Salt Lake City Music Scene Archives

March 25, 2025March 25, 2025

mxmtoon

mxmtoon | Juliet Ivy | March 21, 2025 | Soundwell

Reviewed and Photographed by Marlo Matamoros

mxmtoon pronounced (em-ex-em-toon) took the stage at a sold-out show at Soundwell in Salt Lake City on a Friday night. mxmtoon opened for AJR last year in July in Salt Lake City and is back this year headlining her own liminal space tour. She brought singer-songwriter Juliet Ivy along. I have never been to Soundwell so I was excited to see the space and feel the atmosphere. I walked into the venue and the first thing that I noticed was how packed it was. mxmtoon merch covered the shirts of many and the venue was loud.

March 13, 2025March 13, 2025

Soccer Mommy

Soccer Mommy • Hana Vu • March 8, 2025 • The Depot

Reviewed and Photographed by Amelia Weyerstall

A flower-filled stage of the Depot welcomed Soccer Mommy and Hana Vu to an incredible crowd of fans in SLC.

“Soccer Mommy – the musical project of beloved Nashville songwriter and musician Sophie Allison – began her career as a teenager, sharing music on Bandcamp in near-demo form. Recent years have found her enjoying synthesizers and experimental production, thanks to endless studio resources newly at her fingertips.”

March 10, 2025March 10, 2025

Dream Theater

Dream Theater • March 4, 2025 • Maverik Center

Reviewed and Photographed by Sam Howard

For 40 years, Dream Theater has been making music and playing shows all over the world. On March 4th, 2025, they made their way to the Maverick Center in West Valley City, Utah. This massive venue, home to many legendary performances and even the Winter Olympics in 2002, seemed to be the perfect spot for this reunion tour. With the big sound of the band, mixed with the arena setting, it seemed that there could be no other place for Dream Theater to make their return to Utah.

March 10, 2025March 10, 2025

Glixen

Glixen • She’s Green • After • March 3, 2025 • Kilby Court

Reviewed and Photographed by Amelia Weyerstall

Kilby Court was filled with excited fans dressed in studded leather jackets, headbanging along to the incredible shoegaze band Glixen. All three bands shook the venue with their bass and had the audience nodding and headbanging along to their songs.

March 6, 2025March 6, 2025

FINNEAS

FINNEAS • The Bad Suns • March 2, 2025 • The Union

Reviewed by Josilyn Wakkury Lybbert

Photographed by Vanessa Holt, courtesy of Live Nation

FINNEAS made a sold-out, highly anticipated stop on his For Cryin’ Out Loud Tour in Salt Lake City on March 2, 2025! He drew in multitudes for his show at The Union Event Center! I’ve battled for parking at concerts before, but never like I did for FINNEAS’ show! While that can pose some obstacles, I’ve found that that demand always indicates that we’re in for an incredible show! And spoiler – were we ever!

March 5, 2025March 5, 2025

Mackenzy Mackay

Mackenzy Mackay • Savanna Leigh • March 1, 2025 • Soundwell

Reviewed and Photographed by Sam Howard

If a show is happening at Soundwell, you can expect it to be a great time. It was no different for the Mackenzy Mackay concert that took place here on March 1, 2025. With the nearly sold-out venue, there were all kinds of fans packed in the building, ranging from parents bringing their kids to groups having a girls’ night out, but the most noticeable profile of the crowd was that it was filled with young couples out for date night. Soundwell was the perfect venue for everyone there, both for the young lovers and the parents bringing their kids.

December 10, 2024December 10, 2024

Sixpence None The Richer

Sixpence None The Richer • December 4, 2024 • The State Room

Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe

The Fall into Winter concert calendar in Utah can be a little thin. After a Summer filled with multiple shows to choose from on a nightly basis, concerts can be more difficult to come by as tours slow down around the holidays and end of the year. So when I saw that Alternative Rock band, Sixpence None The Richer would be playing The State Room in Salt Lake City, I thought, well there’s a show worth checking out. I figured I’d know a handful of songs and if anything it would be a night of nostalgia. Reliving some of my life’s soundtrack from the late 90s and early 2000s. And while there was a bit of that. I was surprised when I realized the show was much more than that.

November 25, 2024November 25, 2024

Mark Ambor + Kenzie

Mark Ambor • Kenzie • November 19, 2024 • The Complex

Reviewed and Photographed by Josilyn Wakkuri Lybbert

Fans of indie artist Mark Ambor happily waited in line and braced cold temperatures to get the perfect spot for his highly anticipated, sold-out Rockwood Tour stop at The Complex in Salt Lake City! It didn’t surprise me when a security guard said that over 900 tickets were sold for the show because even before the show started, the crowd flowed out into the lobby and couldn’t fit into the entire room in the venue that the show was to take place in!

I quickly noticed that the crowd was more diverse in age than I was expecting! While a large portion of the fans were teens to twenty-something year olds, there were quite a few people beyond that age range, and I even noticed a handful of little kids. One stood right at the barricade but couldn’t even see over it!

November 21, 2024November 21, 2024

State Champs

State Champs • Knuckle Puck • Meet Me @ The Altar • Daisy Grenade • November 18, 2024 • The Depot

Reviewed and Photographed by Sam Howard

The Depot is a venue that makes a show’s production feel huge while still maintaining a very intimate experience between the audience and the performer. State Champs playing there was no different. With big sounds from the stage, an audience of roughly 650 people, and a pop-punk fan’s dream of an opening lineup, the State Champs’ show was definitely one that got the crowd’s hearts beating hard. The crowd grew more hyped with each opening act, all the while having a good mix of people attending to see each band and not just the headliner.

November 21, 2024November 21, 2024

Hockey Dad

Hockey Dad • Remo Drive • Tatiana Hazel • November 14, 2024 • The Complex

Reviewed and Photographed by Morgan Newbold

Last Thursday, surf rock band Hockey Dad came out to Salt Lake City to play a lowkey, intimate gig at The Complex! They just got started on their US/Australia tour this winter with Tatiana Hazel and Remo Drive! I am always grateful to photograph shows of artists that I’m hearing for the first time! It’s a great experience and challenge to shoot, not knowing what to expect. However, I did listen to Tatiana beforehand and now I am definitely a new fan of hers! This was honestly the most intimate show I’ve attended at The Complex, but the energy was UP in the Grand room! With a majority of young fans in the crowd, everyone came to get absolutely wild. This show brought a triple threat of indie-rock splendor! I certainly enjoyed sitting back and losing myself in the music when I wasn’t shooting.