REDWEST Country Music Festival • October 10-12, 2025 • Utah State Fairpark
Reviewed and Photographed by Josilyn Wakkuri Lybbert
I was so excited and honored to have the opportunity to photograph and review the REDWEST festival at the Utah State Fairpark on October 10-12, 2025! With it being the only second year of the festival, they drew in the masses with their fantastic line up, from big name headliners like Kacey Musgraves, Post Malone, and Noah Kahan, but I saw and heard a lot of conversation and excitement for bands and artists like Ella Langley, Ole 60, and Avery Anna – just to name a few!
The festival spanned all over the fair grounds with three stages to divide up the performances. There was the main stage called the REDWEST Stage, the slightly smaller stage was called the REDSOUTH Stage, and then there was the VIP+ Lounge set up specifically for the VIP+ ticket holders. The artists who graced the larger stages would get to also have a set there to perform a more stripped down, acoustic set, then participate in meet and greets.
Fun photo ops were scattered throughout the festival grounds. There were large REDWEST signs, vintage looking red trucks, and even the stages served as a coveted photo back drop! There were so many fun vendors – a stand out being HydroJug – and many of them were handing out free goodies like tote bags or electrolyte drinks, and others had fun activities like bracelet making taking place.
The rodeo arena was a country line dancer’s dream. There was nonstop dancing taking place there, and every time I went to check it out, there were at least fifty people boot scootin’! It was cool to see how people chose to dress for the festival. Some people showed up in what they’d likely wear any day, others sported merch of artists in the line up, but it seemed like a good majority of the population came dressed in thoughtfully curated outfits for occasion!
Day One
Ella Langley – REDWEST Stage
I got there on Friday evening and was impressed with the large crowd that had already shown up at that point of the day. It was packed! I made it just in time for Ella Langley who echoed my thoughts, and said, “You never know what a crowd will look like. It didn’t look like this last year!”
Fans were so excited to see Ella! As I took time to observe them throughout the night, I noticed that the majority of the sea of people were singing along to her songs from the start to the finish of her set. She opened with, “Paint The Town Blue,” which was followed by, “Better Be Tough,” and, “Nicotine.” Ella was effortlessly good vocally. She showed off a variety of musical talents from commanding the stage with just a microphone, but also threw in playing the guitar and tambourine for several songs!
The crowd was also lucky to be favored by a then unreleased hit, “Choosin’ Texas,” which was written by Ella and Miranda Lambert!
I stepped away for another set, but returned just in time for the song that really put Ella on the map. Fans gave it their all as they sang along to the hit, “You Look Like You Love Me!” It was a lot of fun to see how much the crowd loved that song!
Noah Rinker – VIP+ Stage
I just caught a few minutes of Noah Rinker’s set on the VIP+ Lounge Stage. As I walked in, he shared how fun it was to be able to play an acoustic set as it’d been awhile since he’d done so! I was able to see him perform a song I’ve heard frequently on TikTok, “Save My Soul.” Noah played both guitar and harmonica for the recognizable intro. It’s a powerful, beautiful song that speaks to the struggle for redemption and the acceptance of personal flaws, focusing on the need for faith and guidance despite life’s imperfections.
Following his performance, a line of at least fifty people assembled to meet Noah, which was a perk to being a VIP+ ticket holder. It was sweet to see the interactions between Noah and his fans!
Ian Munsick – REDSOUTH Stage
I found my way to the REDSOUTH Stage right before Ian Munsick and his band made it on stage. While fans went wild when Ian arrived, I was immediately envious of his long, flowing hair! He was another returning artist from the first year of REDWEST and expressed that he was happy to be back!
He kicked off his set, “I See Country.” Many people in the crowd sang along, an their voices echoed beautifully throughout the area. That particularly came in handy when Ian experienced some technical difficulties, and his mic went out for a part of the song. As unwanted as technical difficulties are, it’s always cool to witness a moment where the crowd comes together to carry and support the artist like that!
Ian’s music have a simple, classic country sound, but he proved that his talent could stretch across genres as he threw several covers into the setlist! He favored the crowd with renditions of, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “Rocky Mountain Way,” “Mountain Music,” “Genie In A Bottle,” “Toxic,” “Teenage Dream,” and, “You Belong With Me.” I was blown away at the diversity he added into his typically country mix!
Before, “Long Live Cowgirls,” Ian said, “If you love the good Lord more than anything else put the flashlights up, take me back to Wyoming at midnight.” Fans happily obliged and lit up the area, creating a beautiful setting for a beautiful song!
