I have found that whenever a vocalist in a band decides to go solo, things can go one of two ways. They create something interesting, and enjoyable and I become a fan of their work outside of the band from where I know them. The other is they try too hard to be different from the music we know them from. Or they aren’t able to put an album of songs together without their bandmates that their fans can connect with enough. I can understand the desire to try to make your own music and create an album trying different styles and techniques. It can be a risk, but I can’t blame an artist for wanting to do that. I personally enjoyed Lauren’s debut solo album, Vicious Creature. It was exciting to see that Mayberry announced a show in Salt Lake City. I couldn’t wait to hear these songs live.
Spencer Sanders live at The Rise in Provo, UT was a night full of folk sounds and storytelling through whimsical melodies. With family, friends, and family in attendance, The Rise made for a close and intimate stage setup. Allowing the artist to interact with the crowd and celebrate their music in a cozy way.
Ramin Karimloo and The Broadgrass Band • January 24, 2025 • BYU Concert Hall
Reviewed by Kevin Rolfe
Photographed by Molly McCoy
I find it interesting the way we discover the artists we come to like. Back in the day, we’d hear a song on the radio, buy the album, and fall in love with a band by listening to them over and over. Sometimes, we’ll see a band or singer open a concert for someone we intend to see, and they end up becoming one of our favorites. More often today, we hear a song on TikTok or Instagram and go down the rabbit hole looking for more music than just the 30-second clip we heard. When it comes to becoming a fan of a star of musical theater it can be a little trickier. Most often we’ll hear a cast album and fall in love with a voice. From then on, pay attention to what they’ve done or will end up doing.
We’ve had the opportunity to attend Collective Soul in concert multiple times. The takeaway from each concert we’ve been to is authenticity. This is such an authentic band. They genuinely seem to enjoy themselves on stage. Collective Soul seems to really appreciate their audience, and they appear to genuinely care about each other. Those elements make for a great concert experience. This Collective Soul concert at The Union Event Center in Salt Lake City was no exception.
The “stars” on the ceiling of the Eccles Theater felt like a snowy scene when the Christmas band, Mannheim Steamroller, took the stage in SLC on December 16th, 2024. As the crowd filed into their seats in their fanciest holiday outfits, holiday cheer was undoubtedly in the air.
The up-and-coming Carter Faith started the show with a bang, immediately causing the crowd to be shouting and swaying about. The North Carolinian moved to Nashville after college to pursue country music and was met with overwhelming success. Faith was named as “the future of the next 10 years of Nashville” by the Whisky Jam founder (a music venue in Nashville that hosts artists before they become household names) along with being named a “Rookie of the Month” by Billboard in March of 2022. Spotify also put Faith on their “Hot Country Artists to Watch” list, a huge accomplishment.
Carter Faith’s energy warmed the crowd in a dreamy manner. The flow of her dress and songbird voice were immaculate, adding to the atmosphere of her performance. Funnily enough, Faith said that she wrote one of her most popular songs, “Lasso,” while watching the TV show Yellowstone, which made the crowd laugh as the headliner for the night, Luke Grimes, played a major role in the show.
The song “Grudge” also really got the crowd moving, based on how “When you live in a small town, word gets around… and every time after you find out, you’re going to find out about it” stated Faith, while also prefacing the song with how “It’s a joke y’all, Jesus has a sense of humor” this song had the crowd cheering and singing along by the end. The passionate Carter Faith opened the night wonderfully, bringing a level of energy to the crowd for Luke Grimes
Luke Grimes came out on stage met with excited cheers from the audience, with the stage completely dark, Grimes began to play “Innerbloom Intro”. As the song ended, all the lights came up in warm reds and oranges, and Grimes asked how the crowd was doing. He was met with enthusiastic shouts and cheers, just before saying how “the crowd seems so supportive” and he’s so grateful to be able to play for the audience tonight.
Grimes grew up in Ohio, before moving to New York to pursue acting. Through the years he has had many roles on various TV shows and movies, however, the one that most of the crowd at the concert knew of was “Yellowstone”. While a very popular show, he probably drew a few more fans to the Complex since a few seasons of the television show were filmed in Utah. During the concert, Grimes said “How Salt Lake was a second home for a while, I did a lot of work out here. We were in Park City for this little TV show I did for a bit. I really miss this part of the world” meaning when he was out here filming “Yellowstone”.
While performing, Grimes had this warm and inviting energy that he brought to the stage. Even during his “slow and sad” acoustic set, he brough this passion and warm nature to the forefront of his performance. The crowd was swaying along to the music the whole show, and there were even a few couples in the crowd slow dancing to the songs.
The majority of the songs played during the show were from Grimes’ debut album “Luke Grimes” which was released earlier this year. Before the song “Black Powder” Grimes said how this was a good dancing song, and he wasn’t wrong, the whole crowd was dancing and jumping along. In the middle of the song, Grimes also took a minute to introduce the band, even saying “how sorry he was to the ladies in the audience as his bassist was taken, as he recently got married a few weeks ago, how the only thing thicker than his groove was his mustache, in regards to his drummer. Along with how his right-hand man and guitarist has the fastest fingers in the world.” Grimes also said “how much he appreciates the band and how they make him look good every weekend”
Before the end of the night, Grimes said how he had one more song and told the crowd “Thank you for being so supportive and coming out tonight” and how “sometimes I just have to look around and pinch myself because he can’t believe this is happening.” He then left the stage seemingly for the end of the night until the crowd begged him to come out and play one more song. Grimes excitedly ran back onto the stage and stated how the encore is his favorite part of the night because it made everyone turn around and come back to see the final song. That night, his final song ended up being a cover of the Nirvana song “All Apologies” which caused the crowd to go wild.
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.
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!
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.
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.
