Joseph • Gabrielle Grace • June 18, 2025 • The Commonwealth Room
Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe
American Folk band JOSEPH, one of our favorite live bands here at Utah Concert Review, returned to Salt Lake City at The Commonwealth Room. JOSEPH, since 2014, has been a trio consisting of sisters Natalie Closner, Allison Closner, and Meegan Closner. The latter two are twins. In August 2024, it was announced that Allison would be stepping away. This was JOSEPH’s first time playing Utah as a duo since Allison’s departure. I was curious to see how the band would sound. What would be different? And what would still be the JOSEPH we know and love?
Gabrielle Grace
Before JOSEPH took the stage, we had the opportunity to see Gabrielle Grace. The first thing I noticed about Grace was her voice. She had a beautiful voice that captivated the Commonwealth Room audience. I would watch people walk into the venue. They’d be chatting with their friends. I think they figured they’d just visit while the opener performed. But as soon as they heard Gabreille’s voice, they were stopped in their tracks. That says a lot to me about how powerful a performance can be.
Gabrielle Grace played a short set with just her and a friend of hers on acoustic and sometimes electric guitar. I thought they harmonized well. I really enjoyed her cover of “The Middle” by Jimmy Eat World. She gave it a different take while still implementing elements of the original. More on that later. Overall, I thought Gabrielle Grace was the perfect opener for JOSEPH
JOSEPH
I must admit, when I saw JOSEPH walk on stage with just two sisters, it felt a little weird. I’m so used to seeing the twins together and then Natalie on stage right. But these things happen. Lineups change. We’ve seen it so many times over the years. I mean, we’ve even seen bands that don’t have a single original member in their touring lineup. My intention was to enjoy JOSEPH as I always had before, and despite Allison no longer touring with her sisters, I did just that. This was an incredible experience.
The set opened with the song I was most excited to hear, “White Flag”. What was interesting is that for the first half of the song, I didn’t even know that this was the song I was hearing. At first, I wondered if I was so caught up in the photo taking that I didn’t notice the song. But I love “White Flag” so much that there was no way that was going to be the case. Honestly, the only reason I recognized that JOSEPH was indeed performing “White Flag” was because I heard the familiar lyrics. The song was totally rearranged. Different melody, tempo, harmonies, etc. Except for the words, it was a different song.
Before I say anything that might sound negative, I do have to say that they sounded amazing. And this new arrangement was constructed really well. If this weren’t my favorite JOSEPH song, I think I would have commended them on their ambitious transformation of the song. But “White Flag” is usually a powerful anthem that gets me and the audience fired up. This version was much more subdued. And while I loved how they sounded, I will admit that I was disappointed not to hear the version that I love. It reminded me of a time I saw Oasis, and they did a different version of “Don’t Look Back in Anger”. It was a great arrangement, but not what people came to see. I hope I don’t have to wait twenty years to see JOSEPH again to hear the original version.
While things were not off to a start I loved, everything was uphill from there. JOSEPH shared that Allison was working on a farm and loving her life. Sharing that it’s the best thing for her and for all of them. While they miss her, they seemed really happy for her. They told us that she left the band with a “mountain of songs that are impossible to sing.” I thought Meegan did an incredible job. I felt like her being Allison’s twin, a lot of focus would be on her and her vocals. She stepped up admirably and I commend her for her talent.
Things picked up with “Nervous System.” The crowd really started to move. People were feeling the music. While JOSEPH is now a duo, they were joined on stage by drummer April Lee. April brought a powerful dynamic to these songs. I’ve had the opportunity to see JOSEPH as just a trio, with a full backing band, and now this lineup. I loved the sound they produced. It was literally a guitar and drums, more or less, and it sounded like a full band was on that stage. So much of that is attributed to what Lee was doing and how powerful the harmonies were. The sound filled the room, and I love the blood harmonies that JOSEPH provides.
I love the personal nature of a JOSEPH concert. The stories and songs are so personal that the audience is drawn in and relates to the messages. In particular, “Bye and Bye” and “Closer 2 Me” seemed to really resonate with this crowd. You could hear a pin drop during the quieter songs. And if someone was talking, it didn’t take long before multiple people would look over and send the message with their eyes that it was time to stop talking. That seemed to do the trick. Fortunately, there weren’t many of those moments. For the most part, the audience was fixated on the stage. And rightfully so.
These shows always seem to fly by. I couldn’t believe it, but we reached the final song of the main set. Perfectly placed in the lineup was “Without You”. The audience was so into it. And JOSEPH was too. They sounded amazing! Hitting those big, sustained notes blows me away every time. Natalie hits this part where she’s singing without any backup music. Meegan joined in to harmonize, and then April closed the songs with a big drum roll. It was a massive way to end the set.
JOSEPH never returned to the stage. They actually performed their encore in the center of the audience. I cannot tell you how much I love it when bands do this type of thing. When things like this happen it becomes a memory fans will recall time and time again. Standing in the middle of the floor with no amps, no microphones, JOSEPH sang a couple of songs beautifully. The smiles on the faces of the people around them were priceless.
The night ended with JOSEPH performing “Eyes to the Sky”. They invited the audience to sing with them during the chorus, and the room was filled with natural voices. It was a special moment that I loved getting to witness. JOSEPH is out there still doing what they do. They sounded great. They seemed so happy to be performing. I look forward to their return to Salt Lake City.