Interpol • Youth Lagoon • August 4, 2026 • Red Butte Garden
Reviewed and Photographed by Morgan Newbold
Tuesday evening, Interpol came to Salt Lake City to perform a sold-out show at Red Butte Amphitheatre for its annual summer concert series! The last time they were here in 2024, they played at Kilby Block Party! I was incredibly grateful to have witnessed that performance and was ecstatic to see them again! I kept my fingers crossed for more of my favorite songs to be on the setlist.
This was my first time attending a show at Red Butte, and it was simply gorgeous! The weather cooled wonderfully just in time for the show to begin. I walked around the lawn and watched as people made their way to their seats with their meals and drinks, laid down their blankets and chairs, unpacked their coolers, and chatted excitedly about this show! In my opinion, this is the best type of venue for a show. Everything is so low-key and easygoing; the views of the venue are stunning, the grass is soft to sit on, and the sound is phenomenal. I love smaller amphitheater shows!
Let me tell you a little about Interpol if you are unfamiliar! They are an American post-punk rock band from Manhattan. They formed in 1997 and have had a couple of lineup changes since then! The band was formed by original members Daniel Kessler (guitar) and Greg Drudy (drums), and they found Paul Banks, who became their lead vocalist, and Carlos Dengler, who was their bassist. Drudy left the band after a few years to pursue his solo career, and their bassist Carlos Dengler left the band in 2010 for the same reason. They’ve since been officially replaced with their current touring band members!
They released a few EPs in the late 90s into the 2000s, with their official debut album, ‘Turn On The Bright Lights’ dropping in late 2002 after they signed with Matador Records. They found a lot of success as a New York post-punk band, and their sound was compared to the likes of Joy Division, Echo & The Bunnymen and the Cure. After they released their second album, ‘Antics’, in 2004, they toured a lot! In much bigger venues and even opened for The Cure and U2 in the early 2000s. They continued to climb the charts, switched labels a couple of times, and toured the world. They have since made 7 albums total, with the most recent being ‘The Other Side of Make-Believe’, released in 2022. Interpol is well-loved by alternative rock listeners around the world!
Youth Lagoon
The show was opened by Boise, Idaho-born and raised musician Youth Lagoon (Trevor Powers). I first heard of Youth Lagoon in 2015, when I found the song ‘17’ off his debut album The Year of Hibernation. That song, as well as ‘Cannons’, has been an indie staple for years. It genuinely confuses me how his music is not more well-known. His most recent album, Rarely Do I Dream, has been on repeat for me since its release last year. It is so well produced and criminally underrated! I photographed Youth Lagoon at Kilby Block Party as well as Interpol in previous years, and was ecstatic to see him on the lineup.
Interpol knows what’s up. When Trevor and his band kicked off the evening, the sun was starting to get low in the sky; it was a warm and beautiful evening. I’m guessing a lot of people in attendance were not familiar with his music, but they attentively listened, and from what I saw, really enjoyed it! I meandered around the lawn and captured the set as the sun glimmered off of their instruments.
Interpol
As the sun went down, it cooled down a LOT! Which was such a relief. The stage crew started prepping for Interpol, and the venue was pretty packed! Excitement and GOOD vibes were in the air. This was going to be an incredible show. The merch line was always long, and everyone had finished their meals and was ready to hear their favorite songs! The lights finally went down the show started around 8:50, just as the sun had gone away. Indigo lights and haze consumed the stage, and the notes to one of their newest singles rang out.
Interpol walked on stage, and the bright backlights perfectly silhouetted Paul. They played a lot of bangers back to back like C’mere, All the Rage Back Home, and Rest my Chemistry. The crowd was loving it! The lights throughout the set perfectly reflected their style: dim reds, purples, greens, and blues. There was lots of haze and 100% blacklight for the duration of the performance! Some songs had more dynamic lighting with beams and the effect of a spinning mirrorball, which was stunning!
They debuted a new song called “Iron City” and also played an unreleased song called Wings on Fire! My favorite moment of the entire night was when they played “NYC.” That’s one of my favorite songs of all time, and it was done beautifully! The lighting was blue, white, and yellow, and complemented the song so well! The glimmering mirrorball effect, accompanied by syncing the lights with the lyric “turn on the bright lights,” had the crowd’s hands up in the air in awe! They closed out the set with some more of their hits like “Untitled, PDA”, “Slow Hands” and “Take You on a Cruise.” It was a beautifully stacked set.
Interpol just kicked off their US tour last week. So if you have the chance to catch one of their shows, you must! They have an incredible lineup of openers including Youth Lagoon, Loathe, julie, and DIIV. IT’S A MUST SEE!