Pitbull • T-Pain • September 25, 2024 • Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre
Reviewed and Photographed by Marlo Matamoros
Pitbull AKA Mr. Worldwide brought his Party After Dark Tour to the Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre on September 25, 2024. Pitbull brought Grammy-winning artist T-Pain as a special guest to join him on this tour. Both artists have an extensive discography with hits “Hotel Room Service,” “Give Me Everything,” “Buy U a Drank,” “Bartender,” “I’m Sprung”, and both artists have also charted number one.
I grew up listening to both artists, so this review is both nostalgic and from a longtime fan. In preparation for this concert, I listened to their music, and I remembered that Pitbull has a Salt Lake City remix to his song Sticky Icky which was played on the U92 radio station at the time of release. T-Pain is known as the front runner for autotune which is more commonly used and accepted today. T-Pain received inspiration from Jennifer Lopez when she used it for a couple of seconds, and thought he wanted to sound like that. I was excited to hear that Autotune live and in person. Pitbull and T-Pain have a lot of influence in the music industry, so you know Utah was in for a show.
I had never photographed at the Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre prior to this sold-out show in West Valley City and I couldn’t have asked for a better lineup. I have heard nothing but good things about the Amphitheatre, so I was excited to see everything from stage design, crowds, and the two artists. When I arrived at the Amphitheatre, I noticed there were hundreds of people dressed up as Pitbull. I later found out that there was a Pitbull Look-A-Like contest for a chance to win VIP ticket upgrades. There was a live DJ playing hits from multiple genres on stage prior to T-Pain coming out to open the show.
T-Pain
It was a little past 8 pm when a loading screen would appear on the screens above the stage. The anticipation built up around the Amphitheatre and it was time for T-Pain to hit the stage. Off the get go he was interactive with his fans, joked around with DJ Montay who joined him during hit set, and teased about Pitbull being backstage trying to fit in his tight suits. DJ Montay has produced for many big names in the music industry including Flo Rida and T-Pain’s big hit “low”.
T-Pain would go on to play some of his biggest hits while the crowd shouted out the lyrics and waved their hands. He also got the Amphitheatre to bark in anticipation for Pitbull’s arrival. There were multiple songs that he performed that brought me back to when the songs first released including “Good Life” which released in 2007 with Kanye West and the song “Got Money” with Lil Wayne which released in 2008. During the set DJ Montay would play T-Pain’s iconic music tag which was “Nappy Boy” after his label Nappy Boy Entertainment.
My favorite performance of his that night was when he performed “All I Do Is Win” by DJ Khalid featuring himself, Ludacris, Snoop Dogg, and Rick Ross. The energy was great and my favorite part about this performance were his accomplishments that were displayed on the screens above the stage. T-Pain ended his set by thanking DJ Montay and thanking us for supporting the music industry and T-Pain in 2024.
Pitbull
It was finally time for Pitbull to hit the stage dressed in all black and his iconic sunglasses. Cuban flags waved around the Amphitheatre which was a nice touch with Pitbull having Cuban roots. Pitbull performed “Hotel Room Service” in the beginning of his set with many classics to follow. The crowd would bark if there was any down time between songs and Pitbull also had his suit changes in between. Like T-Pain, Pitbull utilized the screens above the stage and would play the music videos for the songs he was performing.
Pitbull would perform “I Know You Want Me” before bringing out T-Pain again to perform “Hey Baby” in red and yellow suits. The Amphitheatre exploded when they saw T-Pain rise from underneath the stage as he rejoined the show. Pitbull brought the Party to the stage with a band, DJ, and dancers. The visuals from the lights, screens, and attire were impressive. We found out towards the end of the set that Pitbull had been feeling sick throughout the night, so he asked us (the crowd) to give him 150 percent. He also shared a story about how would end up building schools and how he views those students as his kids. Towards the end of his set, he would share his famous line “Took my life from negative to positive and I just want y’all know that”.
There was so much support for the two artists here in Utah. Utah came out to support, rocked their merch, and even dressed up as Pitbull himself. There was a lot of positive energy and dancing that filled the Amphitheatre throughout the night. I would describe Pitbull’s concert and music as a mix of reggaeton, hip-hop, and pop. Being able to photograph these two legends in the music industry was a privilege. Hopefully, Pitbull can bring the party back to Utah one day for whoever missed out on Mr. 305 experience.