Not long before My Morning Jacket was set to begin, something that doesn’t normally happen did: the time the band started was bumped up by about 30 minutes or so, all because they wanted to play longer. So, after nearly two-and-a-half hours of 80s-esque lights and hair blowing in the wind and heart-shaped sunglasses and guitar solos and following each hit in its catalog with another, the band from Louisville offered up 23 songs in all. If there wasn’t a curfew to consider, chances are they’d have sailed right past it. While some showmen are committed to leaving their fans wanting more, MMJ is cut from another cloth entirely: they are fans of giving a lot more than you paid for. A welcome change of pace, that.
After 27 years of doing this, the band’s at the point they could stop creating music if they wanted to. Monday night’s concert proved that point many times over. Having listened to and seen the band throughout its long career of bigger-and-better albums, it’s clearly evident that they’re the best they’ve ever been at this rock band thing. And while favorites are always hard to pick, live takes on “At Dawn,” “Off The Record,” “Mahgeetah” and “Holdin On To Black Metal” were each thrills of their own to hear. Prediction/hope? They could take this exact show to Vegas and make everyone happy about doing so for many sold-out months in a row.
Want my high point of the whole evening? Here’s one: For the encore, lead sing-song-sanger Jim James invited Melt’s Veronica Stewart-Frommer to sing “Golden” with him as all the lights behind them shone like stars (or well-placed fireflies). Golden and beautiful, it certainly was, and the melody’s still ringing in my ears.
Was it one of the best shows we’ll see at Red Butte this summer? Probably. Does making a grand statement like that one matter in the long run? Not a whit.
Photo gallery by Natalie Haws of Beehive Photography. Instagram @beehivephotovideo
“I can barely conceive of a type of beauty in which there is now Melancholy” —Charles Baudelaire
Melancholy is the new wine and cocktail lounge in the Post District in downtown Salt Lake City. While most everything in the district is new construction, Melancholy is located in one of the original buildings on site. At 150 years old, the space was originally a storage annex for American Barrel and later a post office. Now, walking up to it, the exterior looks like a modern sleek bar. Open the doors, and a surprise awaits: Black walls, white marble, a big plate glass window and touches of brass all mix together with vintage finds. It’s as if a Gothic library had a love child with an eccentric botanist lab with a little dark academia apothecary thrown in for good measure. Every single piece of decor was hand-selected by the dynamic team of Shaleen Bishop and Fallan Keyser.
“We found most of the stuff for Melancholy secondhand and at vintage stores,” Fallan explains. “We wanted to use things that needed to be refurbished a bit. We had things reupholstered.” There are old paintings, mirrors on the walls and even post office boxes at the front of the downstairs bar.
“The upstairs bar back and the post holding up the edge of the bar downstairs is repurposed from an old headboard,” says Shaleen, giving another example. “We addded a lot with the stories from the old pieces that we brought in. It feels like it adds to the story and the history of the building.” Not bad for a space that started out as cinderblock, graffiti and peeling plaster.
As co-owners, Shaleen and Fallan bring a deep background to Melancholy. Fallan previously owned Good Grammar, and together, with Shaleen ran the Secret SLC immersive events. While Secret SLC didn’t survive through COVID, the great partnership did. Shaleen texted Fallan, saying, “I missed doing cool stuff together.” Fallan agreed. Three weeks later, they walked into Melancholy for the first time and knew just what they wanted to do.
So, why Melancholy? “We started playing with names,” Shaleen says, “and we just kept coming back to that word. The way it’s often used is focuses on the sorrow part of melancholy. But if you really look at the definition, it’s not necessarily sorrowful. It has a lot to do with nostalgia and memories, so we wanted to bring that to the bar.” The goal at Melancholy is to have an intimate, quiet bar and a gathering spot for the community.
Intimate is accurate. There are only a few seats around the downstairs bar, while the upstairs has table tops with seating. It feels like the type of place to go, read a book over a glass of wine solo or for an intimate tet-a-tet over cocktails. Both owners are now in their 40s. “We a space where we would want to go and people our age would want to spend time,” says Shaleen.
Bar Manager Morgan Michel and Sommelier Natalie Hamilton round out Melancholy’s all-woman team. Photo by Adam Finkle.
