Ogden Twilight • The Head and The Heart • Wilderado • August 13, 2025 • Ogden Amphitheater
Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe
Summertime in Utah is amazing when it comes to live music. We cover every show we possibly can, but there are just so many tours and local shows that we can’t get to them all. So far, the concerts we’ve been able to cover have been so much fun. They’ve made Summer 2025 a memorable one. Despite many of the shows we’ve been able to attend so far, the anticipation for August 13 was high up on the list. The Ogden Twilight Concert Series hosted The Head and The Heart on their Aperture Tour.
We are huge fans of The Head and The Heart, so we were excited to see that they’d be playing in such a fun environment. Not only did we get to see one of our favorite bands, but they were joined by Wilderado. A band that has quickly become a band we have enjoyed covering over recent years. A great night of fantastic music was in store.
While the energy was good inside the Ogden Amphitheater, but there was an understandable concern within the venue over some major fires that had spread near Ogden. The air was smoky, and the smell of fire was strong. It felt a little strange to be at a concert knowing that so much was going on not far away. We powered through and made a great night of it. Speaking of power, we were fortunate that there was a show at all. Just blocks away, as I was driving up, it was clear that there was no power. Stop lights were off, and it was clear that the lights were off inside businesses. For whatever reason, Ogden Amphitheater still had juice so it was on with the show.
Wilderado
Wilderado started things off. We’ve had the privilege of covering this band from Oklahoma a few times. They have so many great songs, and they sound great live. We make it a point to catch their shows anytime they’re here in Utah. This is the second time we’ve seen them as the support band. They opened for Mt. Joy at Sandy Amphitheater back in 2022. While Wilderado sounded great during that set, the audience was slow to arrive. They unfortunately didn’t play to a full crowd. I was excited for them that at this show, the venue appeared to already be at capacity. Nothing like playing to a full house!
They opened with “The Ocean and The Sea.” Their harmonies rang out, and the audience became quickly engaged. What Wilderado lacks in stage presence, they make up for in quality of sound. They just sound so good live. As evidenced by their next songs, “Morning Light” and “Higher Than Most.” I noticed during “Higher Than Most” some people in the audience looking at one another and telling the person next to them that they knew this song. Their group started dancing, and their friends joined in.
Something I love when I watch an opener perform is seeing their fans scattered throughout the audience. There were a lot of Wilderado shirts in the crowd. There was one section of fans along the General Admission railing who were singing every song and drawing attention from the band. Wilderado seemed to enjoy seeing such dedicated fans making a point of showing them that they were there and they were into their set.
Wilderado’s set seemed to fly by. I hope they come back to Utah soon as the headliner. It’ll be great to see them play a longer set. They couldn’t end the show without playing “Surefire.” The audience loved it, and as they did with the rest of their songs, they sounded great. Wilderado frontman, Max Rainer, seemed to be looking around and enjoying the audience loving this song. He smiled as he noticed fans jumping up and down.
There was a great vibe during Wilderado’s performance. They set the tone perfectly for what was to come, but standing on its own, Wilderado played an excellent show. Their set ended with “Rubble To Rubble”. A song Rainer told us was about knocking up his wife. The band joined Max around a microphone and harmonized as Rainer played the guitar. Glad I got to see Wilderado again. Wishing them all the deserved success as they continue to grow in their career.
The Head and The Heart
I get such a good feeling when I see The Head and The Heart in concert. I’ll never forget when my friend introduced me to them. I had heard some of their songs but wasn’t aware of them as a band. He told me they were playing in Salt Lake City and that I just needed to see them live. I went to the show, not knowing that I knew a song or two. That show made me so happy. I loved every song and became a lifelong fan at that moment. So there I was inside the photo pit of Ogden Amphitheater all these years later. Not only getting to see one of my favorite bands live again, but getting to be up front taking photos. It’s moments like this that I’ll never take for granted.
The sun was still setting, so saying that the lights went out isn’t entirely accurate. But if you’ve been to a concert, you can tell that the moment before the band walks out is near. The roadies are no longer on stage. Fog machines are going off. You’ve felt that moment. I was so excited. The Head and The Heart did do me a little dirty, though. As they walked out on stage, they played the intro to one of my very favorite songs, “Living Mirage.” They don’t always do that song, so when they do, I get really excited. Well, they only played the intro to walk out to.
As soon as they got on stage, guitarist and vocalist Matt Gervais greeted the audience, “We love you, Salt Lake. It’s good to see you! We’re The Head and The Heart from Seattle, Washington.” Before I even had a chance to react to them not singing “Living Mirage,” Vocalist Johnathan Russell started singing “All We Ever Do.” It was hard to be disappointed at that point. It’s another favorite. The crowd was immediately into this show.
Seeing as The Head and The Heart are on the Aperture Tour, they played a lot of songs from that album. And I can’t say I blame them. They seem to be proud of the album. It’s a good one. There are a lot of solid songs on the album that translate to the live show really well. Songs like “Jubilee”, “Fire Escape”, and “Cop Car” went over well with the Ogden crowd. They mixed those songs in well with their classic crowd favorites. That was one thing I loved. Just because they were going to play a lot of new songs, it didn’t keep them from filling the show with hits. Songs like “Another Story”, “Let’s Be Still”, and “Honeybee” were embraced lovingly by the sold-out audience. From the first note of these familiar tunes, the reaction was powerful.
At one point in the show, Jonathan Russel pointed out to the audience that he noticed that people react and move differently to the same song. He expressed that he didn’t want anyone to be self-conscious about it. “I just love looking out, and some people are completely, it’s spiritual, and other people are grooving. It’s fascinating to me. After he mentioned it, I looked out during the next song, and it was cool to see how differently people moved to the song.
What was equally as interesting to me was that The Head and The Heart are the same way. Each one of them performs and moves to their songs in completely different ways. Some are more expressive than others, while some are more subdued with their performance. I think that’s what makes this such a great live band. Not only do they sound amazing live, but they are fun to watch on stage. There is so much to see in their performances.
I’ve mentioned this in past reviews. But when The Head and The Heart perform “Lost In My Mind,” the energy of the show rises to another level. It’s always my favorite moment in the show to watch this bump happen. Well, this time the “Lost In My Mind” bump did happen. But in a much different way. While they were performing the song and the audience was going crazy, Wilderado walked on stage. Not only did Wilderado walk on stage, but what I’m assuming were family members and children of the band filled the stage with such a fun and celebratory energy. It added so much to the concert.
The show was at a new level from that point on. Gervais made his way on top of speakers, into the photo pit to high-five fans, and eventually into the general admission area surrounded by thousands of fans. Everyone seemed so happy. The band, the fans, the crew, me, everyone was in great spirits. This band knows how to put on a live show.
Towards the end of the show, Russell shared with us what the city of Salt Lake means to The Head and The Heart. He shared that this was the farthest they would come to on tours because they still had day jobs and couldn’t go too far from Seattle. “We have just seen a lot of love and generous souls from Salt Lake City. And a killer music scene. This is unbelievable.” Marveling at the size of the crowd compared to their early shows at Urban Lounge.
The night ended with a three-song encore. Two from the album “Aperture.” I thought the songs were great. Especially “Arrow”, the first single from the album. I think that song will remain in the setlist for years to come. “Rivers and Roads” closed out the show. It’s the perfect song to end a concert. The band sounded incredible, and it’s always a special moment when Charity Rose Thielen sings her part of the song. This band cannot come back to Utah soon enough!