Native Leaves July 30, 2021 The Depot

Photo Credit: Evelyn Salazar

On Friday, July 30, 2021, The Depot was packed with people. The venue was filled with love and good vibes because of Utah’s own local band, Native Leaves. Native Leaves are a reggae band from the 801 who know how to throw a show! The night consisted of some fantastic openers,  along with the beautiful Analea Brown who truly knows how to own the stage. Her beautiful voice paired with some lovely cultural dancing by her and her crew were so fun to watch! She had the crowd dancing and vibing along with her. She did an amazing job at setting the tone and preparing the crowd for the headliners of the night.  

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Isabel Leonard w/ the Utah Symphony January 9, 2020, The Noorda

By: Kevin Rolfe

Isabel Leonard is a two time Grammy Award winning mezzo-soprano who has appeared all over the world from the Metropolitan Opera in New York to the Vienna State Opera in Austria.  And there she was Thursday evening, with our own Utah Symphony, on the stage of The Noorda Center for the Performing Arts in Orem, Utah. I don’t think we realize what an honor it is to have Isabel here in our state.  Not only did Ms. Leonard perform last night in Orem, but she will be performing at Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City tonight (January 10) and tomorrow evening.

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SLC Twilight-Courtney Barnett August 15, 2019, Gallivan Center

By: Evelyn Salazar

Photo By: Evelyn Salazar

Wow, Courtney Barnett can put on a show! Last Thursday’s Twilight Series was quite the concert, with a great lineup and a large turnout. Things kicked off with Salt Lake City’s very own Choir Boy. How I have never heard of them before surprised me, because they seem to have a very large following here in Utah. Their music and performance gave me some serious 80’s electronic, synth vibes and I absolutely loved it! It was fun to watch them on stage, dance along to their music and really get in the groove of things. They’re super stylish too. I was very impressed with them and added a new band to check out on my list! 

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Belle Jewel July 23, 2019, Kilby Court

Photo By: Kaden Severn @simplybrilliantstudios

By: Kaden Severn

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!

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Fork Fest June 8, 2019

By: Kevin Rolfe

Photo By: Kevin Rolfe

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.

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UCR Interview- Daniel Young of The Hollering Pines

By: Kevin Rolfe

Photo By: Ryan Tanner

Note from Kev:

I feel like I’ve been circling around The Hollering Pines for a few years. The first time I saw Marie Bradshaw, Kiki Jane Sieger, Dylan Schorer, Daniel Young and M. Horton Smith perform was at The State Room for a Bruce Springsteen tribute show where a variety of local artists performed Born in the USA in its entirety. A few nights later I saw many of these artists perform with Americana super group The Lower Lights at their annual Christmas concert. It was only after that show I realized that these five members were their own band. I quickly jumped onboard the Hollering Pines train and don’t plan on getting off any time soon.

This Friday (June 7) The Hollering Pines will be releasing their third album, Moments in Between. Concurrently they will be performing an album release show at Commonwealth Studios.

I had the opportunity to visit with Hollering Pines drummer, Daniel Young leading up to the show and album release. Hope you enjoy our conversation!

The Interview

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UCR Interview- John McCool of Memphis McCool

By: Kevin Rolfe

Memphis McCool is a band located right here in Utah. They’ve been assembled for just a year and already they’re playing festivals, and art shows. They’ll be at Park Silly Market this Sunday, June 2. I had the opportunity to speak with John McCool about the band and his experience in music. I really enjoyed our conversation. Hope you do too! Here it is…

Utah Concert Review: So first things first, what’s your role in the band?

John McCool: All right, my name is John and I am the lead guitar player and the songwriter.  But I kind of define myself as the primary song generator.

UCR: Nice. And how did you guys all come together as a band?

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