Not only is Melancholy woman-owned, but the entire leadership team is made up of women. Sommelier Natalie Hamilton, Bar Manager Morgan Michel and Social Media Manager Jillian Herman round out the team.
Natalie and Morgan have worked together hand in hand to create a curated, constantly rotating wine experience and unique wine-centric cocktails. The wine list constantly rotating. They will bring in a case or three of a specific wine; when it is gone, it is gone.
“Natalie brings in wines from different areas because we didn’t want to proclaim that we were an Italian or French wine bar,” says Fallan.
As the Bar Manager, Morgan pulls together the cocktail menu, incorporating some sort of wine feature as a crossover. While the cocktail menu also rotates seasonally, sherry, vermouth and sake make their way into the concoctions. Morgan even makes a syrup in-house with the herbs and spices that make the flavor of cola. In a nod to non-drinkers, a specialty 0% ABV beverage menu is as curated as the wine list. “I think a lot of times people that don’t drink alcohol don’t feel comfortable in bars,” Shaleen notes. “And we want everyone to feel comfortable and on equal footing here.”
Melancholy has no kitchen, so food is limited to bar snacks. But the bar snacks are really good. Torres potato chips, tinned fish and marinated olives all grace the menu. You can also bring food in from other restaurants.
To continue to build a community at Melancholy, they host a monthly book club called “Books Take Flight” and other events, like an oyster pop-up with wine and oyster pairings. On Sunday, they set out a bunch of classic games. On Monday, there is an industry night. The seating capacity will almost double with a new patio opening in the summer.
When You Go…
Melancholy Wine & Cocktail Lounge 556 S. Gale Street, SLC melancholyslc.com | @melancholyslc
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A devastating fire swept through much of Main Street’s restaurant row during dinner service last night, destroying four businesses: Los Tapatios Taco Grill, Whiskey Street, London Belle Supper Club and White Horse Spirits and Kitchen. The fire was first reported in the kitchen of London Belle, where it spread between the ceiling and roof, soon engulfing the adjacent four single-story buildings. Three firefighters were injured battling the blaze; one with a broken ankle, one with smoke inhalation and a third struck by falling debris. All three have been treated and released.
The four restaurants appear to be a total loss, though firefighters were able to stop the blaze from spreading to the adjacent businesses. Eva restaurant and Utah Books and Magazine, Bodega and Felt, just down the street to the south, appeared untouched.
Mayor Mendenhall, at the site of the fire this morning, said that the city would offer support to these businesses while they sorted out insurance. When asked if she would want to see restaurants coming back to the block, the Mayor replied firmly, “We want these restaurants coming back.”
In Salt Lake City’s frontier days, this section of Main Street was dubbed “Whiskey Street” by both Mormon teetotalers and whiskey-loving gentiles. (Note: Early LDS Church members called nonbelievers by this culturally appropriated term.) This section of town, and the area around, was where a feller could go for a tipple if it suited him. In 2009, the Salt Lake City Council loosened an ordinance that limited bars to just two for each of SLC’s very long blocks. The Bourbon Group, which also owns Franklin Avenue, opened Whiskey Street in 2013 and White Horse in 2017. London Belle, owned by Frank Paulraj, opened in 2019.
“These restaurants hold dear collective memories for many of us,” Salt Lake magazine food writer Lydia Martinez said. “I celebrated my birthday at White Horse and ate my first fried oyster there. Whiskey Street introduced me to High West. I know I’m not the only one who has fond memories of this part of town.”
Whiskey Street (the bar) was named in a nod to the block’s past reputation. White Horse Tavern’s cheeky name comes from Mormon cultural history. The religion’s so-called White Horse Prophecy warns the United States Constitution will one day “hang like a thread” and will be saved “by the efforts of a white horse,” which some say is a reference to a Mormon leader. London Belle was named after the nickname for Salt Lake’s famous madam, Dora B. Topham, who was known as Belle London.
The business owners are already talking about rebuilding, Lydia says. “But now it’s also the time to think about the employees who have been displaced and if the adjacent businesses who will be impacted by secondary damage and will feel the pinch of a drop in foot traffic. We’ve seen the loss to the community that comes with a fire or other disaster (RIP Garage on Beck) and how hard it is to reopen and be profitable. Step up if you have jobs to offer. Support other Main Street businesses. And come back if (when!) these businesses reopen.”
