Kelsea Ballerini • The Japanese House • Marynn Taylor • March 29, 2025 • Delta Center
Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe
It seems like Kelsea Ballerini is everywhere these days. She’s been all over on her Kelea Ballerini: Live in ‘25 Tour. Kelsea has been a really fun addition as a judge on The Voice. And if there’s an award show, then there’s a good chance you’ll see Ballerini in the audience. She’s been nominated for just about every Country Music category she qualifies for. It’s the season of Ballerini and we’re excited about it. She stopped by the Delta Center in Salt Lake City to play a sold out show. It was one of the most entertaining concerts at Delta Center this year.
The Delta Center is the premiere concert venue in Utah. It’s the home of NBA team the Utah Jazz and the NHL’s Utah Hockey Club. The biggest stars that stop by Salt Lake City come here. Kelsea Ballerini is going to be one of the last artists to play her for a while. The venue is shutting down over the next six or so months for some renovations. Since it’s the new home to the Utah Hockey Club, some adjustments need to be made so that a hockey rink can fit without any obstructed views from the seats. I’ll be curious to see how the new adjustments look.
Marynn Taylor
The night started with up and coming Country singer, Marynn Taylor. As she took the stage the audience was still filling up the arena. But they from my vantage point they were very supportive and seemed to enjoyed her music. The crowd seemed to really pep up when she performed a cover of the Kelly Clarkson anthem, “Since U Been Gone”. I thought Taylor had a great voice and seemed to have a great rapport with the audience. I’ll be interested to see how her career progresses.
The Japanese House
Next up we had The Japanese House. This was not a band you would typically see at a Country Music concert. It seemed Kelsea Ballerini wanted to introduce one of her favorite artists to her audience. The Japanese House is the solo project of British Indie star Amber Bain. I’ve had the opportunity to see The Japanese House a couple times and what they lack in stage presence, they make up for in sound and songwriting. Amber’s voice is a pleasure to listen to. I thought it sounded wonderful echoing throughout the Delta Center.
I could tell that the majority of the audience was trying to get a sense of what they were listening to. I think they had geared their ears for music more similar to that of Ballerini. But this was not like that at all. I enjoyed at the end of the song hearing polite applause. There were very clear pockets throughout the arena where it was obvious that there were fans of The Japanese House. There is a post on social media showing Kelsea listening to and enjoying them from backstage. I bet it would have made her happy to see those fans.
Kelsea Ballerini
The time was getting close. The feeling was in the air that Kelsea was about to take the stage. Just when it was about time the famous intro to Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like a Woman” played. The crowd went wild as if we were at a Shania concert. The predominantly female audience began to sing their hearts out to this song. As soon as the chorus finished, the lights went out and it was time for Kelsea Ballerini.
Kelsea slowly appeared center stage on top of a pile of suitcases. The song “Baggage” came to mind and sure enough that was the second song of the night. The crowd went wild. Everyone was on their feet singing along. The first thing I noticed was how good the sound was. Ballerini’s tour crew was on top of things. Kelsea sounded great herself. She seemed to be happy to be on that stage. There is just something about the vibes at a Country Music concert. People are in great spirits and looking to have a good time. Kelsea seemed determined to make everyone’s night a great one.
Kelsea greeted the Salt Lake audience with a “Happy Saturday, Salt Lake City! Hey!” She seemed to remember all of her Utah stops over the years. “At the amphitheater down the road (Utah First Amp) I got to open for Rascal Flats, Lady A, Keith Urban and the Jonas Brothers. A couple years ago I got to open up for my queen, push me in front of a train for Kelly Clarkson. On the last headlining tour.. I played Sandy. I remember that show was so hot. We were all sweating together for like two hours. I feel like you really build a friendship quickly when you sweat together for two hours. It was one of my favorite shows of that whole tour. And now we’re headlining this arena. And it’s insane to me!” The crowd went crazy. Kelsea was right. The vibes were a “Ten out of Ten”.
Kelsea Ballerinia really got the crowd going with songs like “Love Me Like You Mean It” and “hole in the bottle”. Fans were singing in each other’s face and dancing as if their favorite Kelsea Ballerini song came on in a bar. Ballerini was excited about the release of the deluxe version of her latest album, PATTERNS. She shared that she enjoyed this album because it had “a lot more of the love side of the story on the deluxe. I know that I play a lot of songs about heartbreaks and break ups and life changes. Those have certainly been a big part of my journey. But I really do love love. I get to meet couples at the meet and greet. Sometimes the girlfriend is dragging the boyfriend here”.
She mentioned that on this tour more than any other in her career it seemed that the boyfriends and other men were at her shows of their own volition. “So I would like to dedicate this song to the men who love women after heartbreak.” Which was of course, the title of her next song.
“To The Men That Love Women After Heartbreak” is one of my favorite Kelsea Ballerini songs. Turns out I’m not the only one. Not only is it her most played song on Apple Music, but the entire Delta Center seemed to know each and every word. Ballerini sings the song with such sincerity. She stood at the end of her catwalk with an acoustic guitar and very little additional accompaniment. The simplicity of the arrangement made the audience reactions and sing along that much more impactful.
Another awesome highlight of the show was when Kelsea walked back to the main stage and with her two backup singers she sang accapella a verse and chorus of “Peter Pan”. Two guitarists joined in to finish the songs with the women. These quiet and stripped down performances put the band and Kelsea Ballerini’s talent on full display.
While the stripped down set was impressive and extremely enjoyable, people embraced when the beats started up again and they were able to dance. People jumped back to their feet for “MUSCLE MEMORY”.
A hilarious portion of the show was when Kelsea read signs fans brought to the show. The one that had the audience fully invested said, “Will You Help Me Finish Rolling Up My Welcome Mat and Sign My Divorce Decree???”. Kelsea did not know what to do. She asked the audience, “Is this legal? Is this allowed?”. The big screen showed the fan with all the other signatures filled out with one space blank for Kelsea to sign. Ultimately she stated that she wouldn’t sign it for a couple reasons. “One because I don’t understand legal things as much as I probably should. And two, I respectfully, I”m really excited to stop being the poster child for divorce.” But she did write a letter to the fan on the back of the divorce decree.
Kelsea moved on from that moment saying, “If You came with someone you love, put your arm around them and give them some extra love tonight.” She then performed “I Would, Would You”. Ballerini made her way down some stairs at the side of the stage and walked to be closer to the audience. She took selfies, sang along with fans and just totally bonded with those lucky people along the railing to enage with her. Kelsea gave her back up singers a moment to shine when they broke into a cover of “Lean On Me”. I don’t care how many times I hear that song, I’ll always be excited to hear it. It’s one of those songs that hits a certain way. It just cuts through any shell.
Kelsea Ballerini closed the show with “How Do I Do This?” which ended with confetti flying throughout the arena, and “Penthouse (Healed Version”. Fans stayed in their seats and sang along to the ballad with Kelsea. It was a strong way to end a really connected night of music. Kelsea is on a run right now that she has worked hard for. It’s great to see all those shows in Utah where he opened for other artists pay off in a huge sold out arena show. I fully expect to see her in the Delta Center again.
