Written by George Scott
It was not long ago when live music acts were a rarity in our neck of the woods. These days, every weekend—and even during the week—there are options. Sometimes serious contemplation has to be considered as to which show to catch when multiple quality acts are playing different venues. Last Saturday, April 18, was one of these days which proved the vitality of the local music scene with a host of talented live acts lined up throughout the area.
CasaBlanca’s Showroom was one venue that showcased several acts during their 3rd annual “One Hero at a Time” benefit. Seven hours of live music made this event a live music lovers dream. Soul What!? brought their funktified music to the event, and Yesterday’s Life brought the ghost of Jimi Hendrix to the stage as they covered the spectrum of his music. But it didn’t stop there. Country music, an Elvis tribute, a Bad Company tribute, and more offered continuous tunes to sing along with, dance to, and just feel the vibes.
On the way back to St. George, Soul What!? stopped off at the Beaver Dam Bar to play a second show. The popularity of this group with the locals throughout the area has them double booked on more than one occasion. They brought their perfected sound and energy as if it was their first show of the day.
In Springdale, the Earth Day celebration also had several acts of varying genres. As people enjoyed the festivities, live music acts played the festival. The feel of the festival and the ambience of the cascading beauty of Zion Canyon provided a spectacular setting for catching music throughout the day. Once the festivities started winding down, things moved to the Zion Brew Pub where The Lawn Darts played their music to the crowd from late afternoon until early evening.
Downtown St. George was also prepared to keep the music alive on Saturday. The three hotspots for live music all had quality acts booked. George’s Corner had Steven Swift playing his bluesy, rockin’ sound as he jammed music that makes you feel it. Jazzy’s also had a great line up of musicians that consistently make music come alive, including Tom Bennett and Austin Graves. Over at the FireHouse, rock ‘n’ roll was on fire with Mister HYDE shooting a music video for their new song, “Bullets and Butterflies.”
With the dedication of more venues to offering music on a regular basis and the level of talent rising, the music scene in southern Utah just keeps getting richer. Nights like Saturday demonstrate just how much live music has grown in the last couple of years. As the scene continues to grow, the question of “Which show should we catch tonight?” is one that is going to come up more and more often. It can be a tough decision with so much talent, but it is a quandary which many are happy to face.
If you haven’t been out for a while and love live music, you will be pleasantly surprised with what is offered. A meal, a drink, a date, friends—whatever you prefer—the music is playing.
