Superbloom Music Festival, Hurricane Utah
Reviewed By Lexi Wild
SUPERBLOOM
The Superbloom Music Festival finally debuted at Sand Hallow’s Rock Bowl this past weekend! The National Parks’ dream was to “curate a festival experience and create a special event to celebrate the release of our new album Wildflower”. But due to the unfortunate circumstances of the pandemic in 2020, the festival was canceled. Since then, restrictions have lessened and Superbloom was ready to party at the absolutely beautiful OC Tanner Amphitheater right outside of Zion National Park. Utah’s flash foods, unfortunately, had different plans and a major flash flood hit the OC Tanner Amphitheater and sustained major damages. Thankfully Superbloom was determined to have their dreams come true and they were able to find the music fest a beautiful new home at the Rock Bowl at Sand Hollow Resort in Hurricane, Utah!
People of all ages were gathered outdoors and ready for a great day full of good vibes and even greater music. Blankets and chairs scattered the grassy area in front of the stage. Towards the back, there was a beautiful Superbloom balloon arch for people to snap some photos with loved ones to document the weekend. Soon after the music started, a line formed full of people excitedly waiting to get their free henna tattoos at a small table near the balloon arch.
ARBOUR SEASON
Arbour Season is an Indie/Folk husband and wife duo that travel across North America in their old school bus turned tiny home. Their sound is inspired by the “ serenity of the Western vistas, the Eastern coastlines and the brilliance of the national forests,” which is exactly what you feel when you hear them live.
They were Superbloom’s opening act and played some songs from their new album All My Friends released earlier this year. My favorite song that they played was their single “When I Get There.” Hearing them play it live gave me a nostalgic feeling and left me wanting to take a drive on the next rainy day and listen to it on repeat. Another favorite of mine was “Phil’s Song,” which they had never played all the way through. It was such a fun song and by the end they had me singing along with the chorus.
BROTHER
Brother is a hot up-and-coming Indie band from Provo, Utah, and is starting to blow up in Northern Utah. They were the second band lined up to play. Still early in the afternoon, the crowd started to fill and expand a bit as they started their set. Their music seemed to wake people up a bit and you could see the filling crowd get a little more lively as they were starting to warm up to the live music. They played a great unreleased song “Bleach Baby” from their new album Volume III coming out next week! Their overall sound matched the vibes of this festival perfectly and I can’t wait to see them live again.
ELLEE DUKE
Ellee Duke is an American Artist/ Songwriter originally from Utah but moved to Nashville shortly after graduating early to pursue her big dreams in the music industry. She came on stage ready to go and even threw some hats to fans in the crowd. The sun was high in the sky and Ellee borrowed her dad’s expensive road biking glasses to avoid the harsh sun glare. She was super talkative in between songs and gave some great insights and meanings to the songs she was singing. Before singing her song “Crayons” she explained the song had to do with the importance of mental health and suicide awareness. She also sang a song that she wrote for “every girl in the world” called “Stupid Girl” which was a song that many girls around the world could relate to.
JOSHUA JAMES
Joshua James is an American Folk singer-songwriter originally from Nebraska but is now based out of American Fork, Utah. He played some songs from his album, Forever in Life, for Now, that he released earlier this year. All proceeds go to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. It was my first time hearing his song “ Dark Cloud” which was a beautiful melancholy love song that I couldn’t help looking up as soon as his set was over. His music gave me a wistful and sentimental feeling and left me wanting for something that I can’t describe. I had never heard of his music leading up to Superbloom, but hearing him singing live was truly an experience that I hope will happen again sometime in the future.
THE BAND JOSEPH
Joseph is an American folk band from Portland, Oregon made up of three sisters. The sun was just starting to fall behind the mountains as they hit the stage and the area started cooling down for the night but they were pumped and ready to go. The weather started to take a turn, anyone from Southern Utah knows how windy it can get in Hurricane. Early on in their set, Natalie had to put her hair up to stay out of the way. They had a bit of a stop and holler on their last song and the crowd matched their high energy. Hearing all three sisters sing together was something powerful and gave me chills! My favorite song that they sang was “Green Eyes” which I added to my Spotify as soon as they were over.
As I was waiting in line later on I heard someone say how ecstatic they were that they sang their song “White Flag” and it was their absolute favorite. Hearing them live was something truly incredible. The crowd jammed through their entire set and even gave a loud standing ovation at the end.
YOKE LORE
Adrian Galvin, best known as Yoke Lore, is an Indie Folk/ Alternative artist. He hit the Superbloom stage with his banjo and drummer right as the daylight ran out. The energy he brought was unmatched as everyone flooded to the front of the stage. He was soft-spoken in between songs but had such a lively presence while playing and singing. His dancing on stage was absolutely contagious and if anything encouraged the growing crowd near the stage. The crowd near the front got excited just at the first few notes of his banjo. He played some of his newer released music, like his single from earlier this year called “Seeds”. Another crowd favorite was his top song called “Beige” which everyone was singing along with. He was the perfect act to get everyone hyped and ready for the final band.
THE NATIONAL PARKS
The National Parks are a folk/pop band from Provo, Utah. They were the visionaries behind the Superbloom Music Festival and who made it all happen. The previous crowd from Yoke Lore had doubled and many had abandoned their blankets and chairs to be near the stage. The sun was long gone and so was the warm sunny day. I along with others found ourselves throwing on whatever hoodies or bundling into blankets that they brought with them. When they hit the stage they came full of energy ready to kill it and those in front of the stage matched their energy throughout the whole set.
When they played their song “As We Ran” the crowd went crazy full of jumping and shouting as everyone sang along. They even slipped in a little rock Harry Potter moment that I heard people still talking about once the concert was over. They released their new album A Mix For the End of the World only a day before Superbloom. Their fans were down and ready to go. It was such an amazing experience being in the middle of the high-energy crowd while taking pictures of the equally high-energy band.
Overall, the Superbloom Music Festival was such a wonderful and truly amazing experience! The whole day was so well put together, from the venue to the band line up, even the people who attended made everything add up to a great day.
It’s hard for me to say that my favorite moment could have been anything other than “Phil’s Song.” But the whole experience was amazing from start to finish. I made new friends and heard new songs! I realized just before it started that I had seen Joseph and the National Parks for the first time on the same day at SXSW in Austin Texas 5 years ago, and Superbloom marked the 10th time I have seen each of them play live. Can’t wait until next year!
That’s an awesome anniversary! I can’t believe you’ve seen them so many times. Lucky! Next year can’t come soon enough!