Gregory Alan Isakov • Josiah and the Bonnevilles • August 29, 2024 • Snow Park Amphitheater • Deer Valley
Reviewed and Photographed by Austin Dayton
This weekend indie-folk artist Gregory Alan Isakov brought his Appaloosa Bones Tour to Park City, Utah with special guest Josiah and the Bonnevilles. Gregory and his band delivered a phenomenal summer night concert at the open-air Snow Park Amphitheater and all in attendance seemed to be in agreeance.
Josiah and the Bonnevilles
The show opened with special guest Josiah and the Bonnevilles. Josiah gave a wonderful and emotional performance as he dipped into the folk-inspired catalog, many of which have gained significant praise on social media such as his covers of “Ghosts” and “Jersey Giants.” Though his name would infer that Josiah should be surrounded by a supporting band, the band simply comprised of just himself. The Bonnevilles, Josiah explained, is the name he has given his fans. So, in all actuality, fans of Josiah were symbolically opening for Gregory as well! After his set Josiah made his way into the crowd, spending time taking pictures and signing posters with excited fans.
If traffic was going to be any indication of how popular of a concert the Appaloosa Bones tour was going to be, everyone quickly found out that they were not the only ones excited to see Gregory that night. With traffic backed up clear into downtown Park City, many found themselves running to the venue just to make it in time for the main set.
Gregory Alan Isakov
As the sun set behind the Snow Park amphitheater, Gregory Alan Isakov made his way onto the stage. Memories of the standstill traffic immediately began to fade and the crowd erupted into cheers. Instead of next hearing Isakov’s radiating voice, the sound of a violin joined the sounds of the cheers. This instrumental prelude became a theme throughout the entire concert as many of the songs were introduced with extended instrumentals.
Coming out swinging and with the beautiful instrumental introduction, Gregory began doing what he does best. Starting with “Monsters,” “Berth,” and “Amsterdam.” The Crowd was immediately drawn in. “Amsterdam,” especially pulled out an emotional response throughout the audience as they sang along, word for word. As one of Gregory’s most popular songs, it is often covered, as we heard earlier in the summer during the encore of the Watchhouse concert, but no one does it better than the master himself.
As the show progressed on, it became abundantly clear that Gregory had mastered his live voice performances. Not often can you find a concert where the live vocals prove to be indiscernible from the produced record versions. Pure emotion and passion emanated across the audience into the mountains with every word he sang. The song “San Luis” specifically came with some of the most feeling and emotion that I have heard in a live performance. Scanning across the crowd, almost no phones could be seen filming as all in attendance were pulled into the present moment with Gregory and his band.
Though Gregory leads the band, the entire show was designed to highlight more than just his vocals. Supporting Gregory was Steve Varney on the piano, Danny Black on guitar, Jeb Bows on Violin, Max Barcelow on drums, and John Grigsby on stand-up base. It was easy to see how in tune each band member was with each other, switching from perfect instrumental harmony to leading solos. In each song, sounds of passion and longing could be heard through the blend of instruments.
Thought out the night Gregory continued to dive deep into his musical catalog. Echoing deep into the surrounding mountains and trees, they played the melodic and longing “This Empty Northern Hemisphere,” and the hopeless yet hopeful “Miles To Go.” In a rare moment, he stopped to address the crowd, prefacing with the fact that he didn’t like to stop the music to talk but needed to tell the audience that the next song was a request from his niece. Of course, he began to play the crowd favorite of “Big Black Car.”
Other crowd favorites included “Sweet Heat Lightning” and “Watchman” both of which are from the recently released Appaloosa Bones Album. The album being the 7th the singer-songwriter has created; it was clear that Gregory and his band have continued to create and produce music people love.
What seems to make the music of Gregory Alan Isakov so special is that somehow Gregory and his band put an incredible amount of their own passion, pain, love, and emotions into each song. While this probably requires a lot more effort and energy from each in the band, the feelings it brings to their listeners pays off in droves. Across the grass amphitheater friends and loved ones could be seen sharing an almost spiritual experience with each other. This concert may not have been as high energy as a rock and roll concert or had as many loud cheers and screams as a pop artist would, but it gave each in attendance the opportunity to sit with and celebrate the emotions in life that are often avoided.
As the night drew to a close, Gregory and his band finished with a near-perfect yet almost haunting performance and cover of the song “Liars.” With a hand in the air in a sign of appreciation, Gregory Alan Isakov led his band off stage. Cheers, claps, and screams all signaled to the band that they still had some unsatisfied fans to appease. Teasing the crowd for only a few minutes, the band made their way back to the stage to play a beautiful encore. All surrounding one microphone, the band proceeded to play “Dark, Dark, Dark” and ended the night with another crowd favorite “The Stable Song.” With a simple thank you to the crowd and recognition of his band, the evening was over.
Gregory and his band left every bit of emotion out on that stage. The entire night was a perfect display of soul-stirring indie folk and one could not have asked for a better night of music. The set was a perfect mix of old and new and the snow park venue could not have been a better venue. Though a man of few words, Gregory Alan Isakov shared his soul through his music and writing, all who had the privilege of hearing the Appaloosa Bones tour will not soon forget it.