15 major music events that happened in Utah this year

I often write an end-of-year story that reflects on my favorite concerts. But with a 3-year-old son and 7-month-old daughter, I don’t really get out these days like I used to.

So instead of writing about my top shows of the year, here’s a look at some of the biggest music moments that happened in Utah in 2024 — ranging from three rising stars who are in the running for best new artist at the upcoming Grammys to artists who said farewell to their fans after decades in the industry.

April 26 — Benson Boone

Benson Boone’s rise to fame — which has made him one of eight candidates in the running for a best new artist Grammy — is especially impressive when you consider that it was only about five years ago he even discovered he could sing, as the Deseret News previously reported.

Shortly after that discovery, in 2021, an 18-year-old Boone tried his luck on “American Idol.” But the teenager — who “Idol” judge Katy Perry declared a potential winner — ended up forgoing the competition and also dropping out of BYU-Idaho to pursue music on his own terms.

Now, Boone has a smash hit in “Beautiful Things” and is up for a Grammy.

Boone, now 22, released his debut album “Fireworks & Rollerblades” in April, and embarked on a world tour that involved his first-ever arena show, held at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah.

“Probably the most emotional day of my life. I’m still wondering if this show even happened. Our first arena,” Boone shared on Instagram following the show in late April. “Thank you for crying with me, singing with me, laughing with me, feeling with me. I promise you this is just the start of it, and I ain’t slowin down till these tires are burned into the street.”

May 10-12 — Kilby Court Block Party

Kilby Court, the longest-running all-ages venue in Salt Lake City, turned 25 this year. To celebrate, the venue hosted its fifth annual block party — the largest indie music festival in Salt Lake City that each day draws in roughly 25,000 fans from across the world, according to the venue’s website.

The festival — which has grown over the years and now takes place at the Utah State Fairpark — features dozens of local and national acts each year. This year’s event saw Death Cab for Cutie, The Postal Service and Vampire Weekend among its headliners.

The 2025 block party is scheduled for May 15-18, and has once again drawn in some big talent — Weezer headlines on May 17. Other headliners include New Order, Beach House and Justice.

May 15 — Derek Hough

A few months after Derek Hough’s wife, Hayley Erbert, received a cranial hematoma diagnosis and underwent an emergency surgery that removed part of her skull, the dancers resumed their “Symphony of Dance” tour and brought the show to Salt Lake City’s Eccles Theater.

The show came amid an up-and-down recovery process, and not long after Hough’s fourth Emmy win.

A standout moment featured a rendition of the couple’s first dance from their wedding.

“It’s crazy to imagine that going from having our first dance with my wife, just a few months later not knowing if I would have the chance to dance with her again,” Hough, a Utah native, said before the performance, as the Deseret News reported. “And that’s why this song is so much more special now and has such a deeper meaning, because it’s not just our first dance, but it’s really our second chance at a new life together.”

June 29 — George Strait and Chris Stapleton

A couple of years after Garth Brooks played two shows at Rice-Eccles Stadium, George Strait, well regarded as the King of Country, took the stage of the 51,000-seat stadium.

Salt Lake City was just one of nine cities to get a show from co-headliners Strait and country music star Chris Stapleton — along with special guest Little Big Town — in 2024.

Just a couple of weeks before the Utah show, Strait set an all-time attendance record for a ticketed concert in the U.S., with 110,905 ticket-buying fans at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas — beating a record previously set by the Grateful Dead in 1977 by about 3,000, Billboard reported.

Concerts from Strait are increasingly rare — at the moment, there aren’t any upcoming performances listed on his site.

Prior to the show at Rice-Eccles, Strait’s last performance in Utah was at the Delta Center over a decade ago, as part of his The Cowboy Rides Again Tour, which was billed as his farewell run.

July 4 — Jonas Brothers

After 15 years, the Jonas Brothers returned to Provo’s LaVell Edwards Stadium to headline Stadium of Fire for the second time in their careers.

The Independence Day concert came just seven months after the brothers brought their worldwide tour to an enthusiastic audience at the Maverik Center in West Valley City.

