Lauren Daigle

Lauren Daigle • Victory Boyd • May 17, 2024 • Maverik Center

Reviewed and Photographed by Josilyn Wakkuri Lybbert

Thousands of Lauren Daigle fans poured into the Maverik Center on Friday, May 17th! She, along with opening act, Victory Boyd, brought The Kaleidoscope Tour to Utah!

My parents don’t often, if ever, beg me to cover a particular show. But for months, they’ve been encouraging me to cover Lauren Daigle’s stop here in Utah. They went to her concert in Spokane a few months ago and have been raving about it ever since! Even so, I didn’t know what to expect. I knew Lauren’s big hits, but that was about all. I was looking forward to seeing what the show would hold!

Victory Boyd

Victory Boyd was first to take the stage that night. I got to her set a little after it started, but I immediately noticed that her music, along with her voice, was powerful and moving. In between songs, Victory would share bits of inspiring thoughts. At one point she said, “You are free to be human. Let God be God.” I felt like that was a great reminder for people to take some pressure off of themselves! During one of her songs, “El Shaddai,” the crowd became illuminated by cellphone flashlights. Victory noted that just like the luminescence of the flashlights, light in any form, literally or figuratively, is contagious. Victory’s performance was beautiful and enthralling! At the end of her set, she said, “Salt Lake, I love you and hope to be back soon!” The crowd cheered back in response! 

Lauren Daigle

After a brief intermission, that was filled with good music like, “Treat People With Kindness,” by Harry Styles, and, “Make Your Own Kind of Music,” by Cass Elliot, Lauren Daigle’s portion of the show started off with a single silhouette of a trumpeter leading into, “These Are The Days.” I was totally blown away from the get-go! The lights came up, and, dressed in fun, bright colors, the horn section, several dancers, and Lauren Daigle all joined on stage! They came on jumping around and dancing with a high energy that electrified the arena! The stage’s current was rippled with bright colors and fun graphics. There was a gap in the curtain where most of the band was positioned to play. 

There were concertgoers of all ages, from small children and up. It was fun to witness those who were clearly at their first concert. Thrilled at the happenings, as well as those in their later years who were just as overjoyed as the younger people around them!

Lauren Daigle was so engaging with the crowd! Whether it was directly with a fan or with the audience as a whole, she came across as very authentic, and kind. It seemed like she truly loved being there to perform. 

Lauren gave gratitude to the crowd and her band before explaining the thought behind her Kaleidoscope Tour. She joked that initially, the name seemed like a really good word for kids to try and spell. Then she found out that after about fifty shows, she had been spelling it wrong! Then Lauren spoke about her aunt who had a kaleidoscope collection and that as a little girl, she loved to look through them. She noted that regardless of whether the kaleidoscope was filled with broken pieces or perfect shape, each one created a stunning, magical image that was never the same twice. She used that analogy as a comparison to people and our individual lives. That no matter what we’re going through or appear to be, our lives are unique, beautiful, and always changing!

Lauren continued to speak to the crowd and mentioned that some people may have come to the show with a close relationship with Jesus, while others may have been thinking, “I didn’t know that this was going to be a Christian thing!” She then encouraged the audience to give the people around them hugs, especially if they didn’t know them. The arena filled with a buzz from people talking with one another as they shared a hug. A little girl in the row in front of me even gave me an air hug from afar! After a minute or two, Lauren said, “That was the sound of loneliness dying!”

As the song, “Valuable,” started, a visual of a sunrise started to rise over what looked like mountains. It fit perfectly with a lyric that noted the Grand Canyon. The song was beautiful and was filled with sweet reminders that everyone’s life has value regardless of their circumstances.

Lauren’s music was so versatile, and she rocked every single song she sang! Some songs had a pop vibe to them, while songs like, “Hold On To Me,” sounded soulful. Her voice remained consistently strong and beautiful, it also uniquely accommodated each varying piece!

“Kaleidoscope Jesus,” was so fun, groovy, and funky! Bright colors reminiscent of the 70s flashed across the stage, and everyone was having a great time dancing to that one, on and off stage! Lauren said that that song always reminds her of, “That 70s Show,” and then added, “ AND Jesus, of course!!

During one of her most popular hits, “Rescue,” everyone rose to their feet and sang the lyrics with all they had. It was a special thing to witness the unification that a moving song can bring to a venue filled with thousands of strangers! 

Lauren then told the story about her song, “Inherited,” which was written about all the traits she has accumulated from her family. She had a band member who was playing the mandolin share that he had inherited the mandolin he was playing from an uncle who had passed away over a decade ago. It was his first time playing it in the show that night, and how cool was it that he played it on a song about family? 

“How Can It Be?” was another song that had people on their feet dancing, and it picked up even more a few songs later for, “Still Rolling Stones”. The horn section really added an energetic element to those two already upbeat songs. It looked like everyone on stage and in the audience was having the time of their lives!

The night ended with the hit, “You Say.” Fans passionately sang their hearts out right along with Lauren, which again, was very sweet to be apart of! 

Lauren Daigle, along with Victory Boyd, provided a night filled with emotion, inspiration, fun, and encouragement for all that the packed Maverik Center! The skillful musicians provided wonderful entertainment, and I couldn’t see how anyone could’ve left there not feeling better and more uplifted than when they came! Lauren said she loves to tour, so Utah will be anxiously awaiting her return in the future!