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Amid the state-imposed higher education reallocations process, the University of Utah is planning to cut over 80 inactive courses and programs, with the College of Humanities taking the biggest hit within the list.
As part of a 2025 law, public universities and colleges in the state have to make cuts of 10% of their budget for courses, aiming to weed out “inefficient” programs. Those funds would be set aside in a special account that would later be used to expand high-demand course offerings. Institutions alreadyshowed initial plansto the Utah Board of Higher Education in June.
However, with tight deadlines, and several steps along the way of final approval, some details haven’t been finalized.
The University of Utah Board of Trustees agreed on a list of course cuts that include several Middle East studies post-graduate programs and other world languages courses. Other cuts encompass some mining engineering certificates and science teaching programs.
“These decisions reflect careful consideration and consultation with college, school and departmental leadership,” University of Utah Provost Mitzi Montoya said in a July 9 memo to academic leaders.
The state’s flagship university reached the decision after conducting a data-informed analysis of academic programs, Montoya said. That study began with courses that have had “little to no recent enrollment or degree conferrals.”
Students currently enrolled in the programs will have support with “clear, timely pathways to degree completion” or can transition to other academic alternatives, Montoya said in the memo.
The school’s Academic Senate also agreed on the cuts, citing that the programs had between 0 and 1 total students graduating over the last eight years, commending the university leaders for using data analytics to inform their decisions.
“We recognize that there will be further, more painful rounds of cuts and restructurings, but we hope this can serve as a precedent and a model,” Richard Preiss, president of the Academic Senate, wrote in a reportto the board of trustees.
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About the Author
Alixel Cabrera covers the status of diverse Utah communities, growth, infrastructure and education for Utah News Dispatch.
Langhorne Slim and Rayland Baxter co-headlined an unusually intimate concert at TheCommonwealth Room on Friday (8/8/25). While it wasn’t a sold-out crowd, it proved to be an immediately devoted one. Langhorne Slim opened the night and immediately fell into his role as a poetic troubadour, offering both stories and songs about the crumbling state of the world, politics, his child (“Song For Silver”), and even the afterlife.
By the time he’d dragged a wooden chair out to the middle of the floor and stood on it, belting out a short burst of music that included “Past Lives,” we were done for. He delivered the latter with an appropriate amount of ferocity (and without needing a microphone); it’s highly possible the crowd collectively fell in love. As far as set finales go, it’s hard to believe he could have left on a higher note.
Baxter offered an incredible 13-song set of originals that included songs like “Strange American Dream,” “Freakin Me Out,” and “Rubberband Man” before inviting Slim back for one more. The two joined forces on Slim’s “The Way We Move”—one and done, leaving the audience wanting infinitely more—but nobody left unhappy. They knew they’d witness something special, and more than one person called it one of the best concerts they’d ever seen. Period. That’s just got to be the exact kind of praise a performer wants to hear.
Photo gallery by Natalie Haws – Beehive Photography. Instagram @beehivephotovideo
“Dining at Matteo, for many people, is for special occasions only. I get it, it’s expensive,” said restaurateur Matteo Sogne of his eponymous fine dining destination Matteo Ristorante Italiano, which was also tapped as Salt Lake Magazine’s 2025 Best Restaurant earlier this year. Sogne envisions the newly opened Strada Cucina Italiana (translation: Italian street kitchen) in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City as the antidote to exclusivity. “We hope Strada will be a place where people will want to come in every week.”
If your budget is more of the Fiat than Ferrari bracket (same, sister), make a note to add Strada as a solid spot to work into your downtown rotation. It’s a bright and clean-lined space, with big banks of windows giving the dining room the feel of a bustling urban café. At Strada Cucina Italiana, they’ve streamlined the hell out of Matteo’s fine dining menu with appeal to the lunchtime crowd, a quick dinner downtown, or for DoorDash delivery. There’s no food item priced more than $17, and a sando/side/drink combo comes in at a super-reasonable 16 bucks for what you get at this level of quality.
Most of Strada’s menu features items sourced from the acclaimed Matteo kitchen. At the Ristorante mothership, Matteo’s mom Manuela bakes the ciabatta for the paninis and her cannoli are made to fill upon order. Executive Chef Damiano Carlotto prepares roasted pork, house-made sausage, meatballs, and chicken cutlets daily, and all of the charcuterie is sourced from Italy. These comfort food components are shuttled throughout the day to nearby Strada. Upon customer order, the elements are assembled and the panini is fired up using some kind of Italian-made industrial kitchen appliance that apparently costs as much as a pre-owned Lamborghini.
