Local Music Scene Wrap Up 2024 

• Courtesy Photo
• Theoretical Blonde

As we head into 2025, we asked several folks in the local music scene to reflect on how they'll remember 2024.

The Last Gatsby: This year was truly a year filled with joy, triumph, sorrow, determination and fun. Starting earlier this year—when the band decided that we would release our "final" song, "Life Lessons"—we were determined to give the song the release it deserved. Given all of the circumstances around the band, it was something that we all wanted to get behind. Getting the band back together and reigniting this special friendship was really wonderful. Deciding to release the song forced us to prepare for a song release, which has a lot of individual elements. One of the biggest accomplishments was the music video and later the release, but the music video especially because of the logistics that went into accomplishing it. In preparation for the release, we were devastated when we learned that Josh's cancer came back. It really sucked, but we all knew that he would fight it head-on and that the band was a way of carrying him through. Lastly, the release of "Life Lessons" was truly special. The amount of support that we received from the community, reigniting old fans, finding new fans, getting the song played all around the world—it was all really special and honestly overwhelming at times. We are so grateful for a great 2024. We're grateful for the new friends we've made. We're grateful for the love we've felt from all over the world. Thank you for taking the time to help share our story with others.

Ebay Hamilton: I have many highlights from 2024, but the first one to come to mind is the Andre 3000 New Blue Sun show at the Eccles Theater. Andre 3000 is one of my favorite emcees of all time, so when it was announced that he would be putting out a flute album, I was surprised ... and excited to hear it. Ambient music isn't really my thing and his album didn't exactly connect with me in the ways I had hoped that it would. This left me hesitant to see the show, but still excited to see one of my heroes. The show ended up blowing me away! Entirely improvised from the very first note, it was like a sci-fi soundtrack created in an alien jungle on another planet, with each musician completely committed to every note that they played. The stage lighting also added to the immersive sonic experience in ways that I rarely get to see live. It definitely wasn't for everybody, but I walked away feeling extremely grateful for the opportunity to take a ride on this strange spaceship, captained by Andre and his various flutes. What a trip! I've thought about that show almost every day since and am thankful that he included Salt Lake [City] on the tour. Other highlights included Swan Lake with Ballet West, Jungle at the Gallivan Center as part of the Twilight Concert Series, and the return of KRCL's Day in the Park at The International Peace Gardens in Salt Lake.

Pdubba-U: We think the release of our Past Lives album is definitely the highlight for our 2024. That album was a long time coming and it's good to have it out. We have a new single coming soon called "Hidden Valley" that will definitely kick off a new chapter for us!

Theoretical Blonde: Our highlight for the year was putting out our new EP called The EP. We've been playing those songs at shows all year, and it feels great to now have them out in the world. When we finally did get into our studio (our bass player's bedroom) to record them, we experimented with our arrangements and with live-tracking to create a sound that emulates that of our live shows.

Loom: The highlight for us would have to be the end of year wrap-up with two solo headlining performances at Metro Music Hall in November and our very special headlining return to the State Room on Dec. 21. We love that the State Room has gotten behind us since the beginning and given us the space and opportunity to grow our fan base and community within their wonderful walls. Having performed the Snowbasin Summerfest, Snowbird Grand Oktoberfest and ending the year with these two wonderful SLC venues, as our fan base continues to expand, is something we are truly grateful for. We look forward to seeing what is in store for the new year and we wish everyone involved in the scene a happy holiday season and prosperous New Year!

Spirit Machines: This year has been really big for us. We expanded our lineup to five members, released our single "Kincaid" along with a music video filmed at the Utah State Capitol with fencers from Salt City Swords fencing club. Our biggest highlights were opening for Alien Ant Farm at the Metro and In The End's "Linkin Park Experience" at The Depot. We love warming up the stage for big bands and we hope to do more of it next year. We also released a track in collaboration with Aaron Gillespie from Underoath called "War Paint," along with a five-song EP called The Pearl. We had been working on it for more than a year, so it was great to finally get it out there. Overall, we really grew as artists and musicians. Salt Lake is really growing up, and we have more amazing local musicians per capita than anywhere else, I feel—and I think this year has pushed everyone to create and have fun at their highest level.