7 Bands To Keep You Toasty Warm in January

With the holidays behind us, it’s another year of great Salt Lake concerts. Kick off January with a bang with these seven banger shows.

January 10 (Friday)

• Who: David Bowie: 10 Years w/ The Discographers 
• Where: The State Room
• What: Hard to believe it’s been 10 years since David Bowie left us. That fact isn’t lost on Discographers’ bandleader Randin Graves either. He and his collective are tackling a retrospective, complete with video synced up with their playing. It’s a celebration of his life. “We’re running chronologically through his career, right through to the album that was released posthumously, and doing it on the 10th anniversary of his death,” Graves told me earlier this week. “My goal is to make Bowie fans cry.” Prepare to dance, but pack the Kleenex. Watch for their Pink Floyd and Breakfast Club themed shows on 2/13 & 2/21! 
• When: 8 pm
• Tickets

January 21 (Wednesday)

• Who: The Toasters 
• Where: Urban Lounge
• What: Ska wins as many lovers as it does haters. That said, it’s easy to rally behind a band that puts a happy, horny, hopeful take on the rallying cry “Don’t Let The Bastards Grind You Down.” If that song doesn’t put you in an immediate good mood, consider that this New York City band has been together since 1981. That’s more than enough time to perfect their craft.  
• When: 7 pm
• Tickets

January 23 (Friday)

• Who: Devotchka
• Where: Egyptian Theatre
• What: The band that made “Little Miss Sunshine” sound that much better is coming to Park City smack-dab in the middle of the Sundance Film Festival for a three-night run. It’s hard to recall when the Denver band last paid us a visit, and it’s also hard to think of a better band to cater to the movie-loving crowd. Saw them once years ago and they had a dancer performing alongside them at the top of a long rope. Maybe they’ll even bring her back this time around.
• When: 8 pm
• Tickets

January 24 (Saturday)

• Who: Yonder Mountain String Band
• Where: The Complex
• When: 6:30 pm 
• What: Having not always lived in this state, I can say with a fair amount of confidence that other cities/states do not get even close to as many bluegrass bands to visit them as Utah does. Easy prediction: we’ll likely never lack for consistent shows with banjos and mandolins and harmonies to marry the two. And if bluegrass is your scene, please know that Colorado’s Yonder Mountain String Band will more than help you scratch that itch. You have my word.        
• Tickets

January 25 (Sunday)

• Who: Whitey Morgan & The 78s
• Where: The Commonwealth Room
• When: 7 pm
• What: With a career rooted in grit, soul, and over 15 years of relentless touring, Whitey Morgan has long stood as one of the fiercest torchbearers of outlaw country. Hailing from Flint, Michigan, Morgan has released six studio albums, a powerful live record, and a reputation as a road warrior, averaging 125+ shows a year. As Rolling Stone put it, he’s a “Waylon Jennings acolyte… a modern-day outlaw [with a] hard-hitting blue-collar brand of music,” while NPR praised him for staying true to legends like Jennings, Merle Haggard, and David Allan Coe. Ain’t braggin’ if it’s true.
• Tickets

January 30 (Friday)

• Who: The Plastic Cherries
• Where: The State Room
• When: 7 pm
• What: This is one local band on this month’s list that I know very little about, but Eddy Steele of 4AM Vinyl swears by them and their ability to wow an audience. He liked them so much, he put them on his most recent vinyl release (along with Mowth). Color me plenty intrigued. A little mystery goes a very long way, especially in the world of rock.
• Tickets

January 31 (Saturday)

• Who: Sammy Brue
• Where: The State Room
• When: 7 pm
• What: Man, talk about saving the best for last. If you caught Sammy’s Justin Townes Earle tribute show last year, you already know you’re in for something very special. After dutifully combing through the journals Earle left behind the past two years, then creating an album that got scooped up by Bloodshoot Records, the Ogdenite is ready to celebrate that release officially. Added bonus? Local singer-song-twangers Daniel Young and M. Horton Smith open.   
• Tickets

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