On July 22, 2025, AJR brought their “Somewhere in the Sky Tour” to Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre, and the energy was electric from the very beginning. The pop band made up of brothers, Adam, Jack, and Ryan Met, drew in fans of all ages, including many teens, young adults, and families. Fans were decked out in AJR merch, and I spotted quite a few trapper hats just like the one that lead singer Jack is known for. Before the music even started, long merch lines stretched across the plaza, and excited chatter about past tours and hoped-for songs filled the air.
On July 25, 2025, Lindsey Stirling made her return to Utah, joining the Utah Symphony at the Snow Park Outdoor Amphitheater for an unforgettable night. This was the last show on the run of Lindsey’s “Night With The Symphony” tour. As part of the Deer Valley Music Festival, Lindsey, her band consisting of drummer Drew Steen and guitarist/keyboardist Ryan Riveros, and the Utah Symphony brought together the elegance of orchestral music and Lindsey’s high-energy violin performance — all set against the stunning mountain backdrop.
Back in January, Collective Soul frontman Ed Roland revealed to the audience at The Union Events Center in downtown Salt Lake City that Collective Soul would be heading on tour for the summer with their contemporaries, the band Live. The crowd reacted much the same as I did, excited and already anticipating what that tour would be like. They were joined by Our Lady Peace on what has been titled, “The Summer Unity Tour.” It was another hot night at Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre, but fans of the late 90s early 2000s showed up to see these bands do their thing.
Lyle Lovett is known the world over as a renowned Country Music singer and songwriter. But to me, he is much more than that. I think he’s one of the more unique artists we have in this generation. Yes, he does sing Country. And so many of his hits have come under the Country Music genre. But he is versatile in a way that is so much different than his Country contemporaries. His voice and style are so unique. When you hear a song, you know it’s a Lyle Lovett song.
Lovett is a performer whom I hadn’t given as much attention to as I should have when he was at his peak. But as his career has reached legendary status, it’s been a pleasure to become more familiar with this one of one. Lyle Lovett and his Large Band stopped by Sandy Amphitheater on a day fitting of a Texas gentleman.
On June 28, 2025, The Strike closed out their five-stop North American tour with a high-energy performance at Utah’s newest concert venue, the Rio Tinto Kenecott Stage at America First Square in South Jordan. The venue in Daybreak is part of the new ballpark that is home to the Salt Lake Bees. As a photographer and concert lover, I’ve been to countless venues across the state—and I can confidently say this one is a standout. It was Utah Concert Review’s first time covering a show at the venue, and I’m already looking forward to coming back.
The Salt Lake Twilight concert series is a collection of shows that takes place every summer, hosted at either the Gallivan Center or Library Square in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. It brings in some of the best bands and artists that people want to see. With a stacked lineup of shows this summer, the concert series yields an amazing show for all ages, and the EARTHGANG show did not disappoint. One of the great things about this concert series is that it consistently does a great job of highlighting Utah’s local bands to open for such legendary headliners. For this concert, we had Utah-based band Bad Luck Brigade.
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?
Country Music singer, Cody Johnson, brought his “Leather Deluxe Tour” to Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre on Saturday, Jun 28, 2025. He brought Wade Bowen and Mae Estes along with him. The last time we covered CoJo was back in February 2020, just weeks before the world shut down due to the pandemic. He was opening for Country Music superstar Miranda Lambert at the Delta Center in downtown Salt Lake City. I remember enjoying his energetic performance. He set the bar high for Miranda, and it made for a great night of Country Music.
There’s something so cool about seeing a musician along the journey of their career go from supporting other artists on their tours to headlining their own tour. I was happy for Cody Johnson that his career has gone the way it’s gone. He not only brought his headlining tour to one of Utah’s largest concert venues, but he sold the place out! I’ve said this before, and I’ll most likely say it every time I attend a Country concert, but there is nothing like the vibe at this type of show. People were in great spirits. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. And this was in between sets! I’m sure you can imagine what it was like when the music was actually being played. I was happy to be at Utah First Amp for this show.
There are just some shows that are more anticipated than others. Mumford & Sons was that show for me. It had been six years since the guys had played Utah. This would be my first opportunity to review and photograph one of my favorite bands. It seemed very clear inside Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre that I was not the only one eagerly anticipating this concert. We had waited long enough, and now we were all getting to experience the North American Tour promoting the release of “Rushmere”.
Modest Mouse sold out the Ogden Amphitheater on the 28th of June. Lead singer of Built to Spill Doug Martsch would join them and open the show. This has been one of the more anticipated shows of the Ogden Twilight Concert Series. I was glad the date had finally arrived.