“This is honestly the loudest Salt Lake has been for us,” Joe Jonas, the band’s middle brother, said at the Maverik Center last year during a nearly three-hour concert, which featured early hits such as “Burnin’ Up” and “Year 3000″ and more recent songs like “Sucker” and “Waffle House,” per the Deseret News.

The Fourth of July celebration included a flyover by F-35 jets from Utah’s Hill Air Force Base and a large display of fireworks. At one point, the show briefly paused as responders tended to injuries caused by stray fireworks that struck the crowd and led to at least one person being seriously injured and several hospitalizations, as the Deseret News reported.

July 15 — Lindsey Stirling

Dancing violinist Lindsey Stirling released her latest album, “Duality,” this year — and told the Deseret News it was one of the hardest albums she’s ever worked on.

“I was trying to tap into a wild, free part of myself — the freest part of me — as I was writing this music. That’s why the music feels the way it does,” Stirling said. “The first song that I wrote that made it on the album is called ‘Untamed’ because of that reason. I was really trying to find that part of me that was wild and free and untamed and finally I found her.

“It took me a long time to find that freedom,” she continued. “I probably wrote like 50 songs before I wrote even one that I liked that made it on the album.”

Stirling brought her new music — a blend of traditional pop and electronic styles and folk influences — to the Maverik Center as part of her 2024 tour.

July 31 — Olivia Rodrigo

While filming “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” in Salt Lake City — where she wrote much of her debut album, “Sour” — Olivia Rodrigo dreamed of one day performing at the Delta Center.

Two years after her first solo tour brought her to Orem’s UCCU Center, the 21-year-old “Drivers License” singer made that dream a reality.

“Thank you for making my dream come true,” she told the sold-out Delta Center crowd during her world tour in support of her second album, “Guts.” “It’s a very special night for me.”

Aug. 27 — Jelly Roll

Jelly Roll, who last year was nominated for the best new artist Grammy, kicked off his first international headlining tour in Salt Lake City and made the most of his time in Utah — including leaving a tip of almost $700 at a kids’ lemonade stand and announcing during his show at the Delta Center that he was going to buy a house in Park City.

“I’ve got to take a second to go off script. I could not have asked for a better first night of this tour y’all,” the country star said, per Deseret News. “I want y’all to know this place is one of the most beautiful places. I’ve been here for four days at the Maverik Center rehearsing and getting ready for this tour, I’ve been all over this place — I’ve been to Park City, I’ve been to Heber, I’ve been to West Valley, I’ve been to Salt Lake City. I truly could not have asked for a better way to open this tour. I could not have asked for a better crowd tonight, Salt Lake City.”

Sept. 8-9 — Post Malone

Post Malone formally introduced his country music side to fans across the U.S. this year with his “F-1 Trillion” album and tour of the same name.

He launched the tour at the Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre in West Valley City, and opened up with fans there about his love of living in Utah.

“Moving here to this amazing state was one of the best things I’ve done in my life, besides have a baby girl,” Malone told his cheering fans at Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre, according to a video shared by Salt Lake-based country radio station The Bull on TikTok. “I moved to L.A. when I was a kid, and I was like, ‘Hey this is not kind of where I want to be.’ So I did a show here right on the Salt Flats, and I was like, ‘This place rocks.’ … Like a week later we bought a house here. I gotta say, Utah is one of the most beautiful places on the planet, and I’m so grateful and so honored to be a resident here, ladies and gentlemen.”

Oct. 4-6 — RedWest Fest

A new country music festival launched in Utah this year — and brought some big names along with it.

The three-day festival, called RedWest, partnered with the organizers and producers behind Stagecoach and Coachella to bring artists like Megan Moroney, who this year won the Country Music Association’s best new artist award; Oliver Anthony, who last year went viral with “Rich Men North of Richmond”; and Colter Wall, whose Western-style music can be heard in the series “Yellowstone,” to Salt Lake City, as the Deseret News reported.

According to its Facebook page, the festival is returning next year.