Strata offers a choose-your-own-adventure pasta bar. Photo by Darby Doyle.
I’m not mad at all about having Matteo Sogne’s team take the guesswork out of this fast-casual dining experience. The menu has a couple of appetizers—including Matteo’s must-order whipped brie with walnuts—a few salads, pastas, a short list of panini, and Manuela’s aforementioned classic cannoli and some pre-scooped cups of gelato ready to go. Sogne said that he’s most excited to source alcohol options that rotate seasonally, with a tight list of just one house red wine and a white, and a local beer. We had a nice chilled bottle of Lecciaia Orvieto Classico (a white blend of graciano, malvasia, and trebbiano) and it was an especially delightful sip on a hot August night.
Pasta lovers have the best kind of choose-your-own-adventure in store. Pick any one of six homemade pasta shapes on rotation from column A, and six fresh sauces listed in column B, and you’re slurping the same spectacular noods you’d have at Matteo, served lickety split. Some orientation notes for the uninitiated: Get the gnocchi before it sells out. The Matteo version of pesto is unusually light—more creamy than oily—with garlic playing more of a rhythm section role than the shrieking vocal you’ll find in many iterations. And the crispy pancetta notes in the pink vodka sauce are a nice saline touch. And yes, of course, nonna’s lasagna is also available, and you bet I’m looking forward to having a slab o’ that come cooler weather. Brava, nonna, brava.
Caesar salad and polpette at Strata. Photo by Darby Doyle.
Protein-focused folks will appreciate the healthy-ish options of salad bowls with grilled chicken or steak with chimichurri. Sure, I sampled a Caesar salad—because I’m physically incapable of not ordering a Caesar of any variety if it’s available—and it was both huge and satisfying; you can get it with their fabulously fluffy polpette (that’d be meatballs, fancy pants) or grilled chicken.
Arguably, the real stars of the show here are the flavor-packed panini, which I’ll get to after a bit of business model digression. Hang tight.
The brilliance of the Strada Cucina concept is Sogne’s vertical integration of the Matteo kitchen for the many customer and staff needs they serve. Case in point: Matteo Ristarante Italiano routinely caters game-night nosh for professional sports teams and events for deep-pocket downtown businesses. Meaning, their kitchen staff can dependably pump out high-quality menu items in quantities that can withstand a bit of travel and reheating upon arrival. And as Sogne was pleased to point out, having both the catering commissary based within Matteo and the Strada outlet around the corner supports their employees, who can depend on a consistent and year-round 40-hour work week. A rarity in the fine dining industry that will hopefully be another example of favoring better work-life balance, Italian style.
I shared all that to point out this: It’s not a typo on the panini menu that lists the sandos from #1 Nonna Romana (mortadella, burrata, pistachio) to #9 Piccante (made-in-house spicy Italian sausage, griddled onions and peppers, mozz) but takes a #33 detour in place of the number three spot for the most popular item on their menu: Chicken Parm. The #33 is in honor of Utah Mammoth hockey team President Chris Armstrong, and the hundreds—maybe at this point thousands—of chicken parm panini that have been repeatedly requested by the team. What makes this Italian-American fav a standout is, literally, all in the sauce: the springy ciabatta is smeared with both pesto and pink vodka sauce instead of the expected red gravy. It’s a perfect foil to the crisply breaded and tender-centered chicken parm cutlet. Those of us who have been traumatized by truffle oil abuse in the past few years (me, raising a shaking hand) will take solace in ordering the #8 Tarfufo: a mix of fontina, provolone, and mild truffle Pecorino, all encased in crunchy ciabatta and melted together in gooey gloriousness to make it the grilled cheese sammich of your dreams.
OG Italian Panini. Photo by Darby Doyle.
Without changing out of your post-gym hoodie, you can snag a taste of Sogne’s hometown of Modena, and at a fraction of the price you’d pay when dining at Matteo. Not that I’m going to ever stop dining at Matteo when given the opportunity. I’m a frugal hedonist, not a monster. Duh.
