Tag: Utah Music Scene

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A Retrospective: JOSEPH March 11, 2020 The Commonwealth Room

As I pulled into The Commonwealth Room parking lot on March 11, 2020, to cover JOSEPH, I could already tell things were different.  So different that I parked within the first three spots next to the venue.  

Just a little under a week earlier I was at The Commonwealth Room. I was watching The Lone Bellow perform in front of a sold-out room.  There were a couple of masks being worn, but the place was packed and people were standing shoulder to shoulder.  I walked up to the box office to get my ticket and photo pass and asked, “How’s it looking in there?”.  “Well, it’s definitely not a full house.  This show was almost sold out.”  It was clear to me that people were already beginning to practice what we would hear so much in the following year, “social distancing”.  

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UCR INTERVIEW: Tim Smith of The Lickerish Quartet

THE LICKERISH QUARTET—ex-Jellyfish members Roger Joseph Manning Jr.
(Beck, Air, Cheap Trick, Imperial Drag), Tim Smith (Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, The Finn Brothers, Sheryl Crow, Umajets) and Eric Dover (Imperial Drag, Slash’s Snakepit, Alice Cooper, Sextus)—is standing by their promise to their fans to release more new music before the end of 2020. They’re excited to announce their highly anticipated THREESOME VOL. 2 EP, which was released on January 8, 2021, via Stranger Danger Records and Tapes. The first single and video, “Snollygoster Goon,” can be seen now on the band’s official YouTube page and streamed on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon.

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ZZ Ward March 2, 2020 The Complex

By: Kevin Rolfe

Photo Credit: Kevin Rolfe @utahconcertreview

Back in 2012, I was at the concert of a band (who shall remain nameless) who was huge that year.  Their songs were on the charts, they were all over TV and everybody seemed to really like them. Obviously I liked them, I was at their concert. But I remember leaving the venue and running into a former coworker.  I asked him if he liked the concert and he stated that he wasn’t at that concert but at the venue nearby seeing ZZ Ward. I knew the name but wasn’t familiar with her music. He stated that he could hear the concert I was at through the wall dividing the venues.  He then mentioned, “Sounds like it was a good time.” But he said it in a tone that let me know, it wasn’t as good as his show. ZZ Ward was playing in a smaller, more intimate venue so I thought, “There’s no way that show was better than mine!” Well in the following days, I heard people at other shows I was attending and posts online mentioning how amazing that ZZ Ward show was.  All this time later, I wished I could have seen her in that tiny no longer used venue. Finally, on March 2 I was able to see what all the fuss was about.

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Electric Guest w/ Soleima February 22, 2020, Urban Lounge

By: Evelyn Salazar

Photo Credit: Evelyn Salazar @takenbyevelyn

Last Saturday night, Electric Guest and Soleima sold out The Urban Lounge in downtown Salt Lake City. People of all kinds rushed inside as soon as doors opened to grab their drinks from the bar and get close to the stage. If it’s a sold out show, you know it’s going to be a good night. There were even people outside seeing if anyone had tickets for sale in hopes to get inside. I made my way up towards the stage and secured a spot. Urban Lounge is a smaller venue with a bar inside, so there’s no photo pit. So I really can’t leave my spot if I want to be at a good angle to take some photos. 

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UCR INTERVIEW: Cherish DeGraaf

Photo Credit: Rachel Clark

By: Kevin Rolfe

For the next two weekends, Velour Live Music Gallery will be celebrating the 10th Anniversary of their highly acclaimed all female showcase Les Femmes De Velour.  This is one of our favorite events of the year here at UCR. The showcase has been expanded from one weekend to two and will be featuring 26 incredible female artists.  We caught up with Cherish DeGraaf who will be performing on Night 1 (2/20). Here is our conversation. Enjoy!

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UCR Interview/ Review: Midge Ure January 24, 2020, The State Room

By: Kevin Rolfe with contributions by Heather Callister

Friday, January 24, 2020, at The State Room, was a special night for any music fan, but especially for fans of Midge Ure of Visage, Ultravox or Thin Lizzy fame.  Midge Ure gave his fans a treat in one of Utah’s best music venues with his Songs Questions and Answers acoustic tour.   A more appropriately named tour there has never been.  It was just Ure a microphone and a guitar on that stage.  He walked out and played his only truly planned song of the evening, “Dear God”.  From there it was in the hands of the audience.

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Isabel Leonard w/ the Utah Symphony January 9, 2020, The Noorda

By: Kevin Rolfe

Isabel Leonard is a two time Grammy Award winning mezzo-soprano who has appeared all over the world from the Metropolitan Opera in New York to the Vienna State Opera in Austria.  And there she was Thursday evening, with our own Utah Symphony, on the stage of The Noorda Center for the Performing Arts in Orem, Utah. I don’t think we realize what an honor it is to have Isabel here in our state.  Not only did Ms. Leonard perform last night in Orem, but she will be performing at Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City tonight (January 10) and tomorrow evening.

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