Utah Arts Festival: Festival Stage headliners include Jeff Crosby and The Refugees, Will Baxter Band

Among the headliners being featured at this year’s Utah Arts Festival are Salt Lake City’s Will Baxter Band and native Idahoan Jeff Crosby who will be performing with The Refugees. Will Baxter Band (Aug. 27, 8:15 p.m., Festival Stage) When Will Baxter moved from Fort Collins, Colorado to Salt Lake City, it did not take … Read more

Utah Arts Festival 2021: Top Utah bands Brother., Pixie and the Partygrass Boys slated to perform

This year’s Utah Arts Festival features some of the most successful, widely acclaimed local bands. Among them are Pixie and the Partygrass Boys and Brother.  Brother. (Aug. 28, 5:15 p.m., Park Stage) Brother., the indie rock band originating in Provo, had ambitious plans in 2020. Performances were slated at SXSW and Treefort, as part of … Read more

Utah Arts Festival 2021: Local hip hop artists Zac Ivie and Ocelot along with Dumb Luck set for Park Stage

The performing stages at this year’s Utah Arts Festival features an impressive range of styles, aesthetics, approaches and genres from local musicians. Among the artists representing hip hop this year are Zac Ivie and Dumb Luck. Zac Ivie and Ocelot (Aug. 27, 10:15 p.m., Park Stage) Just days before the pandemic erased every performing artst’s … Read more

Utah Arts Festival 2021: City Library exhibition of modern geoglyphs rendered in unique quilts highlights trio of skilled Utah artists

For the new exhibition in the City Library which coincides with the Utah Arts Festival, a quote from Clare Hunter’s 2019 book Threads of Life is fitting for what it conveys. “Fabric and thread can convey.a prayer, trace out a map, proclaim a manifesto send out a warning, bestow a blessing, celebrate a culture and … Read more

Utah Arts Festival 2021: Jazz commissions feature Utah’s Steve Erickson, Tyler Chen in three world premieres

This year’s Utah Arts Festival brings three world premieres in its jazz commission program, representing the 2020 and 2021 winners: Steve Erickson and Tyler Chen, respectively. Their pieces will premiere Aug, 27 at 6:30 p.m. on the Festival Stage with the Salt Lake City Jazz Orchestra. Tyler Chen: Acclimation and Blues for Courtney In middle … Read more

Utah Arts Festival 2021: Artist Marketplace captures broad spectrum of media, unique thematic impulses, inspirations, influences

This year’s Artist Marketplace at the Utah Arts Festival may be smaller but the 95 artists selected for the three-day event reflect the same rigorous process that has produced significant depth in the creative spectrum represented in the visual artists. With an expert jury, led by coordinators Matt Jacobson and his assistant Sarah Baker Taylor, … Read more

Utah Arts Festival 2021: Slimmer, shorter but still state’s most comprehensive arts and cultural celebration of the year

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Utah Review begins its preview coverage today of the 45th Utah Arts Festival, which will be held Aug. 27-29 (noon to 11 p.m. on Aug. 27 and 28 and noon to 9 p.m. on Aug. 29) on the Library Square in downtown Salt Lake City. As this is the state’s largest multidisciplinary … Read more

Standup comedy, world premiere, contemporary Shakespearean adaptation, Utah cabaret spoof highlight Great Salt Lake Fringe 2021

Editor’s Note: This is the second of a two-part series of reviews from the 2021 Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival. For the first part, see here. With the first weekend of the 2021 Great Salt Lake Fringe (GSLF) at The Gateway now in the books, organizers say that ticket sales for live performances are close … Read more

First weekend of 2021 Great Salt Lake Fringe offers strong slate of solid productions

Editor’s Note: This is the first of a two-part series of reviews from the 2021 Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival.  With the first weekend of the 2021 Great Salt Lake Fringe (GSLF) at The Gateway now in the books, organizers say that ticket sales for live performances are close to and will likely exceed 2018 … Read more

7th Great Salt Lake Fringe brings record 52 shows with live performances at The Gateway, virtual shows, running July 29-Aug. 8

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Utah Review will present reviews of nine Great Salt Lake Fringe shows in a two-part series on Aug. 2-3. In a recent Facebook post, Utah playwright Morag Shepherd, who has participated several times in the Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival, wrote, “For those who do not have the luxury or privilege to … Read more