See more stories like this and all of our Food and Drinkcoverage. And while you’re here, why not subscribe and get six annual issues of Salt Lake magazine’s curated guide to the best life in Utah?
Waxahatchee performed as part of Salt Lake City’s Twilight Concert Series at the Gallivan Center on Wednesday, Aug 9, 2025, and it was a gorgeous evening to be in the audience. Lead singer Kathryn Crutchfield was in great spirits, casually offering many new favorites from the Grammy-nominated Tigers Blood (“3 Sisters,” “Right Back To It,” “Crowbar”), even including a few from Crutchfield’s other band Plains, a colossal 23 tunes in all. Strange revelation of the evening? Had the distinct thought in the middle of the concert that the band sounded more like Kathleen Edwards than I’d ever previously thought. Had a second thought that the two should never be on the same bill, as they sounded a bit too much like one another. A few songs later, the universe laughed: Waxahatchee did a cover of Edwards’ “Six o’clock News.” They killed the cover, of course, and I spent the remainder of the night trying to figure out what it all meant. Sometimes it’s better not to know, to just bask in what was and find joy in doing that. Speaking of joy, the very next concert in the series is Mt. Joy next Tuesday. See you there?
Photo gallery by Natalie Simpson – Beehive Photography. Instagram @nhsphoto
Waxahatchee performed in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025, at the Gallivan Center as part of the Twilight Concert Series, photos by Natalie Simpson, Beehive Photography.
With its terrazzo floors, color-drenched rooms and savvy design solutions, Maggie Glendenning’s St. George midcentury modern home is an ode to ’70s cool.
Photos by Lacey Alexander
Midcentury modern homes have an undeniable swagger about them—the clean, low-slung silhouettes and the seamless indoor-outdoor flow that makes every space feel expansive. Warm walnut paneling, open living rooms and sculptural Malm fireplaces practically beg you to sit down and stay awhile. But finding one that still has its original charm? That’s another story.
Creating A Signature St. George Midcentury Modern Home
Maggie Glendenning discovered this all too well. As a self-described Zillow hound, she had scoured every St. George midcentury modern home listing hoping to find one that hadn’t been stripped of its character. “Many of today’s homes look and feel so generic,” she says. “Too vanilla.” After a long and fruitless search, she had to face the facts: her ideal midcentury home simply wasn’t on the market.
Then came a twist. With post-COVID construction booming, Glendenning and her siblings saw an opportunity—why not build? They secured a lot in the Bloomington Country Club golf course community, planning a spec home as an investment. As the owner of an event planning and interiors business—and now a newly licensed general contractor—Glendenning took the lead on the project, collaborating with architect Matt Metcalf to bring their vision to life. Her goal? To design a fresh, modern home infused with soul, a nod to the groovy ‘70s-style houses in the neighborhood.
“I love to push cool and fun ideas, so I knew one thing for sure: the rooms wouldn’t be all white,” she says with a laugh. But as the design process unfolded, something unexpected happened—she started planning every detail as if it were her own. And then, it hit her. “Wait, I want to live here,” she laughs.
Here, she shares what it took to give this new dwelling’s spaces some serious retro-cool vibe—and how she accidentally ended up with the home of her dreams.
Great Room
“The wood slatting adds warmth,” Glendenning says of the kitchen’s 15-foot-high, angled back wall of thermally treated pine that anchors the end of the great room with dimension and rich wood tones. “I couldn’t stretch the budget to do wood on all the ceilings, but I still wanted to bring that warmth and midcentury charm into the space,” says Glendenning, who created the accent as a striking, wallet-friendly solution. The wood is from Delta Millworks in Park City.
Fireplace
Glendenning knew that a Malm fireplace was a must-have. She positioned it on the raised brick hearth, transforming it into a strikingly colorful focal point in the great room. “It started as fully copper, but the moment I turned it on, it came alive with incredible holographic colors,” she recalls. To balance the space, she selected sheer drapery panels to soften the room while complementing its midcentury-modern aesthetic. A leather-strapped chaise lounge offers a cozy spot to take in patio and golf course views, grounded by a textured rug from Beni Rugs.
