Ruston Kelly• w/ Briscoe• May 3, 2023• The Depot
Reviewed and Photographed by Tomo Crestani
The Depot had the opportunity to host Ruston Kelly and his support Briscoe on their trip to Salt Lake City. Ruston is a country artist who I had not heard of, and Briscoe is also country but they had a little bit of a Folk twist to their music. They mentioned it was their first time playing in Salt Lake, so I hope that they were able to enjoy their time here.
The Depot, as always, was an incredible venue to spend the night. They always are so welcoming and helpful in every way possible. The quality they bring to the stage is incredible. They have similar production value to the larger venues in the area. Although it wasn’t very full this time, it was still a task to put on such an enjoyable event. The crowd was very respectful of each other, which isn’t always the case. I was happy to see everyone give plenty of space to the people up front, and make sure that the person next to them could enjoy the event. I have been to concerts recently where that isn’t really the situation in the audience.
Briscoe
Having never heard of Briscoe it was exciting to see them enter the stage with a Saxophone in hand. The two main band members were both amazing performers. I enjoyed the way they worked the stage and played their instruments with such ease. From the Saxophone to the Banjo, it was an incredible performance. The talent was clear with their entire set. I was not only impressed with the instrument talent but also the vocal talent. Both Truett Heintzelman and Philip Lupton were singing their hearts out and made the performance easy to enjoy. It can’t be easy coming to a city knowing most of the people in attendance haven’t heard of your band. But after this set I think it is safe to say they gained a lot of new fans. I will definitely be checking out all of their music now.
One experience at the show I wanted to note, was when Briscoe was leaving the stage. I noticed that it was a common feeling throughout the venue that the set went by so quickly. Although they played a decent amount of songs, it did feel fast. I really think this is due to the performance being so fun to listen to. The sets where you are enjoying back-to-back songs, seem to go by faster. So this is a huge compliment to the opening band. They absolutely killed their set.
Ruston Kelly
Ruston Kelly was also an amazing performance that did not disappoint his fans in attendance. Again, the venue didn’t end up filling up very much, but it almost made the show more enjoyable. There were enough people to make a crowd, but it wasn’t overwhelming as some shows are. Ruston had a smile on his face for the majority of the show and was clearly enjoying his time on stage.
The crowd can feel the energy of an artist as they perform. So it was really cool to see Ruston show so much happiness on stage. I enjoyed all of his songs he performed, however, my favorite song he performed was definitely “Mockingbird”. It is one of the only songs I know of his, so it was fun to hear live. I was very impressed with the ease in his vocals. He sang with such a calmness that made the show so easy to listen to. It adds a lot of credibility to the show.
Ruston ended his rather long set with a few of his most popular songs, and the crowd was clearly sad to see it come to an end. Although long, his set was able to capture the audience for the entire time. I thoroughly enjoyed every song. Ruston is a very good performer who makes sure to not leave you wanting anything more as you leave the concert.
Overall I would highly recommend either of these artists if you are a fan of country music. Obviously, if you are not a country fan you may not enjoy this concert. They play with such passion and energy so it makes for an amazing night of music. Briscoe is a band that completely surprised me with how much I enjoyed their music and performance. I would definitely advise you to look into their music. Ruston Kelly was an amazing performer and played his songs flawlessly. I would highly recommend you find him performing near you soon. The Depot as I said before was an amazing place to spend the night. I always have praise for The Depot, and don’t see that changing anytime soon.