Americana Music Archives - Utah Concert Review

September 25, 2024September 25, 2024

The Lower Lights

The Lower Lights • Masonic Temple • September 14, 2024

Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe

In the past decade, there hasn’t been a year that has gone by where I haven’t seen The Lower Lights in concert. Over that time I’ve seen this band more than any other. Typically I’ll catch one (sometimes two or three!) of their holiday residency at Kingsbury Hall on the campus of the University of Utah. Those concerts are a Christmas tradition that I refuse to miss. In the last couple of years, in addition to the Christmas concerts, The Lower Lights have gone back to their roots and performed non-holiday shows filled with classic hymns and old spirituals sprinkled with some more modern classics. Last year they played Sandy Amphitheater to great acclaim. For the first time in ten years, The Lower Lights returned to the Masonic Temple in Salt Lake City. A venue where they played many of their early now legendary shows.

October 19, 2021

Jade Bird October 4, 2021 The State Room

As a concert reviewer, I’ve had the opportunity to see many artists as they’re starting out. I’m always thrilled to see them move on to the next step of their career. An album release, a TV appearance, or what’s most impressive to me, when they stop back by Utah but in a larger venue than before. For example, we were able to cover Conan Grey, when he was at Kilby Court then again on his next tour at The Depot. Not everyone has that kind of trajectory in their music career so it’s exciting to see when it does happen.

Out of all these artists, my favorite has been Jade Bird. Jade was one of the very first artists to reach out to Utah Concert Review for coverage when she was coming to play Utah. Of course, this was exciting to me. One, the website was gaining some traction, and two, someone saw the value in it that they would want us out to cover their show. I eagerly accepted the invitation without having ever heard of Jade Bird or listened to her music. She was opening for Son Little at The State Room and that was about all I knew. But upon seeing that initial performance, I’ve become a big fan ever since.

July 28, 2021

UCR INTERVIEW: Grace Pettis of Nobody’s Girl

Nobody’s Girl: BettySoo, Rebecca Loebe, Grace Pettis

Americana/folk-pop supergroup, Nobody’s Girl features acclaimed singer-songwriters
BettySoo, Rebecca Loebe, and Grace Pettis. Each member of the band has a budding solo career of their own. They joined together and released an EP in 2018. They returned to the studio in September 2019 and recorded their first full length album. After waiting patiently through a worldwide pandemic their self-titled LP is due to be released on July 30.

I had the opportunity to visit with Grace Pettis about the upcoming album, her solo career, and a whole lot more. Enjoy!

September 22, 2019

Branson Anderson September 20, 2019, Kilby Court

By: Katie Barber

The crowd was forced to part as a casket was brought into the room. Its pallbearers strained under the weight before laying it down next to Kilby Court’s stage. The wildly unexpected sound of an industrial saw ripped through idle chatter—something was breaking free from within the casket. Emerged a figure with dark hair, a blue bandana around his neck, and a face painted ghostly white. Branson Anderson was back from the dead.