Kitchen
Glendenning furnished the end of the kitchen’s “statement island” with generous shelving and serving space. “Rather than just having lots of barstools, I focused on creating an area at the island’s end for casual gathering and entertaining,” says Glendenning, who also increased the height of the island to make it more comfortable to stand around it. She rejected “bulky and heavy” upper cabinets and, instead, created a hidden pantry beside the refrigerator for storage. “This makes the space feel more open and airy.” The island is topped with striking Dolce Vita Quartz, while Caesarstone adorns the perimeter cabinets, which are painted in Farrow & Ball’s Light Blue. “The color helps break up the wood tones,” she notes, adding a refreshing balance to the open kitchen.
Powder Room
“The blue faucet was the starting point for the design,” says Glendenning, who fearlessly sheathed the walls of her “dark and moody” powder bath with cork tile and clad the floating vanity with Red Rock tile by Fireclay Tile. “I started with the sky-blue and red-rock tones from my home’s desert-inspired color palette.” To soften the room’s angular features, she incorporated an organically shaped Living Pond mirror by Ferm Living and a round Dimple sconce by RBW.
Dining Room
The dining room highlights Glendenning’s signature midcentury-modern materials: painted brick and terrazzo tile. Repurposed from a contractor’s surplus, the brick adds texture to a great room wall and forms a bench that doubles as a fireplace hearth. The terrazzo tile—with its mix of white, butter yellow, gray and burgundy tones—was a must-have. “I always knew that I wanted terrazzo,” she says. The tile was originally intended only for the main living areas, but an overage allowed Glendenning to extend it into the bedrooms, with alternate tiles chosen for the laundry room and bathrooms. Colorful furnishings bring the space to life: a custom table from Vanguard Furniture, a vase from Blu Dot and artwork by Anya Molyviatis through Ivester Contemporary Gallery.
Primary Bathroom
Glendenning’s love for fully tiled bathrooms shines throughout the home, where each bathroom features a single tile choice, relying on patterns and colors to create visual impact. Keeping materials consistent, she notes, avoids a sense of “decorative whiplash.” In the primary bathroom, light-toned tile complements the room’s airy feel, with a striking round tub by Signature Hardware as the centerpiece.
Guest Baths
In contrast, the guest suites’ bathrooms embrace bold color inspired by the desert landscape. Basil-hued cement tile from Clé brings a fresh vibrancy to one, while earthy red terracotta tile from Zia Tile defines the ‘St. George midcentury modern home’ vibe other. “Surrounded by red rock in the desert, I wanted the colors in my spaces to echo the natural tones of the environment,” Glendenning explains.
Primary Bedroom
In the primary bedroom, Glendenning embraced a daring palette with Sherwin-Williams Dark Night, creating a rich, moody atmosphere that balances the room’s towering ceilings. “The architect suggested lowering the 12- to 14-foot ceilings to 10 or 11 feet, but when we learned how much extra lumber it would cost, we decided to keep them high,” she says. “With the tall ceilings and west-facing windows, I was able to go dark. This makes the room feel more comfortable and not like a deep hole,” she explains. An RBW wall light hangs above a Blu Dot nightstand; Cozy Earth bedding dresses the bed by Ellison Studios.
Laundry
The vibrant yellow laundry room is one of Glendenning’s most playful spaces. Finding a concrete tile to match the terrazzo’s thickness was a challenge, but she discovered this Zia Tile with a graphic pattern, warm texture and colors from her palette. She chose a chic European drying rack from Northern, favoring the wall-mounted design over a ceiling-hung option. The room’s upbeat vibe is driven by Benjamin Moore’s aptly named Good Vibrations paint.
Office
Glendenning color-drenched her office in a powder blue, similar to the shade of the living room’s sofa, to create a seamless flow throughout the home. While she enjoys working in the space, she admits the walls can cast a blue shadow, making it difficult to evaluate samples. Furnishings include a Blu Dot desk, DWR lamp and chair and a Frances and Son ceiling light.
Guest Room
“I don’t know when we became afraid of color. It adds so much life and energy to a home,” Glendenning says. Embracing that philosophy, she bathed a guest bedroom in Sherwin-Williams’ Soft Apricot, a warm backdrop for layers of desert-inspired hues—peach, terracotta and red rock—woven through the bedding, lighting and rug. “Orange is my favorite color,” she adds. The space is grounded by an upholstered bed frame from Sixpenny and a nightstand from Crate & Barrel.
