The atmosphere inside Provo’s esteemed music venue, Velour Live Music Gallery, felt different than normal on Saturday, March 25th. The venue and date had originally been booked to host a concert for the band Low, a place they had performed many times over the years. Sadly, after the recent passing of Low’s drummer, Mimi Parker, no such concert would take place.
When I arrived at Kilby Court on Thursday, I noticed a mass of people waiting to get in line into the venue. Vaccine cards and negative covid tests were being checked for admittance. The line was long but it moved steadily. The lineup for the night would be full of some great local artists. The show started off with the local band the Button Ups. They were followed by goodfellas. And the headliner of the evening would be IMAG¡NARY FRIENDZ. We have been trying to cover one of their shows for a while. For one reason or another, it hadn’t worked out. But it finally happened and we were excited to finally see these guys.
Attending The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber at Eccles Theater felt like a joyous homecoming. I love this theater. I was there opening night and have had the great fortune to return many times attending concerts, comedy, and theater. This return, after over a year away felt that much sweeter. I even had the box office staff say, “Hi Kevin, welcome back! Here’s your ticket.” before I even made it to the window. It really did feel like I was home.
For the next two weekends, Velour Live Music Gallery will be celebrating the 10th Anniversary of their highly acclaimed all female showcase Les Femmes De Velour. This is one of our favorite events of the year here at UCR. The showcase has been expanded from one weekend to two and will be featuring 26 incredible female artists. We caught up with Cherish DeGraaf who will be performing on Night 1 (2/20). Here is our conversation. Enjoy!
The crowd was forced to part as a casket was brought into the room. Its pallbearers strained under the weight before laying it down next to Kilby Court’s stage. The wildly unexpected sound of an industrial saw ripped through idle chatter—somethingwas breaking free from within the casket. Emerged a figure with dark hair, a blue bandana around his neck, and a face painted ghostly white. Branson Anderson was back from the dead.
Branson Anderson is an Americana singer-songwriter based in Ogden, Utah. It’s been said that he’s a mix between Devendra Banhart meets Shakey Graves meets Bob Dylan meets Jack White. As I did my own studying up on Branson leading up to this interview I found his lyrics and vocals to be infectious. The longer I listened, the more I was hooked.
Tuesday, July 23 brought some heat that I hadn’t felt since moving to Utah. That didn’t stop people from coming out to the historic Kilby Court! The venue famous for being the debut spot for artists in the Salt Lake area brought out a small, but enthusiastic crowd to experience the chilled out vibes and beautiful vocals from three up and coming female artists.
This was my first time attending a concert at Kilby Court and was fascinated to learn of its rich history of being one of the first places that many artists play at before becoming superstars. I was excited to hear some great music from some artists I hadn’t yet heard of but have the potential to blow up like many artists who have played here before them!
Back in 2010 Corey Fox, owner of Velour Live Music Gallery and singer-songwriter, Joshua James put together the first Fork Fest. It’s an event that is still talked about to this day. Now in 2019, the Harrington Center for the Arts got involved and brought back this amazing festival that spotlights the best local talent in Utah.
Photo By: Kevin Rolfe
This event could easily, and perhaps should be called Velour Fest because these bands have all graced the stage at one point or another of the iconic Utah County venue and champion for musicians in the area. There were 28 bands on the lineup, each of them at varying stages of their musical career. I’ve seen local music all over this great nation of ours. I’m continually in awe of the talent pool here in Utah. If you heard that any one of these bands were signed (whatever that means nowadays) and were heading on a nationwide headlining tour you wouldn’t be surprised. There is not only an embarrassment of riches when it comes to music talent here in Utah, but there is real professionalism in their approach to their music. Many of them started at an open mic night or a battle of the bands. But when they stepped on to one of the three Fork Fest stages they looked like seasoned veterans.
Joshua James live is a thing to behold. The man never lost focus and wasted no time with banter. Music poured from his veins from the second he took the stage to the second he left. His ardent, impassioned folk was the perfect counterpoint to a damp March evening.
