Utah Concert Review Archives - Utah Concert Review

December 13, 2024December 16, 2024

Chelsea Cutler and Jeremy Zucker

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

Reviewed and Photographed by Austin Davis

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.

December 12, 2024December 12, 2024

Leslie Odom Jr.

Leslie Odom Jr. • The Christmas Tour • December 8, 2024 • Eccles Theater

Reviewed by Kevin Rolfe

Leslie Odom Jr.’s performance at the Eccles Theater in Salt Lake City on December 8, 2024, as part of his The Christmas Tour, was a breathtaking celebration of holiday spirit, musical sophistication, and Odom’s unmatched artistry. The evening captivated an audience of all ages with a blend of festive classics and fresh interpretations. Known for his versatility as a Tony and Grammy Award-winning performer, Odom transformed the stage into a festive haven of warmth and joy.

December 12, 2024December 12, 2024

Kimberly Akimbo

Kimberly Akimbo • December 10, 2024 • Eccles Theater

Reviewed by Kevin Rolfe

Entering Eccles Theater on Tuesday night, I knew about as little about the musical Kimberly Akimbo as I think I have for any show ever. I knew that it won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2022 and that this show was called Kimberly Akimbo. That’s about it, which is rare for me. As a musical theater fan, I am usually up to date on most productions. And while I try to hold off on knowing too much until I’ve seen the show, for some reason this one totally slipped by me. It was only as I talked to another colleague that I learned that the show was about a teenager in high school with a rare condition that ages her faster to the point where she looks like a woman in her 60s.

December 12, 2024December 12, 2024

UCR Interview: Cherie Call of The Lower Lights

Cherie Call is a singer-songwriter and a member of the great Americana supergroup, The Lower Lights. It’s that time of year again when The Lower Lights begin their residency of holiday concerts at Kingsbury Hall on the campus of the University of Utah. Ticket information for these concerts and Cherie’s upcoming solo show will be provided at the end of this interview.

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.

December 1, 2024December 10, 2024

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Trans-Siberian Orchestra • November 20, 2024 • Delta Center

Reviewed by Kevin Rolfe

Photos by Jason McEachern

Do you ever wonder how traditions start? Is it something you’ve done for a few years and haven’t noticed, then once you have you decide that you’ll be doing it from then on? Or maybe it’s something that was happening long before you arrived and you are continuing. Many of my traditions started unintentionally. For example, I covered the Trans-Siberian Orchestra back in 2018. Little did I know that I would be returning to the Delta Center every year since, to review this band in late November. It’s a tradition I did not expect but have embraced.

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.

November 19, 2024November 19, 2024

Chase Atlantic

Chase Atlantic • 24kGoldn • November 13, 2024 • The Complex

Reviewed and Photographed by Amelia Weyerstall

“This may be the best night of your life so far, fingers crossed, and I say so far because life is very long and it’s also fleeting, if you want me to get deep with it, but for real it means the honest world to us that you guys came here and put us on this stage right now. So thank you Salt Lake City, make some MTF noise!” shouted Mitchel Cave, the lead singer for Chase Atlantic. The energy inside of the Rockwell at the Complex was electric when both Chase Atlantic and 24kGoldn took the stage. The entire west side of Salt Lake was shaking from the audience jumping along to the songs during the sold-out show on November 13^th.