U92 Valentine’s Jam w/ Ice Cube

U92 Valentine’s Jam Ice Cube, Bone Thugs N Harmony, Sugar Hill Gang, Tha Dogg Pound, Melle Mel & Scorpio, N2Deep, & J.J. Fad February 12, 2022, Vivint Arena

Reviewed and photographed by Kevin Rolfe

Photo Credit: Kevin Rolfe

When I saw that Ice Cube was headlining the U92 Valentine’s Jam I knew I had to be there. I’ve wanted to see Ice Cube for some time now. He doesn’t come to Utah often, but whenever he has stopped by, I’ve missed him. I remember way back in high school jumping into my friend’s Toyota Celica and listening to NWA full blast. We would only listen to them in the car because then we couldn’t be caught by our parents listening to music with explicit lyrics. Since that time it’s been easy to follow Cube’s career. From his solo albums to his extensive movie career and his venture into the sports world with his Big 3 3 on 3 basketball league, Ice Cube is everywhere! Finally, I was getting the opportunity to see him perform. Anticipation was high.

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BRANDI CARLILE EXPANDS “BEYOND THESE SILENT DAYS” SUMMER TOUR

BRANDI CARLILE NOMINATED FOR FIVE AWARDS AT 64TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS

Six-time Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, performer, producer and New York Times Best Selling author Brandi Carlile expands her extensive “Beyond These Silent Days” summer tour including new stops at the Santa Barbara Bowl, Austin’s Moody Amphitheater, Dallas’ Dos Equis Pavilion, Salt Lake City’s Vivint Smart Home Arena, Philadelphia’s TD Pavilion at The Mann and more. Special guests featured on the tour include Allison Russell, Ani DiFranco, Brittany Howard, Celisse, Indigo Girls, Katie Pruitt, Lake Street Dive, Lucius and Sarah McLachlan, with additional names to be announced. See below for complete itinerary.

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Michael Bublé October 1, 2021 Vivint Arena

An Evening With Michael Bublé 2021 North American Tour

Reviewed by Kevin Rolfe

When you buy tickets to a concert, the show already seems so far away as it is.  Throw in four, yes, four rescheduled dates, and the anticipation for that show has grown to an all-time high.  Either that or you kind of expect the show to never actually happen!  For me, it was the first feeling.  Michael Bublé, one of the biggest entertainers in the world, finally made good on his tour stop at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Now, the postponements and reschedules weren’t really his fault.  The pandemic is to blame for that.  I think Bublé and his team were optimistic that things would get better quicker than they did, hence the hopeful new dates.  But as I walked past the long line to enter the arena, I could see the excitement on everyone’s face. 

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Alan Jackson August 7, 2021 Vivint Arena

Photo Credit: Kevin Rolfe

It was a big night in Vivint Arena.  Not only was Country Music legend, Alan Jackson performing, but it was the first time the arena would be hosting a full capacity, sold-out concert in almost two years.  The way everything went, you wouldn’t have guessed it had been that long.  Concessions, security, and ushers alike were in top form.  It was a great feeling, but still a little odd to see so many people together.  

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UCR INTERVIEW: Sydney Macfarlane of The National Parks

On March 20th, The National Parks will be performing at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City. The National Parks formed in Provo, Utah in 2013. They’ve continued to grow in popularity selling out shows across the country. The Vivint Arena show is significant not only for the Utah-based band headlining their first arena concert but for their fans as well. Hopefully this a sign that things will be getting back to normal in the live music world. As the band prepares for this monster event, I had the opportunity to visit with The National Parks Keyboardist and Vocalist, Sydney Mcfarlane. Enjoy!
-Kevin

Interviewed By Kevin Rolfe

 UCR: First off, thank you so much for taking the time. I imagine you probably have so much prep going on leading up to all this. So thank you very much.

Sydney:  Oh, yeah, no problem.  Yeah, it’s busy, but it’ll be good. We’re excited.

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Miranda Lambert February 25, 2020 Vivint Arena

By: Kevin Rolfe

Photo Credit: Tyler Conrad

We’ve had a few canceled or postponed shows in Utah in the last few months. Some due to weather, and some due to illness. The latter is the case for Country Music superstar, Miranda Lambert. From what I read on social media, Ms. Lambert became under the weather and wasn’t comfortable performing with her voice in the state it was in. It’s disappointing when a show needs to be postponed, but I admire Miranda for wanting to give her fans the best show possible. This performance was well worth the wait.

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Hip Hop Legends: February 29, 2020, Vivint Arena

By: Kaden Severn

Photo Credit: Kaden Severn @simplybrilliantstudios

Saturday was Leap day and many people came together at the Vivint Smart Home Arena to, in a way “Leap” back into the past for U92’s Hip-Hop Legends concert featuring E-40, DJ Quik, Xzibit, Fat Joe, Ja Rule, and Ludacris. While I might be a little too young to know all the songs of those artists. I was familiar with most of them and was excited to see some artists that have been huge in Hip Hop! I was surprised to see how many people showed up for this awesome collaboration of talent. As I looked around the room I noticed that there were people of all ages. The arena filled up quickly.

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