Kacey Musgraves – RedWest Stage
Anticipation was building for the headliner of the night, Kacey Musgraves. The stage was donned in greenery making it feel as if we’d stepped into a magical forest. The stage glowed with stars when she stepped on stage really adding to the atmosphere. Kacey was ethereal, from her stage presence to her beautiful voice, she drew the crowd right in from the first note of, “Cardinal.” She gives off very easy going energy, and the crowd matched that energy while still being fully engaged with the performance.
Fans were so excited when Kacey started singing, “Butterflies.” The screens behind Kacey glowed purple as butterflies flew across them – it was a whimsical scene set for an equally whimsical song!
One of my favorite songs of hers, “Happy & Sad,” followed the hit, “Golden Hour.” As I watched back the videos I took during those songs, I noticed that the conditions probably weren’t ideal for her up on stage. Kacey mentioned how windy it was, but I thought it was admirable the way that her voice and persona never faltered, even as the wind blew right at her a lot of the night.
Kacey shared the two songs, “Follow Your Arrow,” and “Merry Go’ Round,” came from her roots growing up in a small town, where there can sometimes tend to be small mindsets. When she moved to Nashville, she experienced a lot more diversity, and these two songs were born from her life experiences between those two lives in small towns and big cities. She said that she primarily wrote, “Follow Your Arrow,” primarily for the LGBTQ+ community, but shared that in general, “You might as well be yourself because someone is going to have a problem with it no matter what.”
She effortlessly played and sang through hit after hit during her set at REDWEST. As the night started to draw to a close, she sang, “I Remember Everything,” which is the song that she released with country music star Zach Bryan. The crowd was really excited for that one! Following that, her stunning, “Space Cowboy,” had its moment. She also sang her iconic cover of Brooks & Dunn’s, “Neon Moon.”
Kacey’s wonderful set came to a close with, “Rainbow.” It was such a beautiful, encouraging way to end the first night of REDWEST!
Day Two
I arrived the RedWest on Saturday afternoon ready for a day of music! I headed to the VIP+ Lounge to start my day, but found out that press no longer had access to that stage, which was a bit of a bummer as I’d planned my day around being able to catch some performances there. With that, I figured that my Saturday review would have less content than I had anticipated – little did I know, that wouldn’t be all that shortened my REDWEST content that day!
Hudson Westbrook – RedSouth Stage
Hudson Westbrook became my first set of the day on Saturday! The fans who were queued up to see him were noticeably kind. They were offering to take my picture (it’s rare to have documentation of a photographer in action, so I thought that was sweet!), interested in what I was working on, and more than willing to smile for photos themselves! Many of them were sporting hats that said, “Darlin’,” which I later learned was in reference to one of Hudson’s songs, and he ended up matching them wearing one of those hats too!
The crowd was filled with what seemed to be mostly teen to young twenty-something year old girls, and once Hudson stepped on stage and began singing his swoon-worthy songs, I knew why! He and his talented band opened with, “Weatherman.” Fans sang, really yelled, the lyrics, and again, left no room to assume anything other than the crowd was primarily filled with Hudson Westbrook fans!
Hudson played through songs like, “Sober,” and, “Painted You Pretty,” and people ate every performance of every song right up! Another crowd favorite ended up being a cover of Taylor Swift’s, “You Belong With Me.”
As I stepped back to watch the set, I noticed a large camera crew passing by. Since Utah has seemed to be a point of interest on television recently, I had been wondering if there would be any of the local Utah stars at the festival. Sure enough, I caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a taping of one the popular Utah based reality television shows which was an exciting surprise for me!
Ty Meyers
After Hudson Westbrook’s set, I went to watch Ty Myers’ time on the REDWEST stage. I had no idea we’d be in for such a unique treat! His music and voice were a skillful blend of country, soul, and even funk! It made for beautiful, creative music! I was blown away from his talent from the get-go.
He played through songs like, “Never Get Tired (of Loving You),” “Thought It Was Love,” and, “Can’t Hold Me Down,” and they all show cased different degrees of his abilities – his music was so intriguingly diverse yet had aspects that kept the songs consistent with one another.
Another standout from Ty’s time on stage was mixing John Mayer’s, “Gravity,” and his own song, “Ends of the Earth.” It was a gorgeous rendition of, “Gravity,” and it flowed perfectly into his song!
