Foster the People

Foster the People

Foster the People • Good Neighbors • February 11, 2025 • The Union

Reviewed and Photographed by Morgan Newbold

Photo Credit: Morgan Newbold

Last week at The Union Event Center, Foster the People played a loooong-awaited headline show on their Paradise State of Mind tour, returning to Salt Lake City after 7 years! I was really stoked to see them for the first time! They’ve been a staple band for me since I was in middle school, and I know many people who attended were probably also seeing them for the first time. They just released their 4th album last summer, ‘Paradise State of Mind’. This one is such a feel-good, psychedelic, and pure Foster the People-sounding record.

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Lauren Mayberry

Lauren Mayberry • January 31, 2025 • Soundwell SLC

Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe

I have found that whenever a vocalist in a band decides to go solo, things can go one of two ways.  They create something interesting, and enjoyable and I become a fan of their work outside of the band from where I know them. The other is they try too hard to be different from the music we know them from. Or they aren’t able to put an album of songs together without their bandmates that their fans can connect with enough.  I can understand the desire to try to make your own music and create an album trying different styles and techniques.  It can be a risk, but I can’t blame an artist for wanting to do that.  I personally enjoyed Lauren’s debut solo album, Vicious Creature.  It was exciting to see that Mayberry announced a show in Salt Lake City.  I couldn’t wait to hear these songs live.

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Collective Soul

Collective Soul

Collective Soul • January 20, 2025 • The Union

Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe

We’ve had the opportunity to attend Collective Soul in concert multiple times.  The takeaway from each concert we’ve been to is authenticity.  This is such an authentic band.  They genuinely seem to enjoy themselves on stage.  Collective Soul seems to really appreciate their audience, and they appear to genuinely care about each other.  Those elements make for a great concert experience.  This Collective Soul concert at The Union Event Center in Salt Lake City was no exception.

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MANIA: The ABBA Tribute

MANIA: The ABBA Tribute • January 16, 2025 • The Depot

Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe

When I think of tribute bands, the first band that comes to mind is The Beatles.  But in what has to be a close second at this point is ABBA.  Over years, I have seen a major increase in the amount of ABBA tribute bands.  It’s clear that Utah is a hot spot for ABBA fans.  It seems whether it’s a tribute show or a regional production of the ABBA musical, Mama Mia, fans show up to see the songs of one of their favorite bands performed.  The Depot was the perfect location for ABBA fans to turn out on a cold Thursday night to be warmed up by this extremely danceable music. The show was a rare seated event at The Depot, but as I’m sure you can imagine, the seats were not used for long or very often.

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Chelsea Cutler and Jeremy Zucker

Chelsea Cutler • Jeremy Zucker • Ethan Tasch • December 7, 2024 • The Complex

Reviewed and Photographed by Austin Davis

Photo Credit: Austin Dayton

Close friends and singer-songwriters Chelsea Cutler and Jeremy Zucker brought their Brent Forever Tour to Salt Lake City, Utah this last weekend. One of only twelve stops on the tour, and second to last, both Chelsea and Jeremy brought passion, pain, and love to the stage in a full yet gentle force. Normally touring separately, the pair, who’s musical Ven diagram shares three EP albums, decided to focus a tour specifically on those shared albums and hit the road on the Brent Forever Tour. Fans of Chelsea and Jeremy were especially excited as this was the first time Cutler and Zucker had teamed up on tour. With them on their Salt Lake stop the pair brought special guest and indie folk artist Ethan Tasch. 

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Equality Utah 2024 Allies Gala featuring Andy Bell

Andy Bell

Allies Gala • Andy Bell • October 5, 2024 • Eccles Theater

Reviewed by Kevin Rolfe

Photographed by Alisha Gregson

So, I’m sitting down, drinking a protein shake, and watching the morning news.  I’m trying to convince myself that I need to start working, so I negotiate with myself that I’ll watch TV for 15 more minutes and then I HAVE to get to it.  Within that 15 minutes, I watched the local morning news, and I saw, Equality Utah Executive Director, Troy Williams talking about the upcoming Allies Gala.  He then mentions that the featured artist at the gala will be Andy Bell, the lead singer of the synth-pop duo, Erasure. My jaw dropped.  Erasure is my favorite band.  Learning that one half of my favorite band would be performing right here in Salt Lake City?  I knew I had to be there.  

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The The

The The

The The • October 30, 2024 • Eccles Theater

Reviewed and Photographed by Austin Dayton

Photo Credit: Austin Dayton

This last week, alternative indie band The The, led by the ever-enigmatic Matt Johnson, made their way to Salt Lake City Utah, playing their “Ensouled” world tour at the Eccles Theater.  The much-anticipated return of The The to the music scene was prefaced with “Ensoulment”, a new album released by the band earlier this year. The Utah-based audience that had crowded into the theater was treated to a near-perfect night of music across a vast musical landscape that included everything from new wave, alt-rock, post-punk and so much more. For many it had been 20-plus years since they had seen the band live, truly marking the performance as one to bring back old memories whilst cementing new ones! 

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Dashboard Confessional

Dashboard Confessional

Dashboard Confessional • Boys Like Girls • Taylor Acorn • October 15, 2024 • The Complex

Reviewed and Photographed by Morgan Newbold

Photo Credit: Morgan Newbold

Last week, Salt Lake welcomed alternative American rock band Dashboard Confessional to The Complex! They made their rounds to Utah on their fall U.S. tour, after 2 years since their last show here! I was stoked to see and photograph these guys! Their music has been something I keep coming back to over the past couple of years. I really enjoy their sound and their spirit. I got to shoot alongside some of my best friends and enjoy a phenomenal performance from Dashboard. The Complex is probably the venue I’ve photographed at the most, and it’s always a great time. This was a nearly sold out show, and it was PACKED. Even as the first of two openers came on at 6:30 on a Tuesday night, a majority of the fans were already there! 

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Weezer

Weezer

UCR On Tour • Weezer • Voyage to the Blue Planet Tour • The Flaming Lips • Dinasaur Jr. • October 1, 2024 • Blue Arena • Loveland, Colorado

Reviewed and Photographed by Alisha Gregson

I have been a Weezer fan for as long as I can remember. When it comes to ranking my favorite bands, they come second only to The Beatles. It was actually at a Weezer concert a few years ago that I first felt the desire to become a concert photographer. Just a few months later, I covered my first show. I had no idea just how much one Weezer concert would change my life. 

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Cigarettes After Sex

Cigarettes After Sex

Cigarettes After Sex • October 3, 2024 • Delta Center

Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe

Alternative band, more specifically Dream Pop band, Cigarettes After Sex returned to Utah just over a year after they played a sold-out show in Ogden.  Cigarettes After Sex was part of the 2023 Ogden Twilight Concert Series lineup.  Not only were they part of the lineup, but the show was one of the most anticipated in the series.  The show sold out and people were paying a premium on the second-hand market just to get in.  While I wasn’t surprised that the band would be returning to Utah soon.  I must admit that I did not anticipate them playing the Delta Center.  Not only did they play the premier venue, they sold it out!  

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