This story was originally published by our sister publication, Utah Style & Design magazine. Find more Southern Utah design inspiration in their St. George Area Parade of Homes Trends Roundup.
And it’s fitting that we caught up with Nelson while he was still in Montana earlier this week. He’d just performed with Dave Matthews, Molly Tuttle and others at Big Sky’s Wildlands Festival, raising over $1.3 million for land conservation. His affection for the area shows on his latest release (2025’s American Romance), with a song on it named after the state.
The album is his first without Promise of the real, the band he recorded eight studio albums with, marking a rebeginning of sorts for the Texas-born singer-songwriter.
“It was about time. In 2009, I met drummer Anthony [LoGerto], then the other guys in the band, and asked them to join me,” Nelson says. “I was listening to a lot of Neil Young at the time and writing all these songs, and we went out and started playing. For three years, we played everywhere, these small gigs. And once Neil [Young] heard us, he liked the band so much, they ended up as his band for five years. I couldn’t book my own gigs anymore because Neil was taking us out [on the road].”
“Because none of the other guys in the band were songwriters, I felt like I wanted to keep playing my own music,” he says. “And the other guys were happy to play with Neil.”
By going his own way, it’s allowing Nelson to continue exploring new ways of sharing his music.
“I was running out of time, and my songs deserved an audience,” Nelson says. “I was going out with my dad [Willie] and on the road 300 days a year, and I wanted an audience that was going to stay with me for a while because they wanted to hear me, not my dad.”
The hope is he’ll have time for projects he couldn’t commit to before, largely due to that gruelling touring schedule. His planned-for 80 or so shows this year frees him up to collaborate more often, including being able to do a duet with his friend Sierra Farrell on his latest (“Friend in the End”).
And not that it matters, but that means his 92-year-old dad Willie may play on stages then Lukas does this year. But the shift in how much he plays does allow him to spend more time with his pops, too, who inspired him to become a musician in the first place.
“I love my dad’s music, and listen to it almost nonstop,” Nelson says. “I got into a phase with him where I studied it intensely, just like I did with Jimi Hendrix and Dylan and Radiohead.”
Radiohead is one of bands he listens to the most lately, and he admits to having a very wide palette of musical influences. It’s just one of the bands helping guide his next steps, as he’s already considering what comes next.
One thing is certain: he wants to go further than he ever has creatively.
“The way the world is set up now, there’s room for anything. I want to listen to my mind and heart without barriers. The next project I do, you won’t be able to define musically,” Nelson says. “Before, I was working with primary colors, but I’m going to dig deeper into secondary colors, a whole other spectrum. I’m going to get deeper and more psychedelic with it.”
It’s Nelson’s way of giving back to what music has already given him in abundance.
“It’s like they say in religion: you take one step toward god, and he takes three toward you. I stepped toward music and it wrapped its arms around me,” Nelson says. “It cradled me and said it would never let me down, that it would allow me to spread joy wherever I went. I dipped my toe in its water and now we’re betrothed.”
“Music has given me my life. It chose me, and it’s the greatest blessing I’ve ever received. Without it, I’d be in a very dark place. Now I have a place to put my darkness.”
Alison Krauss & Union Station performed atRed Butte Gardens’ Outdoor Concert Series last Friday (July 25, 2025) and, once again, promptly sold the place out. The band’s in the midst of its Arcadia Tour (named after their impressive 2025 album of the same name) and had an incredible neon sign onstage in case anyone forgot. Krauss needed little help playing and singing to the gathered mass, but she brought along Willie Dixon and Jerry Douglas anyway, spreading talent in every which way Friday night.
For her part, every song Krauss sang was an immediate soul salve, an invitation to breathe a little easier, a song preceding a long night of rest. She quipped at one point that the collective had mostly sad music in its repertoire — that their entire goal was to leave the crowd feeling far worse than they did before they arrived — but it hardly dampened spirits. Both songs and band received their appropriate spotlight, and we were better off for it. Whether it was Douglas offering frequently long jams on his Dobro or Krauss easing us through the band’s catalog (“Looks Like The End of the Road,” “The Hangman,” even an O Brother Where Art Thou nod with “Down to the River to Pray”), it was a welcome respite to the week. When bluegrass delves into lullaby territory, it creates a mood you don’t ever quite want to stop. Thank you, Alison. Thank you, players.