I had stepped away to check out the activities that were taking place in the rodeo arena, and as soon as I did, I heard Ty say, “I’m sorry, they’re stopping me,” and saw an evacuation notice appear on all screens due to high winds.
Weather Delay
I spent about twenty minutes in my car before the evacuation was lifted. When I reentered the festival, I thought to myself, “this almost seems worse than when we were evacuated twenty minutes ago.” During those twenty minutes, crew had removed tarps that surrounded the stages and lowered the large screens the were also on the stages.
Ole 60
I was able to photograph one song of Ole 60. They were a lot of fun, and I wish I could’ve gathered more about them, but the wind was really picking up which made me a little nervous being surrounded by such large stage equipment, so I decided to watch more of the set from the VIP lounge nearby. As soon as I got in, the crowd erupted in loud booing – we were evacuated again with a lot more urgency.
From my car, I watched quite the storm roll in. There was thunder, lightning, rain, hail, and intense winds. After about a hour and a half of waiting in my car, the festival shared that there wouldn’t be another announcement until later in the evening. I opted to wait out the rest of the time at home, and it wasn’t until around 9:45 pm, after the headliner of the night, Post Malone, was supposed to take the RedWest stage, that we all learned that the show would not proceed for the day. There’s no doubt that thousands of fans were sad to miss out on Post Malone and other artists that were scheduled for Saturday!
Day Three
I was happy to arrive at REDWEST under clear sunny skies on Sunday! It was a chilly day, but I think I can speak for most when I say, I’d take chilly over a big storm like we had the day before! There was a good number of people there all ready for a full day of music! A security guard told me that it was the busiest he’d seen it so early in the day compared to the rest of the weekend.
Buffalo Traffic Jam – REDWEST Stage
Buffalo Traffic Jam was my first set on Sunday. Duo Frankie Cassidy and Nathan Ross took the stage and began to play with just a guitar and mandolin between them, but their music was powerful! Nathan also supplemented the music a drum at his foot. The two man band quickly proved to be multi-talented folk artists! “Fool’s Gold,” really showcased their musicality both instrumentally and vocally! It gave me Lumineers vibes in the best way!
Frankie joked ahead of “Bones,” “I like to get loud on this song, if my voice cracks, just ignore it.” His voice did not crack and packed a punch, which is impressive, especially considering how others can struggle a bit due to the dry air and high altitude that’s so common in Utah.
Buffalo Traffic Jam shared that they met at Montana State University, both as STEM students, with one in school for engineering and the other in school for architecture. They started the band a year and a half ago – and now they have 1.1 million streams on Spotify and are playing the main stage at a music festival! That blew my mind!
The band favored fans with the title track off of their EP, “Take Me Home,” that’s to release on October 24th. It was my favorite song of their entire set, and I’m counting down the days until it’s out!
Zach John King – REDSOUTH Stage
Zach John King ran on stage with an eruption of energy which psyched up the crowd right with him! He said, “Utah, this is the prettiest place we’ve played all year!”
He opened up with, “Space,” which was high energy and had the crowd jumping and dancing, and again, the frontman and the band were right there with them!
With a change of pace, Zach sang a slower ballad, “Wanna Be Cowboy.” It was a really pretty, sweet song! That fed into a cover of Toby Keith’s iconic, “Should’ve Been a Cowboy.” A classic like that is always a hit with fans!
Jonah Kagen – REDWEST Stage
The crowd was already cheering for Jonah Kagen while he was just helping set up the stage for his set, so you can imagine how excited they were when he reappeared a few minutes later ready to perform!
I had listened to a few of Jonah’s songs ahead of time, and they were beautiful and mellow indie/folk tunes. For some reason, maybe because of the more quiet nature of his music, I expected him to be quiet and shy, but he was hilarious from the get-go making jokes and telling stories!
Jonah shared that Utah is his favorite place to play, and that he has a lot of good memories in Utah when he was living nomadically in an Airstream (which he also recorded and produced his album in!)!
He played the namesake of his newest album that was released last month, “Sunflowers and Leather.” His voice was was unique but also in line with what so many people are loving right now in people like Noah Kahan! He also sang, “Krissy,” which is a raw story of hardship based on his mother’s life story. It was such a musically beautiful song that told a sad story.
During the song, “Save My Soul,” Jonah initiated some crowd participation during the chorus having them echo the lyrics, “Save me, save my soul.” They did a great job taking on that assignment!
He wrapped up his time on the RedWest Stage with his biggest hit that has over 84 million streams, “God Needs The Devil.” The RedWest crowd was a big fan of Jonah Kagen!
