be performing on the Park Stage at 12:15pm.

EVENING · WENDY & THE LOST BOYS

For a little Sunday swinging and jazz romance check out Wendy and the Lost Boys. Wendy and the gang will be starting at 1:15pm on the Garden Stage.

Salt Lake has been blessed with talented geniuses. Don’t miss any of them at the Utah Arts Festival this weekend, check out the schedule here and if music isn’t your thing we have more about the festival here.

See all of our A&E coverage here.

Y’all have lungs!” An exasperated Billie Eilish reminded us. “F*ck!” Her set had just started at the Saltair, yet both the heat and hype were so high that the largely teen audience was already going unconscious. During opener Denzel Curry’s appearance, at least three people had passed out and were pulled out from the barricade. To stave off future fainters, a plentitude of security personnel in neon yellow shirts chucked water bottles into the throng, and intermittently hosed them down. Elsewhere, more security was stationed along the stairs, eyeing out potential victims. Eilish was successfully able to get everyone to take a few breaths, and a few steps back.

Photo credit: Charissa Che

The chaos was unprecedented, even for a show at the Saltair – and understandably so. At only 17 years old, Eilish has been selling out shows at every step of her world tour, to the point that organizers had to switch from their original venues to larger ones in order to fit the overwhelming demand. The Saltair was among these venues (it was originally slated for the Complex).

Photo credit: Charissa Che

After a not-too-long break after Curry, some black and white Takashi Murakami-inspired figures started flickering onscreen. A little girl is helplessly lost in a dark cemetery while gnashing fangs approach and spiders swarm. Finneas O’Connell, Eilish’s brother, producer, and a musician in his own right, came out first; then the drummer; then, like a cannonball, Eilish. “bad guy,” one of her biggest hits, was her leading song – a seductive, synthy, and when played live, super dancy number in which she establishes her reckless prowess (i.e. she’s the “might-seduce-your-dad type”).

Photo credit: Charissa Che

The murmurs about her stage presence are absolutely accurate: she is indisputably a shot of caffeinated youth: angsty, thoughtful, sad, and optimistic from one moment to the next. At times, she stood on the speakers and kicked angrily at the air; at others, she kneeled at the edge of the stage, pensive, only to wind up and start zipping around again. And whether it was during the letter to a lover who had rejected her (“wish you were gay”), a diss to a fellow artist who “copped her manner” (“copycat”), or the painfully heart-on-your-sleeve message to a love interest gone astray (“i love you”), her devoted fans were fully along for the ride. All around, there were people rocking pigtail buns, dyed indigo hair, and merch featuring her blohsh logo.

Photo credit: Charissa Che

The pairing of Curry and Eilish may have seemed a bit incoherent, seeing as one was a rapper that dabbled in experimental, jazz-infused hip hop, and the other was a pop artist whose fan base was largely teenage girls, but as it turns out, the reason they were touring together was actually rather sentimental.

Photo credit: Charissa Che

“Three years ago, I stood in the blazing sun, in the dirt, to see Denzel,” Eilish told us near the end of her set. “And, you know, three years later, this is where I’m at, and he’s on this tour with me. And that’s f*cking crazy. Basically, I just wanna say it’s completely surreal to me that I was such a fan of his, and I’m still a fan of his, but now it’s like…I don’t know…anyway.” She tapers off; goes silent for a bit. Endearingly, she looks back up and adds, “Thank you to Denzel; he’s fire.”

Photo credit: Charissa Che

The more produced and upbeat songs naturally stood out more than the slower ones – see, mostly: “you should see me in a crown” and closer, “bury a friend”; Eilish somehow managed to sound just as good live as she does in her recordings, all while bopping around the stage. The only exception was “Ocean Eyes,” the lush, soaring love song that placed her on the map some three years ago.

Photo credit: Charissa Che

It’s rare to see an act that connects so deeply with her fans. Perhaps it’s because they’re about the same age, share the same lingo (that someone is “fire”), and the same challenges of their generation. At one point, she got everyone to turn on their phones’ flashlights and wave them to a slow song. A few songs later, and in one awe-inspiring moment, it went dark after she tells everyone to try to live in the moment and put away their phones. This was the kind of influence a professor could not enforce, not nearly as effectively.

Photo credit: Charissa Che

Suffice it to say that it will be exciting not only to see where Eilish’s career goes, but also to see her and her fans “grow up” together over time.

To see more photos from the show (including shots of an impromptu meet and greet from Curry), go here.

See all our music coverage here.