The Dead South • June 19, 2026 • Sandy Amphitheater
Reviewed and Photographed by Ava Dalton
On June 19th, a Friday night, through the yellow summer sunset glow, the Sandy Amphitheater was packed with people of all ages. The Dead South completely sold out the Sandy Amphitheater on the Salt Lake City stop of their self-titled tour. The bluegrass band began their Summer 2026 America tour on June 11 in Oregon, making Salt Lake City the sixth stop of their tour. From Utah, they head to seven more U.S. shows before heading to Europe.
I’ve witnessed several audiences at the Sandy Amphitheater, and this one was definitely the loudest. As the lights went down and blue haze covered the stage, the crowd roared as a four-piece band dressed in their Sunday best walked on stage. With a warm welcome from the entirety of the sold-out Sandy Amphitheater, The Dead South opened their set with ‘Snake Man Pt. 1” and “Snake Man Pt. 2.” The Dead South played a fifteen-song set, with a four-song encore.
As a first-time listener to The Dead South, my expectations were far exceeded. Their live vocals and the onstage chemistry truly cannot be beat. The Dead South’s chemistry and connection show that The Dead South goes far beyond the music. Their connection and sense of family extended to their sound engineer, who they’ve nicknamed “Rhubarb”. Lead vocalist Nate Hilts shared with the audience that it was “Rhubarb’s” birthday, and encouraged the audience several times throughout to tell him to have a happy birthday. He also heavily expressed his appreciation and respect for stand-in banjo player Caelum Scott. He even joked, “How’s the kid on the banjo doing?”
Lead vocalist Nate Hilts has a unique rasp that brings warmth and power to their unique interpretation of bluegrass music. With mandolin player and vocalist Scott Pringle and cellist and vocalist Danny Kenyan, The Dead South created perfect 3-part harmony stacks throughout the entirety of their set. All three vocalists have powerful and unique vocal tones that blend beautifully into their trademark harmonies.
While their recorded songs are incredible, nothing matches the haunting beauty of their live harmonies. With all four band members standing square, facing the audience, their combined vocals created an emotion and an effect I’ve never seen before. With Hilts and Pringle switching between instruments and lead vocals, both vocalists’ abilities were highlighted. Pringle also had a tambourine on his shoe to use while he was playing mandolin and singing. Cellist Danny Kenyan wore his cello on a strap similar to that of a guitar, switching between fingerstyle and using a traditional bow, all while contributing to both background vocals and lead vocals. While using his bow, I noticed that he left the frayed and broken bow hairs, which added to the overall aesthetic and movement of his specific performance.
Kenyan ran back and forth across the stage, which just added to the overall impressiveness of his abilities. Not to mention, Kenyan kept the biggest smile on his face the entire time. I enjoyed watching his joy in playing live and his reactions to the audience. Hilts shared that band member and banjo player Cade Crawford was unable to join them on this tour due to a severe back injury. Caelum Scott stepped in to take his place throughout the tour, and he is an incredibly talented musician.
The stage was set up with six buildings decreasing in size to give the effect of a long road. At the very end of the “road,” there was a small church building. The buildings all had open windows that allowed the color of the stage lights to pour through onto the musicians. Following the pattern of the sunset, the Sandy Amphitheater showcases the stage lights fading from yellow to sunset tones of orange, purple, and pink. The lights continued the pattern and shifted to purple and blue tones. While I think the aesthetic of the Sandy Amphitheater was perfect to house the Dead South, I do wish they had decreased the amount of fog, which was constantly pouring into the front rows of the audience, making it difficult to both view and enjoy the opening moments of the performance.
As previously mentioned, the audience was ecstatic. There were people of all ages and walks of life, but everyone enjoyed this performance just the same. I noticed a young boy singing all the words to every song in the very front row! Many people were standing, singing, and dancing with the people around them. There was a couple seated in the front row dancing with each other throughout the performance.
The Dead South encourages audience participation and encourages the audience to interact with each other. Hilts frequently spoke to the audience, notably telling them, “Thank you for selling out this show.” Whether or not you knew those around you, everyone came together to enjoy the incredible music of The Dead South all together. During the song “That Bastard Son,” Hilts held his hand out, encouraging the audience to hold out the word “no” in the repeated phrase of the song, “’Cause I don’t care no more.” The audience bellowed and yelled and sang, and it was a mismatched choir of pure energy.
Overall, The Dead South put on an incredible show. Their crowd control was incredible, and their talent even more so. Their connection with each other and the audience made the show even better! While it may have been my first time seeing them, it certainly will not be my last.