Braxton Keith – REDWEST Stage
Braxton Keith dazzled crowds during his first visit to Utah! From the first note, Braxton’s voice reminded me a lot of older country – like 80s/90s – which is my favorite country music era! Following that vibe, I was thrilled when he covered George Strait’s, “The Chair,” and did a fabulous job!
Some of my favorite songs from Braxton’s set were, “Cozy,” and, “Wind Blows.” Again, they have such a classic sound, but by the volume levels of the crowd, they are clearly adored in 2025!
He’s one of those artists that you wish you would’ve known before the show, but I have been listening to him ever since! I was glad to catch his first ever Utah show!
The Band Perry – REDSOUTH Stage
When preparing to write a review of shows, I jot down quick notes of things to add, and I have, “they are so fun,” and, “they sound so good,” written down at the top of the list, and that echoed in my head during The Band Perry’s entire set!
I listened to The Band Perry a lot growing up, and I was so impressed with how good they sounded live! It was like I was transported back to 2010 as they sang!
Lead singer Kimberly Perry said, “Thank God the rain stopped!” which is a sentiment I think we were all thinking too after Saturday’s storm! She continued by expressing how cool she thought the line up was and that the festival was taking place in such a beautiful setting. Since the band committed to the festival she’d been dreaming of the moment that she got to sing, “If I Die Young,” and hear the crowd sing along too. Fans accepted that challenge and sang their most popular tune at the top of their lungs!
The Band Perry sang so many of their other hits like, “You Better Dig Two,” “You Lie,” and, “All Your Life.” The even favored the crowd with a Chappell Roan cover of, “Pink Pony Club,” which went over really well with the crowd!
They ended their set with, “DONE.” It was a fun, lively way to end their time at RedWest, which is how they had spent their entire time on stage!
Avery Anna – REDSOUTH Stage
I was excited to see Avery Anna! I first discovered her on TikTok during the thick of COVID times. She had performed a powerful cover of Harry Styles’, “Falling,” in her bathroom, and from then on, her success has snowballed!
Anna stepped on stage in a brown wrangler set and started off with, “Mr. Predictable.” She was animated and interactive with fans, making sure to not stay in one place for too long because so many people were expressively eager to be acknowledged by her. There were so many people, mostly young women, who were beside themselves with excitement!
Avery’s voice was beautiful and just as powerful as I’d heard it a handful of years ago! Her band was a lot of fun, and there was no doubt they were enjoying themselves up on stage!
As Avery began to play, “It’s Just Rainin’,” she said, “It’s not raining tonight, is it?” I loved that song. I had quickly looked the song up because I was sure it had to be a Patsy Cline cover, but it was all Avery’s own!
After that song, she said that the Utah crowds are always so full of joy that she wanted to do something special for them. She got emotional as she shared about a hard time she went through where she learned that she needed to trust and have faith in God. She surprised everyone and brought out Sam Barber to sing the unreleased, “Fear in God,” that the wrote together. It was such a treat to experience that!
Sam Barber – REDWEST Stage
Sam Barber exuded humility from his first moments under the stage lights. After his first song, “Streetlight,” he said, “Thank you for coming to my stage!” and shared that it was a special night because his parents were in the audience!
Sam played, “Thought of You,” and, “Music for the Soul,” and I just kept thinking how therapeutic his voice and music sounded, which was the perfect thing to listen to after such a busy weekend at the festival!
Sam had some surprises in his back pocket! It started with Jonah Kagen, who joined Sam to sing a song that the two of them wrote together, “Burn Me.” It was an epic performance! Then Avery Ann followed, and Avery and Sam sang a song they’ve released together called, “Indigo,” which was stunning! His band were also incredible, and his violinist really stood out during, “Indigo.”
Sam ended his set with a cover of, “Dancing in the Sky.” It was an incredibly moving performance and the perfect song to end his emotion packed time on the stage at RedWest!
The Red Clay Strays – REDSOUTH Stage
Fans were stoked for The Red Clay Strays! I wasn’t familiar with them but I was quickly intrigued! The band came on stage, very cool, calm, and collected. The frontman reminded me a lot of a mix between Johnny Cash and a young Elvis just based off of appearances, but that persona remained throughout their whole set!
I quickly realized what all of the fuss was about – The Red Clay Strays were epic! They have a sound that is completely their own – it was like a mix of blues, country, and rock. And boy, do they know to jam! “Stone’s Throw,” and, “People Hatin’,” really highlighted that!
