Concerts Archives - Utah Concert Review

August 28, 2022

Mt. Joy

Mt. Joy w/ Wilderado• August 16, 2022• Sandy Amphitheater

Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe

Sometimes I’ll get excited about a show simply based on what I hear from other people. I heard so many people telling me that they were excited for Mt. Joy at Sandy Amphitheater with Wilderado. This would be the first time I saw Mt. Joy I wasn’t sure what to expect. A number of people who’s opinion I respect told me I would for sure enjoy it. So I showed up with no expectations, only to have a good time. And that I did.

June 29, 2022

Barenaked Ladies

Barenaked Ladies w/ Gin Blossoms & Toad the Wet Sprocket• June 20, 2022• Red Butte Garden Amphitheater

Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe

I don’t know if Red Butte Garden will ever get more 90s than it did on June 20th. Barenaked Ladies brought their Last Summer on Earth Tour to the Amphitheater but they didn’t come alone. BNL was joined by 90s contemporaries, Gin Blossoms and Toad the Wet Sprocket. It was a lineup of hitmakers from top to bottom. I arrived as Toad the Wet Sprocket took the stage. The venue was already full. It was obvious that Red Butte patrons were excited about this whole show.

May 6, 2022

The English Beat

The English Beat w/ The Mad Professor• April 29, 2022• The Commonwealth Room

Reviewed by Kevin Rolfe

There are times when I’ll see a concert on the calendar and know without any doubt that it’ll be a good time. That’s exactly how it was when I saw The English Beat on the schedule. I grew up with The Englis Beat, or The Beat, as they’re known in England being played on early MTV and on my brother’s record player. The songs are so familiar and always take me back to that young time in my life. As I’ve aged, (boy have I aged!) I’ve been able to appreciate the music more and more. They were one of the major bands of the ska music revival in England and a huge player in the New Wave, Post Punk generation.

The English Beat has a dedicated fan base here in Utah. They’ve played everywhere from Red Butte Gardens to the Complex to Soda Row in Daybreak. Their shows are always well attended and the crowd is always a lively bunch.

June 14, 2019

LANY June 11, 2019, The Great Saltair

By: Cassilyn Anderson

The day LANY comes to town should be an official holiday in Utah because it’s a day that every teen and young adult looks forward to. This last Tuesday, LANY made a stop at The Great Saltair in Magna. Fans had been anxiously waiting outside of the venue since as early as Sunday morning in hopes to be squished against the barrier to be as close as possible to their favorite band. Many fans made new friends with each other as they waited for hours on end in line.

June 10, 2019

NKOTB Mixtape Tour June 6, 2019, Vivint Arena

By: Kevin Rolfe

If you had told me thirty years ago that I would be covering a New Kids on the Block concert I would never have believed you. For starters, I don’t think thirty years younger me would have known that I’d be covering concerts at all. He also probably thought there was no way he’d ever be caught going to an NKOTB show. What boy in his early teens is going to like a group that is taking all the attention away from him and his other guy friends. Now if you told me thirty years ago that I would be going to a New Kids on the Block concert and liking it, well I would have just called you a liar. But I went to the NKOTB Mixtape Tour at Vivint Arena and left extremely entertained! There is something to be said about putting on a quality show. The New Kids invited some artists from their hay day to join them on the tour. Salt-N-Pepa, Naughty By Nature, Tiffany and Debbie Gibson filled out the Mixtape Tour lineup. The combination of these 80s superstars filled the evening with nostalgia and a really good time.

April 24, 2019

Flora Cash April 23, 2019, The Depot

By: Kevin Rolfe

When I got the invite to review Flora Cash I did a little research about the band to get myself familiar with them leading up to the show. I became fascinated with their history and origin. Female vocalist Shpresa Lleshaj hails from Sweden. Male vocalist and guitarist Cole Randall is from Minnesota. Shpresa discovered some of Cole’s tracks on SoundCloud. She began commenting on the tracks and they started sharing their music back and forth. They then started conversing over Facebook Messenger, then they’d talk on the phone, which was followed by lengthy Skype collaborations. They finally met in Minneapolis. They than headed to Sweden to begin their career as a band. This ultimately led to their marriage and the band Flora Cash was born. Flora Cash is currently supporting lovelytheband on their current Finding it Hard to Smile U.S. tour. The tour stopped at the Depot in downtown Salt Lake City on Tuesday, April 23.

January 16, 2019

UCR Interview- Party Nails

Interview By: Kevin Rolfe

Los Angeles based artist Party Nails’ debut album, Past Lives and Paychecks was released in 2018. Her most recent single entitled ‘I Go To You’ is a stunning and intimate love song, featuring relatable honest lyricism, raw acoustic guitar and layered soft vocals which ride gently atop the organic instrumentation. Her previous single ‘So Broke’ features the singer’s distinct sound of glittery synth-pop and went viral on Spotify.

We caught up with Party Nails when she was here in Utah supporting Eve 6 on their 20th anniversary tour. She had some wonderful insight on someone who is getting their opportunity to do what they love. Enjoy!

Utah Concert Review: So are you originally from Los Angeles?

Party Nails: I’m from New York. Like 40 minutes south of Albany. So not too far north but definitely really rural and small.

Utah Concert Review: Did music bring you to L.A.?

Party Nails: Yeah. I lived in New York City for like four years before I moved to L.A. I just had this thought that I should probably move to L.A. so I did. But that’s the short version of the story.

Utah Concert Review: So what happened where you started to feel like things were happening for you with music?