Red Butte Garden Archives - Utah Concert Review

August 4, 2025August 4, 2025

Toad the Wet Sprocket

Toad the Wet Sprocket • The Jayhawks • Sixpence None the Richer • July 28, 2025 • Red Butte Garden Amphitheater

Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe

Toad the Wet Sprocket brought their Good Intentions 2025 Tour to the beautiful Red Butte Garden Amphitheater on Monday, July 28. The Jayhawks and 90s contemporaries, Sixpence None the Richer, joined them. Red Butte Garden Amphitheater was sold out and filled with concertgoers on blankets before the show. People were eating, drinking, and conversing as the excitement grew for the concert. Toad the Wet Sprocket frontman, Glen Phillips, last appeared in Utah at the Capitol Theater on a co-headlining acoustic tour with John Craggie. That was a great night of storytelling and music. He told us then that he would be back this summer with the band. I heard a number of people talking about that show and how much they enjoyed it. They also included how much they were looking forward to seeing the full band on this tour.

July 30, 2025July 30, 2025

Alison Krauss and Union Station

Alison Krauss and Union Station • Willie Watkins • July 25, 2025 • Red Butte Garden Amphitheater

Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe

Bluegrass legends Alison Krauss and Union Station, featuring Jerry Douglas, have reunited. They hit the road for the first time in a decade. Earlier this year, they released their eighth studio album, “Arcadia.” They brought their tour of the same name to Red Butte Garden Amphitheater on July 25. I can’t think of a better pairing of band and venue. I have seen Alison Krauss before, so I knew that this would be an amazing night of music. However, seeing her with Union Station is an altogether different experience. One that I knew I wanted to check off the list. Am I ever glad I did.

July 17, 2025July 17, 2025

Watchhouse

Watchhouse • Frail Talk • July 13, 2025 • Red Butte Garden Amphitheater

Reviewed and Photographed by Austin Dayton

Nestled amid the trees and foothills of the Wasatch Front, one can find one of the best Venues in all of Utah, Red Butte Garden Amphitheater. Last weekend, Folk band Watchhouse took that foliage-surrounded stage and turned the quiet hillside into a sanctuary of sound. With subtle and sweet melodies, intimate lyrics, and musicianship that could stop someone in their tracks, the North Carolina-based folk duo shared a performance that felt more like a neighborhood gathering than a concert. Setting up the evening to be even more memorable, a stirring supporting set from Colorado-based indie folk group Frail Talk was in store.

May 28, 2025May 29, 2025

Cheap Trick

Cheap Trick • May 19, 2025 • Red Butte Garden Amphitheater

Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe

It’s hard to believe, but it’s once again that time of year. The Red Butte Outdoor Concert Series has officially begun! Concerts at Red Butte have been a highlight of my Utah summers long before I ever began reviewing concerts. The location is amazing, the lineup is without fail some of the best artists in music. One of my favorite things about heading up to a Red Butte show is that no matter how hot it is in the Salt Lake Valley, you can head up to Red Butte Garden for a concert and it’ll definitely be cooler. In fact, you may just need a sweatshirt and blanket by show’s end.

September 17, 2024September 17, 2024

Keane

Keane • September 8, 2024 • Red Butte Garden Amphitheater

Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe

Twelve years. TWELVE YEARS! It’s been twelve years since Alternative Rock band, Keane made a tour stop in Salt Lake City. It’s been about that long since they’ve played most cities. A lengthy hiatus, solo projects, and conquering a myriad of issues in their personal lives have kept the boys from Winslow, England away from the road. But on September 8, 2024, Keane triumphantly returned to Utah. Red Butte Garden Amphitheater was jam-packed. In speaking with some of the venue’s employees, I was informed that this was one of the shows that sold out the fastest. That didn’t surprise me at all. Keane is a band very high on my list of favorite bands. I had heard rumblings that they’d be touring The States over the summer and I had my fingers crossed that they’d be playing SLC.

August 23, 2024August 23, 2024

Shakey Graves

Shakey Graves • Atta Boy • August 19, 2024 • Red Butte Garden Amphitheater

Reviewed and Photographed by Austin Dayton

A sold-out crowd packed their way into Red Butte Garden this last Monday, August 19^th, to spend their evening singing and dancing with folk-rock, singer-songwriter, Shakey Graves. The Salt Lake City crowd was treated to a high-energy yet personal show by the Austin city-based performer. One could not have asked for a better evening as all the stars seemed to align, the days of storming had just cleared up and set the stage for one of the best shows of the summer.

August 28, 2023

Markéta Irglová & Glen Hansard of The Swell Season

Markéta Irglová•Glen Hansard•August 21, 2023•Red Butte Garden

Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe

There have been some huge concerts this summer. We at Utah Concert Review have had the opportunity to cover many of them. Massive shows out at USANA like the Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins, and Shania Twain, or at Delta Center with major favorites like The Cure, NF, and Greta Van Fleet have made this summer special. But Markéta Irglová & Glen Hansard of The Swell Season at Red Butte Garden was one of my most anticipated concerts of the year. These artists at this venue are as good a match as you’ll find in a concert experience.

August 7, 2023

Andy Grammer

Andy Grammer•August 3, 2023•Red Butte Garden

Reviewed and Photographed by Jenica Schulz

When Andy Grammer took the stage in Salt Lake City, Utah, the crowd erupted into cheers as he kicked off his performance with the anthemic hit, “Love is the New Money.” He makes an analogy he heard from a John Mayer show saying “Remember as a kid and you had the crackers and peanut butter but you try to equally distribute it for every cracker, but you have a ton of leftover peanut butter at the end? Well, this is the last night of the tour and we have a lot of extra peanut butter.” Little did he know that Mother Nature had a surprise in store for them.

July 17, 2023

Blues Traveler & Big Head Todd and The Monsters

Blues Traveler•Big Head Todd and The Monsters•July 11, 2023•Red Butte Garden

Reviewed and Photographed by Alisha Gregson

July 11th was a night to remember for Salt Lake City concertgoers. Blues Traveler and Big Head Todd and The Monsters rocked the Red Butte Garden. Fans of both bands were in for a treat. The two acts delivered an unforgettable show that had the crowd on its feet. From the opening notes of Big Head Todd’s set to the final encore of Blues Traveler’s, the evening was a high-energy show.

July 13, 2023

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit•Deer Tick•July 8, 2023• Red Butte Garden

Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe

There are some nights where an evening, and a venue match an artist just perfectly. Jul 8, 2023 at Red Butte Garden the great Jason Isbell and his incredible band the 400 Unit stopped by Salt Lake City on what was a quintessential Utah summer evening. Every so often Isbell comes to Utah and plays another venue. Some of them are venues I typically like. But when a venue like Red Butte pairs this well, it’s clear that he should never play any other venue when he comes to Utah.

On this tour Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit would be featuring their recently released album Weathervanes. So much so that they played eleven of the thirteen songs on the album. They mixed in a number of crowd favorites and hit singles that brought together both audience and artists. I had been anticipating this concert as one of my “Must See” concerts since it was announced. It did not disappoint.