They spoke about their album that came out last July called, “Made by These Moments,” which was inspired by life’s struggles where they had to put their faith in God and were ultimately redeemed. They played songs like, “Ramblin’,” “Drowning,” and, “I’m Still Fine,” that all had a unique sound but highlight different parts of the journey they spoke about.
Noah Kahan – REDWEST Stage
The fans’ excitement for Noah Kahan buzzed through the atmosphere as we waited for him to arrive on stage. People were decked out in Noah’s merch, had made signs, and many had waited in their spot all day to get as close as they could to him!
When the lights dropped and rose again with Noah on stage, I could immediately tell, despite his typically sad songs, Noah Kahan is sunshine in human form. It was obvious that he was thrilled to be at REDWEST as he tipped an imaginary hat to the crowd!
“All My Love,” was his first song of the night. The fans on the barricades were in absolute awe and so thrilled to be there. Some couldn’t stop screaming, others couldn’t stop crying, and by the sound of it, the majority of people throughout the venue were singing along!
After the first song he jokingly said, “Here I am, your favorite country singer! And not Post Malone,” which earned a sea of laughs. With a big smile on his face, he continued, “My name is Noah Kahan, I’m trying to wipe those smiles off of your faces, y’all! It’s an honor to be here! I’m from the great state of Vermont! We’re going to play some songs that, uh… make you feel kind of like shit.”
Noah played another hit, “Everywhere, Everything,” and before the song, made people laugh again as he said, “I’m so out of breath, it’s embarrassing! How do you guys live here? What’s happening to my body?”
Fans were in for a surprise as Noah played an unreleased song called, “Deny Deny Deny.” As a music fan, there’s nothing cooler than getting to see something exclusive from your favorite artist live, so I can only imagine how stoked so many people were for that!
After playing, “Forever,” and, “Homesick,” Noah ran to a B stage to play the only song of his that he said he would actually listen to, which was, “Maine.” When he made it to the B stage, he said, “I’m over here now!” People who were further back in the crowd absolutely lost it when he made it all the out to them! He then kept up with the rotating surprise guest theme that had been going on that evening and brought out Avery Anna to sing a cover of Jason Isbell’s“If We Were Vampires.” Both of their voices are out of this world gorgeous in their own ways, but together? Noah and Anna – we need more of that in our lives!
Noah shared that he’d been playing in Utah for 10 years, but this crowd was th biggest one yet. He also explained that while he’s not a country artist, he loves country music and loves good stories in music regardless of genre, and was honored to be a headliner of REDWEST
As someone who lives far away from her family, “You’re Gonna Go Far,” always hits home for. It’s a beautiful song and is so relatable, I’ll sometimes skip it when it plays only because I don’t want to feel homesick! It was a special moment to experience it live.
Noah is one of those artists that is phenomenal on recordings, but absolutely blows you away live! Despite his comments about the high altitude affecting his breathing, his voice was better than I could’ve ever imagined it would be! And his band supplemented the goodness that Noah shared by being interactive with each other and fans!
Noah dedicated, “Call Your Mom,“ to a young girl named Zuza, who recently lost her life to cancer. I had seen her on social media from time to time and knew she was a big Noah Kahan fan, I saw that her mom had even shared that it was Noah’s music that she listened to in her final moments on earth. Noah flew her family out for the show, and her mom shared on Instagram that they got to spend time healing in Utah’s nature ahead of attending the show. I think that the dedication and the trip gifted to her family to help aide in their grief journey really speaks to Noah’s character. Pictures of Zuza filled the screens as he played, making an already highly emotional song even more so.
As I made my way to the back of the venue as the concert started to draw to a close, I noticed dozens of people dancing together, others bundled up to keep warm, and some people had even climbed up some of the decorative displays to get a better view. It was sweet to see people enjoying the show and whatever way they felt like!
The night ended with Noah’s viral breakthrough song, “Stick Season.” The fair park roared with sound of people singing those lyrics that just about everyone knows. It was a special way to wrap up the festival. I always say that there is something so special about the unity that can be found in live music and that was a perfect example of it!
While there were a few bumps in the road over the weekend, REDWEST was such an awesome time filled with back to back to back good music by phenomenal artists! It was such a privilege to go take it all in to share it with those who couldn’t be there and hopefully capture and immortalize for those who were! It was a weekend not to be forgotten, and I look forward to seeing what REDWEST has up their sleeve for next year!