Oct. 8 — Shaboozey

Utah Hockey Club fans were treated to a free concert from Shaboozey outside of the Delta Center a few hours before the team took on the Chicago Blackhawks in its home opener, as the Deseret News previously reported.

The show came as Shaboozey enjoyed the longest No. 1 hit of the year and the third longest this decade, according to Billboard.

At the time of his Utah appearance, the rising country music star had a No. 1 hit going on 13 weeks. “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” is still going strong on the charts, and is one of the biggest country hit of the 2020s.

Shaboozey, a Nigerian American rapper and singer from Virginia, is currently up for five Grammy nominations — including for best new artist and song of the year.

Nov. 2 — Sabrina Carpenter

Although she is one of the candidates for best new artist at the upcoming Grammys, Sabrina Carpenter has been around for a while.

The singer and actor had her initial breakthrough starring in “Girl Meets World” on the Disney Channel, and had five albums under her belt before her chart-topping “Short n’ Sweet” album this year, which gave the singer her first No. 1 hit.

In fact, all three of Carpenter’s top 10 hits — “Please Please Please,” “Espresso” and “Taste” — stem from Carpenter’s 2024 album.

On top of that album, this explosive year for Carpenter also saw her open for Taylor Swift on the Eras Tour and appear at Coachella.

The singer launched her first arena tour in support of “Short n’ Sweet,” and made a stop at the Delta Center.

“I love Salt Lake City. Every time I’ve ever come here, it’s been such an exceptional energy,” Carpenter told the crowd, per an Instagram video shared by the Delta Center. “I’m very overwhelmed because the last time I was in Salt Lake City wasn’t that long ago, and I played to a room that looked like a big garage. You guys sold out this room tonight.”

Nov. 16 — Alan Jackson

At 66 years old, Alan Jackson brought his farewell tour to Salt Lake City.

Thirty-five years since his first record deal — and 35 No. 1 hits later — Jackson seemed emotional as he stepped onto the stage to the strains of “Gone Country” and looked around at the packed Delta Center.

While playing a slew of hits — including “Remember When,” “Don’t Rock the Jukebox” and “Chattahoochee” — Jackson addressed his fans several times, sharing the stories behind some of his songs and encouraging people to have a good time. But most of all, he wanted those in attendance to know how much he appreciates them.

Because this tour might be his last chance to do so — at least in person.

Dec. 11 — Yo-Yo Ma

One of the Utah Symphony’s biggest events of the season included a one-night performance from the legendary Yo-Yo Ma. The 19-time Grammy winner performed Dvorak’s Cello Concerto at Abravanel Hall, and it was billed as his first performance in Salt Lake City since the Opening Ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics.

“He’s one of the biggest superstars in the classical music world, and for him to come here to play with our musicians speaks to the caliber of talent and skill that we have,” Alex Purdy, principal tuba in the Utah Symphony, said in a news release shared with the Deseret News.

While this may have marked Yo-Yo Ma’s first solo appearance since the 2002 Olympics, it should be noted that the cellist did perform at Red Butte Garden in 2021 as part of his bluegrass project, “The Goat Rodeo Sessions,” which also features Nickel Creek and Punch Brothers mandolin player Chris Thile.

Dec. 18-20 — Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert

For the first time since the pandemic, all 21,000 seats in the Conference Center were available for the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square’s annual Christmas concert.

Broadway star and soprano Ruthie Ann Miles and actor Dennis Haysbert — well known for his role in the TV series “24″ and for previously voicing the AllState Insurance commercials — performed for tens of thousands of people over three nights in Salt Lake City. Miles was visibly emotional as she performed Christmas classics, and Haysbert choked up as he narrated the story of Dr. Charles Mulli, who at the age of 6 was abandoned and remained homeless for several years before gradually working his way up to building a business empire in Kenya.

“It is such a glorious feeling to be able to be in this space and deliver this work, and deliver these words, and to know that they are true,” Haysbert told reporters the morning after the first concert. “I wish everyone in the world could hear this, I really do.”

The recorded concerts will air next year on PBS and BYUtv.