Buzz Blog

With COVID-19 and with the upheaval of protests going on, it’s been a stressful year, and a stressful summer so far. But we now have one day to celebrate. Juneteenth—commemorating the message of the end of slavery in the U.S. finally reaching the slaves of Texas—is being picked up as a holiday all over the country, with some companies declaring it a paid holiday for employees. SLC has its own plans, and these are the music-related ones.

Joshy Soul Live Stream
One of SLC’s most sought-after live performers is bringing his soulful set to the stage once more, streaming from the Gallivan Center in collaboration with the Excellence Concert Series. Viewers can watch Joshy Soul perform his dreamy songs, which have been edging in a funkier direction than his typical rosey-eyed soul, this especially signalled by 2019 singles like “Heat.” Joshy Soul has always seemed like someone who would be too big for SLC, and maybe it’s to our benefit that everything is stalled right now, because we can enjoy the ever-growing talents of Soul and his bandmates for that much longer. View the performance tonight at 8 p.m. on excellenceconcerts.org or via Facebook.

Tune in on KRCL
KRCL has long been a champion of all the great music invented and perfected by Black artists—which, if you didn’t know, is pretty much most American popular music. It should be common knowledge that the blues informed both jazz and rock ‘n’ roll, and that people like Chuck Berry and Little Richard are the reason we have most rock music, and following that, pop music, too. Disco, funk, reggaeton, hip hop and even house and techno have roots in Black artists, and are often best represented by them, too. If it’s news to you, reader, please take the pleasure of tuning in to KRCL at 4 p.m. to get an earful of soul offerings in celebration of Juneteenth. Longtime KRCL DJ Ebay Hamilton will direct the programming, so you’re in trusty hands. Listen at 90.9FM or steam it on KRCL.org.

Diabolical Keeps on Giving
In a heartwarming and ambitious fundraising project, SLC businesses—already struggling to survive the scourge on their sales that is COVID-19—have banded together to give back to the movement sweeping the nation, and our own city. The #SLCdrawingforBLACKLIVES has drawn dozens of businesses into the fold—mostly restaurants, but also a handful of tattoo shops, boutiques and the like—with all benefits from the raffle for their goods spread across eight local and national funds, such as The Bail Project, BLM Utah, the ACLU, the Innocence Project and the Loveland Foundation. The only rep for the music scene, though? Our very own Diabolical Records. They’re offering up undisclosed prizes for their contribution, but if one goes by how generous their pandemic-inspired drop bag deals have been, it’s probably a sweet prize for the lucky winner. This is also after offering up a $10 donation with every drop bag purchase during the week of June 9. The generosity of a business that also has to worry about keeping their own livelihood afloat during a time like this is amazing. If you’re spending frivolously anywhere, consider entering into the raffle on Venmo @SLCdrawingforBLACKLIVES (provide name, email and Instagram handle), and maybe buying a drop bag of records from this valuable part of the local music scene. Find out how to order on Instagram.