Tag: Salt Lake City

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Picture This May 11, 2019, Kilby Court

By: Kevin Rolfe

When I first saw that Picture This would be playing Kilby Court on May 11 I thought ‘Great.  I’m not familiar with these guys so Kilby Court will be perfect for them.’. Then I rechecked the date and realized that May 11 would be the Kilby Court 20th Anniversary Block Party.  Death Cab For Cutie, who had played the all-ages venue way back in 1999 would be headlining the festival along with many bands who started in Utah and have since gained national attention. When I learned this I thought, what a perfect situation for Picture This to get some great attention here in Utah.

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Flora Cash April 23, 2019, The Depot

By: Kevin Rolfe

Photo By: Kevin Rolfe

When I got the invite to review Flora Cash I did a little research about the band to get myself familiar with them leading up to the show.  I became fascinated with their history and origin. Female vocalist Shpresa Lleshaj hails from Sweden. Male vocalist and guitarist Cole Randall is from Minnesota.  Shpresa discovered some of Cole’s tracks on SoundCloud. She began commenting on the tracks and they started sharing their music back and forth. They then started conversing over Facebook Messenger, then they’d talk on the phone, which was followed by lengthy Skype collaborations.  They finally met in Minneapolis. They than headed to Sweden to begin their career as a band. This ultimately led to their marriage and the band Flora Cash was born. Flora Cash is currently supporting lovelytheband on their current Finding it Hard to Smile U.S. tour.  The tour stopped at the Depot in downtown Salt Lake City on Tuesday, April 23.     

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Ben Folds & Utah Symphony Orchestra April 9, 2019, Abravanel Hall

By: Tiffany Mull

Ben Folds entered my radar in a real way at a Tori Amos concert. He’d just embarked on his solo career and she gave him a leg up by letting him open for her Lottapianos tour. He has grown as an artist since then and seems to have taken a cue from her refusal to draw harsh lines between the rock and classical music worlds. Ben was backed by the Utah Symphony Orchestra (along with a choir) which plumped out and embellished his melodies as well as faithfully performed pieces from his sonically ambitious So There album, written with an orchestral arrangement in mind. My one disappointment was that they did not perform Ben’s “Concerto for Piano and Orchestra” which topped Billboard Classical and Classical Crossover charts.

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P!nk April 3, 2019, Vivint Smart Home Arena

By: Kevin Rolfe

I remember the week following P!nk’s concert in May of 2018 I had a strong feeling that I had missed something special.  People were going on and on about how amazing the show was. So when it was announced shortly after the May concert that P!nk would be returning to Vivint Smart Home Arena in April of 2019 I knew I couldn’t miss this tour stop.  The only problem was having to wait for pretty much a year for her to come back. But years seem to fly by and before I knew it, P!nk made her much anticipated return to Utah.

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Noah Kahan March 23, 2019, The Union

By: Kevin Rolfe

Photo By: Kevin Rolfe

After seeing Noah Kahan play a sold-out show at The State Room back in October I thought I knew what was in store when I heard that he’d be supporting James Bay at The Union on March 23.  Back in October, Noah put on an exceptional show. The crowd was into it, and they left more than satisfied with the evening. So I had a feeling there would be more of the same at this show.  If anything, I thought perhaps it might be a bit of a letdown because Noah would be opening. I had no idea things would go like this.

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KOLARS March 22, 2019, Urban Lounge

By: Kevin Rolfe

Photo By: Kevin Rolfe

Exactly one year to the date of their last visit to Utah, KOLARS made their triumphant return to Salt Lake City.  The band performs yearly at the Treefort Festival in Boise, Idaho, so it makes perfect sense to stop and do a show here in town on their trek up north.  Last year they played Kilby Court on a rainy Thursday night. Both Lauren and Rob remembered our interview in their dressing room before the show as the rain pounded the roof of the tiny room.  This year KOLARS set up shop in The Urban Lounge.

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UCR Interview- Noah Kahan

Interview by: Kevin Rolfe

Photo By: Josh Goleman

Noah Kahan, a very talented singer-songwriter on the rise, is making his return to Utah this weekend when he supports James Bay on March 23 at The Union. This show comes on the heels of a sold-out show at The State Room. With a new album on the way and a successful lead single just released, Noah is an artist to keep an eye on. I enjoyed talking with Noah about the new album, choosing songs for that album, and what it’s like to headline versus open for someone. He was as interesting and insightful as always. Enjoy!

Noah Kahan: Hey Kevin, good to hear from you again.

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Maren Morris March 19, 2019 The Union

By: Kevin Rolfe

Photo By: Kevin Rolfe

Just five dates into her second headlining tour, Maren Morris made her first stop in Utah as a headliner on Tuesday night, bringing her Girl: The World Tour to The Union Events Center in Salt Lake City.  Morris had made previous stops in Utah as an opener for Keith Urban and Niall Horan but never as the headlining act. Walking to the venue I could tell from those walking beside me that this was a really big deal for Maren Morris fans.

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The Young Dubliners March 8, 2019

The Commonwealth Room

By Kevin Rolfe

Photo By: Kevin Rolfe

The Young Dubliners and Salt Lake City have had a love affair that started from the early stages of the band.  Lead vocalist, Keith Roberts, mentioned a number of times how much he loved playing Utah, and how good Salt Lake City has been to the band.  He even mentioned playing two sets one night at the long gone, Zephyr Club downtown. The band plays Utah pretty much every year, sometimes twice if there is a festival involved.  Still they pack in a warm and friendly crowd no matter the venue. It was obvious the moment I walked through the doors that the audience was excited to be there and hear some Celtic Rock.  

Friday night’s venue was The Commonwealth Room.  This venue has existed just over a year, and it’s becoming one of my favorite concert spots in Utah.  It holds less than a thousand people so there isn’t a bad spot in the room. The sound is great. And so far they have pulled in great talent, which seems to bring in the best and most appreciative audiences.  

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