Ben Rector • The National Parks • November 15, 2025 • Delta Center
Reviewed and Photographed by Josilyn Wakkuri Lybbert
Utah Concert Review had the privilege to cover Ben Rector’s last stop on his The Richest Man in the World Tour at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on November 15th! It’s been said that this will be his last full band tour for a few years, so the combination of those things made it feel like an extra special occasion! Ben was joined by a band native to Utah, The National Parks. Utah fans love both acts, so it was destined to be a good night!
I’ve been listening to Ben Rector since I was in high school, and it’s always cool to get to see and photograph an artist that my playlists have a history with! Funnily enough, on the morning of the show, I had a Facebook memory pop up that showed a post I had made six years prior, sharing my excitement that I had just purchased tickets to see Ben Rector at BYU – Idaho!
The National Parks
People were still filing in to get to their seats as The National Parks took the stage. This opening set was their first show after announcing the reconstruction of their band, so I was interested to see what the husband and wife duo Meg and Brady Parks had in store!
With Brady on the guitar and vocals, Meg on violin and vocals, and Gabe Montesino, also of another local band Casyn, on the drums, they opened up the night with an instrumental jam called “Fore(st)Shadow,” which led into “Caves.” These songs were the perfect combination to kick things off. They created an epic build-up that exuded excitement with those songs!
After the first few songs, Meg and Brady introduced themselves and expressed that they were so excited to be home in Utah! They spent some time reminiscing and shared that they initially started out performing at a venue called Velour in Provo, UT. Then, they booked their first tour that consisted of two backyard shows and one legitimate venue in Seattle. At that show in Seattle, three people showed up – one of the three was a friend, and the other two were venue workers. Needless to say, the fact that they were now playing on stage at a sold-out show at the Delta Center in their home state was a pretty amazing feeling!
Their next song continued the story of their first Seattle show. After the show, they were driving through the wilderness in the Pacific Northwest, and the song “Monsters of the North” was born from it! It’s a song with a fun mix of pop and folk sounds, and it truly sounded like the perfect soundtrack for a drive in the PNW!
Brady shouted out that he and Meg’s parents for raising them on such good music, and Meg jokingly clarified that each of their parents raised them on good music, not that they shared parents because they were married, not siblings in the way that Brady made it sound! They then favored the crowd with a stripped-down, very folky cover of Fleetwood Mac’s iconic “Landslide.” They did a great job on the one-of-a-kind rendition, and the crowd sang along, creating a beautiful hum around the arena.
Fans got the opportunity to hear two unreleased tunes called “Sure Thing” and “Trying.” The couple shared that writing together during the past year has been a highlight of their marriage. Those two songs were honestly my favorites of the night, so I look forward to their releases!
Brady shared that they had written the upcoming song “Welcome to the Mountains” with the intent for the Utah Jazz to use, but it didn’t end up happening. I swear I’ve heard it on some promotion for something having to do with Utah outside of that thought! It’s definitely a song that gets a crowd hyped up! They added an outro to the song with a bit of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” which was a cool way to wrap it up!
The National Parks were a great way to get the night started! It was an enjoyable set for the audience, and most certainly a special night for the band to play such a crowd in their home state!
Ben Rector
Ben Rector’s pre-show playlist was filled with well-known groovy hits. It was fun to look around the arena and see groups of friends dancing together, or an even more heartwarming sight – people young and old were pulling out their best moves all on their own without a care in the world! When the lights dropped, I enjoyed singing along to Ben’s walk-on song, “Drive My Car,” by The Beatles. Not only does he make good music, he clearly has good music taste as well!
The fans were giddy with excitement, and when Ben stepped on stage, he was obviously just as happy to be there! He almost seemed to be in disbelief when he looked out over the jam-packed arena thrilled to be there to see him! Ben and the band kicked it off with “Drive.” I always love seeing the fans in the front row’s contagious energy and enthusiasm as they sing along to the first song of the headliner while getting to be right in front of an artist they love!
“Old Friends,” followed, “Drive.” It’s a sweet song that speaks to how, no matter what friends you make throughout life, there’s something special about the friends you grew up with. As the song says, “No one knows you like they know you, and no one probably ever will.” I found myself feeling a little emotional as I was up at the stage taking photos during that one, as it brought some of my childhood friends to mind!
A groovy intro, with a saxophone and all, led into “I’ve Got It Bad for You.” Every band member, including Ben, put on sunglasses, further facilitating the vibe for the song. Before he started singing, he said, “Salt Lake City! This is not only the last show of the tour, but it’s the biggest headline show I ever played!” That gave me chills as soon as he said it – what an honor to be there to experience that! I think that added an extra level of excitement, and the whole arena was up and moving for “I’ve Got It Bad for You!”
Ben shared that the Salt Lake City market wasn’t always in his favor. His first show in Salt Lake took place in 2011 at the beloved Kilby Court, which, for reference, is described on Google as a “pint-sized, bare-bones music venue” (it’s a garage), and there were thirty-five people in the crowd. Two of the people in the front row were his sisters! Since then, Ben has been back to Utah several times and has become one of the state’s most favorite artists! He also loves Utah – so much so that he wrote a comical, yet endearing song called “Utah,” which he said hopes honors the state. I’d encourage Utah residents or Utah familiar folks to check it out; it’s truly a gem!
Crowd participation was at an all-time high for this show! During an acoustic portion of “When A Heart Breaks,” my friend noted that she’d never heard a more in-tune crowd singing along the way that the Ben Rector fans were! It was impressive! We also noticed the way the stands seemed to rumble from dancing during the tune set in 2020’s lockdown, “It Would Be You.” The whole arena seemed to sway in sync to his popular love song, “Forever Like That.”
Ben covered “Go the Distance,” from Disney’s “Hercules,” before leading into another classic, “30,000 Feet.” He did a stunning job, and I thought to myself, “He has the perfect voice for that song,” but quickly corrected myself – he really has the perfect voice for any song! It’s the kind of voice that’s an easy listen, no matter what song or genre he tackles. Between his rich voice and his energetic, highly skilled band, the musicality taking place on stage was top-notch!
At one point, Ben shared a link where fans could get access to a recording of the show as well as check out some show-specific merch. The Salt Lake City shirt was so fun. It said, “Ben Rector is just plain awesome and I helped him sell out the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on November 15, 2025,” and had a Delta airplane flying over the mountains that fence in the Salt Lake Valley. I’m kicking myself for not getting one! He also took a moment to check on the crowd, specifically for those in the upper bowl. He said he went up there earlier that day and that it was “terrifying and far away!”
Then, Ben asked who’d traveled the farthest to be at the show, and there was a couple that came all the way from Australia! He said, “After the show, go to the merch stand, cut the line, and get all the merch that you want!”
The last few songs of the night were rapid-fire entertainment! From the high energy, “Living My Best Life,” to the sentimental, “Kids,” that took Ben into the crowd, to drawing the night to a close with The National Parks for “Brand New,” the night ended in a whirlwind of pure goodness!
Ben Rector’s monumental stop in Salt Lake City for his Richest Man In The World Tour was a night to remember, with The National Parks’ hometown set to be Ben’s biggest show ever played. It was an evening filled with absolute joy and wonderful music. It is no doubt a night that both the fans and artists will be thinking about for years to come. We know it may be a few years away before Ben Rector makes it back to us, but Salt Lake City fans will be ready and waiting!