Utah Concert Review

May 8, 2025May 8, 2025

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

An Evening with Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit • May 5, 2025 • Sandy Amphitheater

Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe

Summer is close. Do you know how I can tell? The snow is melting, the grass is greener, the temperature is consistently rising, and Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit have made a tour stop in Utah. Sure, sure, I know that they have made the occasional stop in the fall or winter. But Jason Isbell and his crew in concert has become a summer tradition for their Utah fans. Sandy Amphitheater opened its season two nights of the An Evening With Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit Tour. If Sandy Amp was hoping to make a splash by opening their summer concerts with such a popular artist, they were successful. But maybe not in the way they expected.

May 6, 2025May 7, 2025

The Used

The Used • Blindlove • May 3, 2025 • The Union • Night 1

Reviewed and Photographed by Max Taylor

Salt Lake City showed up big for The Used on May 3, 2025, at The Union. Night one of their three-night residency in Salt Lake City was completely sold out—walls sweating, balcony packed, every inch of standing space filled with fans shoulder to shoulder. This wasn’t just any concert. This was a celebration that felt like coming home. It was a full-circle moment for a band that cut its teeth in this very city, returning home to celebrate 25 chaotic, beautiful years.

May 6, 2025May 6, 2025

Sam Fender

Sam Fender • Young Jesus • April 23, 2025 • The Union

Reviewed and Photographed by Morgan Newbold

Last week, Salt Lake City welcomed Sam Fender for the very first time, to a long-awaited show at The Union! After touring since 2017 and playing the biggest festivals in the world, fans were ecstatic to finally see him make a stop in Utah on his ‘People Watching Tour’. I certainly was excited.

May 5, 2025May 5, 2025

Post Malone

Post Malone • Jelly Roll • April 29, 2025 • Rice-Eccles Stadium

Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe

Post Malone’s BIG ASS STADIUM TOUR Opens in Salt Lake City!

It should come as no surprise that Post Malone opened his BIG ASS Stadium Tour right here in Utah. He loves this place. And just to continue stating the obvious, the place loves him. Salt Lake City is Post Malone’s adopted hometown and he has been well embraced since he’s made this area his home base. When this tour was announced, I wondered if Utah would make the cut. So often artists that become beloved by Utah start to neglect us on their bigger tour stops.

Sometimes when a stadium tour is announced, Utah will get passed by because we don’t have an NFL-sized stadium so the show would be much smaller than any of their other shows. But if you look at artists like Luke Combs, Garth Brooks, or U2, they still make it a point to come to a state that has loved them from the beginning. I was very happy to see that Utah would be the first show on the BIG ASS Stadium Tour.

May 5, 2025May 5, 2025

BENSON BOONE ANNOUNCES TOUR

BENSON BOONE ANNOUNCES FALL 2025 AMERICAN HEART NORTH AMERICAN ARENA TOUR

FOLLOWS DEBUT PERFORMANCE ON SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

NEW ALBUM AMERICAN HEART ARRIVING JUNE 20

May 5, 2025 (Los Angeles, CA) – Today, Grammy-nominated global pop sensation Benson Boone announces his Fall 2025 American Heartarena tour. The run of North American dates will follow the release of his highly-anticipated upcoming album American Heart, arriving June 20 via Night Street Records/Warner Records. Pre-order/pre-save it HERE.

Kicking off on August 22 at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, the tour includes stops at Madison Square Garden in New York, Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, and many more before wrapping up at Delta Center in Salt Lake City on October 8.

American Express is providing Card Members access to Amex Presale Tickets™ for shows in North America, available for purchase HERE starting Wednesday, May 7 at 10am local time before the general public on-sale, while supplies last. Terms apply. This is one of the many entertainment benefits American Express Card Members can access across the arts, theater, sports and music through Amex Experiences™.

April 28, 2025April 29, 2025

The Avett Brothers

UCR On Tour • The Avett Brothers • April 3, 2025 • Idaho Central Arena

Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe

The Avett Brothers are one of my favorite bands to see live. They were last in Salt Lake City in July of 2023. It was an amazing show. I’ve been anxiously awaiting their return to Utah ever since. Well as you might expect, this band is in high demand. They’re touring all over the country seemingly all the time. I recently looked over their tour dates and still didn’t find a Utah tour stop. But what I did find was a stop in Boise, Idaho.

April 28, 2025April 28, 2025

Maribou State

Maribou State • Gizmoe • April 23, 2025 • The Depot

Reviewed and Photographed by Amelia Weyerstall

Maribou State played an energetic show at The Depot on April 23, 2025, while on their Hallucinating Love tour. Their unique sound had the audience living in the moment and gave them a night to remember.

April 28, 2025April 28, 2025

Djo

Djo • Post Animal • April 21, 2025 • The Complex

Reviewed and Photographed by Marlo Matamoros

Djo and Post Animal performed at The Complex for a sold-out show on the BACK ON YOU WORLD TOUR. The tour is set to hit major cities around the world such as Salt Lake City, Toronto, Brooklyn, Manchester, Stockholm, Paris, and Amsterdam. They performed here on a Tuesday night in the Rockwell at The Complex. Post Animal is a Chicago-based rock band that formed in 2014. Post Animal is releasing an album this coming July titled Iron. Djo is coming off his The Crux album which was released on April 4^th of this year. Djo (Joe Keery) was a guitarist/vocalist for Post Animal before leaving to do Stranger Things. During the formation of the band Joe Keery and the group were roommates in Chicago.

April 21, 2025April 24, 2025

Rauw Alejandro

Rauw Alejandro • April 15, 2025 • Delta Center

Reviewed and Photographed by Marlo Matamoros

Puerto Rican superstar Rauw Alejandro brought his Cosa Nuestra World Tour to the Delta Center on Tuesday night. The tour began in April and is set to end in November. There is a 60’s theme which had the streets of Salt Lake City filled in 60’s attire. It was a fun experience walking into the arena and seeing everyone dressed up for the show. There were kids and adults dressed for the occasion. The Cosa Nuestra Tour has a New York-inspired theme showcasing the musical and cultural influence of the city. Rauw Alejandro is a Latin Grammy Award and Billboard Latin Music Awards winner. Rauw has also been nominated for a few Grammy awards.

April 19, 2025April 23, 2025

Wicked

Wicked • April 17, 2025 • Eccles Theater

Reviewed by Kevin Rolfe

Photographed by Joan Marcus courtesy of Broadway at the Ecceles

Photo Credit: Joan Marcus courtesy of Broadway at the Ecceles

What can I possibly say about one of the biggest musicals in Broadway history that hasn’t already been said? Wicked the musical has been seen the world over by millions of people. I know multiple people in my own life who go to see Wicked on a regular basis. It’s their favorite musical and they’ve seen it over and over again. To coin a phrase, this show is in a word, “Popular”. I’m sorry, I regretted it the moment I wrote it. But it had to be done.