7 January Shows in Salt Lake City That Demand Your Attention

There’s a lot of musical love to go around this month, here are seven shows in Salt Lake City that caught our eye:

Why: Ah, when Daptone Records gets it right, they really do its fans the favor of knocking it clean out of the park. From the same lot who gave us Charles Bradley and Sharon Jones, the soul and R&B Brooklyn-based label has produced another winner in signing Thee Sacred Souls. There’s a great reason why the San Diego natives promptly sell out every single time they visit these parts. Listening to a song like “Can I Call You Rose?” is akin to stepping into a time machine, all gauzy and heavy and soft around the edges, all the soul, doo-wop and straight-up shag carpet good vibes you could ever ask for. The music they make together is what falling in love sounds like. And if you go, you’ll be surrounded by lots of lucky sorts falling in love there, too. Comes with the territory.

Why: From the same local wizards that brought us sprawling, sell-out tribute shows dedicated to Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and Neil Young in years past comes their latest creation: two full Weezer albums, performed in their entirety for your listening pleasure. If you’ve been to the shows these sorts have put together in the past, you already know they’re so good that they could take any of those acts on the road if they wanted to. If you haven’t seen them yet, you’re set to enjoy a lot of local talent ℅ curator, musician (and all-around nice bearded guy) Paul Jacobsen. Weezer’s debut turned 30 last year; while album birthdays hardly require tributes this grandiose, it’s as good an excuse as any to get together and make merry as there ever was.

Why: If you’re an avid KRCL listener and supporter (so unabashedly guilty over here), you might also hear how excited some of its deejays tend to get when they talk about Tank and The Bangas. Sometimes, it happens right before or after they spin one the band’s feel-good tunes, and sometimes, they talk about them just because. This has been happening for months, at least ever since the show was announced. But when a New Orleans band has this much talent, showing off via melodies, raps, poetry (and that list goes on), it’s hard not to take notice. For extra proof of a great thing — your sneak peek du jour — go watch their NPR Music Tiny Desk concert from a few years back, from when they won first place out of 6,000+ submissions.

Why: For a band that still somehow feels new, even after more than a decade and a string of albums together, Houndmouth conjures up a curious brand of Sunshine State nostalgia for me. It’s where I lived when the band was out making a name for itself, so songs like “Sedona” — it home to that sing-shouting harmony sound they’ve built their name on — sound like muggy Florida evenings to me, like trees dripping with Spanish moss or day trips to the beach. Of the times I saw them live (twice? thrice?), the Indiana band never once phoned it in. They worked so hard to be able to continue all they were doing and they have managed to keep that dream going. Catch them this month a few nights into their upcoming 25-night run (!). Schedule it as the tail end of your Sunday Funday for best results.

Why: About 20 years ago, I saw Collective Soul do what that band does so well over yonder at the Delta Center. While I’m not nearly old enough to have ever seen Jim Morrison do his thing live, watching lead singer Ed Roland hypnotize the crowd that night felt like he was tapping into some honest-to-garsh real Lizard King energy. That’s the only way I know how to put it. On top of flaunting a lot of familiar radio rock hits (“Shine,” “The World I Know”), the guy was absolutely magnetic. If you were there, you remember. The Union is a little-to-lots smaller than that other venue, of course, but that feels like a bonus. Intimate concerts are welcome here.

Why: This is yet another opportunity for the Beehive State to show off that it’s just dripping in musical talent, a chance to support the always-burgeoning local arts scene while getting a chance to be flat-out amazed at what feels like it’s been in hiding sometimes. And, if you’re a lover of jazz music in any form, you win. For one, there will be horns. There will be strings. And there are going to be fourteen damn musicians joining forces, all drawing inspiration from the same place: the genius of gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. The jazz scene has sometimes been a bumpy ride in the city, but that ought not be the case. With some luck (and lots of filled seats), nights like this one may happen more often. We’ll tap our toes. We’ll cross our fingers.

Why: As Alan Sparhawk co-founded the critically adored band Low over 30 years ago, the intrigue factor for this performance is sky-high for many. Since his late wife Mimi Parker (Low’s other founder) passed away in 2022, Sparhawk’s off on a new journey altogether, a welcome departure from how that other band sounded. It’s wild to think that this far into his career (Low first formed in 1993), he’s only just released his solo debut (2024’s White Roses, My God). And the fact these new songs are not a sequel to the sound he helped create with Low is an endlessly beautiful thing. When an artist is handed new horse reins and allowed to branch out into new territory in a way that speaks to them now, that’s often a magical, powerful thing to witness

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