80s Archives - Utah Concert Review

May 29, 2026June 2, 2026

Echo & the Bunnymen

Echo & the Bunnymen • May 21, 2026 • The Union Events Center

Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe

For more than four decades, Echo & the Bunnymen have occupied a unique place in alternative rock history. Their music helped define an era while continuing to resonate with generations of fans who discovered the band long after its initial rise to prominence. When the legendary British group brought their “More Songs To Learn & Sing” Tour to the Union Event Center in Salt Lake City, the evening became a celebration of a catalog that has endured through changing musical trends, proving that great songs never lose their power.

June 10, 2025June 10, 2025

OMD

OMD • June 6, 2025 • The Union

Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe

Summer is here. The warmer weather means more concerts. There are so many shows coming to Utah this summer and anticipation is high for so many of them. It’s one thing to get excited about seeing one of your favorite bands come to Utah. It’s another thing when that band was scheduled to play almost a year ago and had to cancel. That was the case with Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark, or OMD.

September 5, 2024September 5, 2024

Howard Jones + ABC + Haircut One Hundred

Howard Jones • ABC • Haircut One Hundred • August 17, 2024 • Sandy Amphitheater

Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe

Some concerts are better than others. I hope that’s the most obvious statement I make in this article. I go to a lot of concerts and I love it. There is something (for the most part) great in every show I have the privilege of covering. But certain concerts just check all the boxes. Howard Jones played two headlining sold-out shows at Sandy Amphitheater on August 16 and 17.

New Wave greats, ABC and Haircut One Hundred joined Howard. This was one of those shows that checked all the boxes that I look for as an avid concertgoer. Entertaining headliner, check. Support band that could be a headliner on their own, check. Opener that I have never seen and always wanted to, check! It was a great mix of music from a nostalgic early MTV era that I loved so much. Judging by the two sold-out nights, I wasn’t the only one who felt this way.

May 3, 2023

Ministry w/ Gary Numan

Ministry• Gary Numan• April 21, 2023• The Union

Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe

It was a night of musical pioneers at The Union on April 23, 2023. Industrial Metal legends, Ministry returned to Salt Lake City with New Wave Icon, Gary Numan. Upon first hearing of this lineup, some might wonder if the matchup of these two is the right fit. But I can assure anyone curious that this was an excellent fit. Most of the fans walking into The Union Events Center donned all black. But there were some who went all out for the concert. I Saw huge mohawks, platform boots, sequin skirts, you name it. People were ready for this show. I had never seen either artist. Gary Numan was supposed to play in Utah this past winter but I believe his show was canceled due to weather. I was excited to see what was in store for me.

August 22, 2019

B-52’s 40th Anniversary Tour w/ OMD & Berlin August 16, 2019, Red But Garden

By: Kevin Rolfe

When I saw that Berlin, OMD, and the B-52’s were going to tour together to celebrate the B-52’s 40th anniversary I was really excited. I also thought this was such a random collection of great bands from the 80s. Being from the same decade is really where their similarities stop. But maybe that was enough because the show at Red Butte Garden Amphitheater totally worked! It was one of my favorite concerts of the whole summer.

August 20, 2019

Lost 80’s Live! August 15, 2019, Sandy Amphitheater

By: Kevin Rolfe

Nostalgia can be a beautiful thing. And Sandy Amphitheater was full of it on August 15. The amphitheater was full of people thinking back to their youth and to the songs that made up the soundtrack of their lives back then. Many of those songs were on display during the Lost 80’s Live Tour. With a lineup including A Flock of Seagulls, Wang Chung, The Vapors, Boys Don’t Cry, The Escape Club, Real Life, and Farrington & Mann(Original Members of When in Rome UK) you get the most bang for your buck. Several bands performing some of the ’80s most iconic songs in one show. When I was stationed by the soundboard to take pictures a man stopped to chat with me. I asked him what he thought of shows like this. He thought it was great. He stated that he could see all these bands at once whereas he might not be able to see all of them if they toured individually. We also discussed that this gave these bands the opportunity to play to a larger audience then they might if they toured on their own. He shared that he had seen A Flock of Seagulls way back in the early 80s and was excited to see them again. He also stated that he had never seen When in Rome when they were first on the scene so he was excited to finally hear “The Promise” live by original vocalists Farrington & Mann.

June 10, 2019

NKOTB Mixtape Tour June 6, 2019, Vivint Arena

By: Kevin Rolfe

If you had told me thirty years ago that I would be covering a New Kids on the Block concert I would never have believed you. For starters, I don’t think thirty years younger me would have known that I’d be covering concerts at all. He also probably thought there was no way he’d ever be caught going to an NKOTB show. What boy in his early teens is going to like a group that is taking all the attention away from him and his other guy friends. Now if you told me thirty years ago that I would be going to a New Kids on the Block concert and liking it, well I would have just called you a liar. But I went to the NKOTB Mixtape Tour at Vivint Arena and left extremely entertained! There is something to be said about putting on a quality show. The New Kids invited some artists from their hay day to join them on the tour. Salt-N-Pepa, Naughty By Nature, Tiffany and Debbie Gibson filled out the Mixtape Tour lineup. The combination of these 80s superstars filled the evening with nostalgia and a really good time.