Sunday, March 10, 2024
Encore: A Musical Review at the Eccles
Tuesday, December 19, 2023
Nathan Pacheco Christmas Concert
I first heard Nathan Pacheco sing when he was a guest vocalist for one of Kurt Bestor's Christmas concerts. His rendition of "O Holy Night" at that concert is one of the best I've heard so, when I found out that he would be performing a Christmas concert at Abravanel Hall, I bought a ticket hoping that I would get to hear it again. The show was last night and I was not disappointed! He was backed by the Lyceum Philharmonic, which is led by Kayson Brown and features talented high school students from the American Heritage School, as well as his music director and pianist Leo Z and cellist Nicole Pinnell. They began with "O Come, All Ye Faithful" and "Carol of the Bells" and then Pacheco came to the stage singing one of his original songs, "Don't Cry." The concert was an eclectic mix of Christmas songs, original songs, covers, and songs from the classical repertoire and one of my favorite moments came next when he sang "Nessun Dorma" from the opera Turandot (it gave me goosebumps when he hit all of the high notes). He continued with "Silver Bells" and "Winter Wonderland" and then said that he had never performed the next song in front of a crowd before and brought Clara Hurtado Lee and a children's choir to the stage to sing "Adiemus" which was incredibly beautiful! He performed a really cool cover of "Take on Me" by a-ha and then "From Now On" from the movie The Greatest Showman. He told the audience that he had just written an original musical called Beloved and then gave us a sneak peak by singing "What You Become" from it. Emma Nissen joined him on stage for a lovely version of "The Prayer" and then he continued with the Christmas songs "Gaudete" (I loved this), "O Come, O Come Emmanuel," "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," and "Silent Night." He performed an acoustic cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "Star Carol" (accompanying himself on guitar) and then a powerful version of his song "Forever." He concluded his main set by singing "O Holy Night." I had been waiting all night for him to sing this and it was definitely worth the wait because he just about blew the roof off Abravanel Hall! For the encore, he brought his sister to the stage to sing the duet "Time to Say Goodbye" which was another favorite moment for me! I don't know if this was spontaneous or not because all of the musicians were prepared to play it but she seemed really hesitant to come up to the stage! He concluded with "God Bless Us Everyone" from the movie A Christmas Carol. This was an amazing show and Pacheco was incredibly charming and continually expressed his genuine gratitude to the crowd for supporting him. He said that he hoped to be back for another Christmas concert at Abravanel Hall next year and, if he is, I will be there, too!
Note: My sister also had tickets to this show with her friend so we ended up going together!
Monday, December 18, 2023
Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir 2023
Sunday, December 17, 2023
A Kurt Bestor Christmas at the Eccles 2023
Thursday, December 7, 2023
Lower Lights Christmas Concert 2023
Saturday, November 25, 2023
Gentri Christmas at the Eccles 2023
Saturday, October 14, 2023
U2 at the Sphere in Las Vegas
Sunday, September 24, 2023
Sting at USANA
Thursday, September 7, 2023
Lady Gaga Jazz & Piano in Las Vegas
Friday, September 1, 2023
Jeremy Jordan at the SCERA Shell Outdoor Theatre
As a huge theatre nerd I actually squealed out loud when I found out that Broadway star Jeremy Jordan was coming to the SCERA Shell Outdoor Theatre and I have been looking forward to the show all summer! The concert was last night and to say that it was amazing would be a understatement! He was accompanied by the Utah Valley Symphony under the baton of Blanka Bednarz and the program, much to my delight, consisted mainly of songs from the Great White Way! He began with "Something's Coming" from West Side Story and then continued with "Broadway Here I Come" from the TV show Smash (in which Jordan stars as Jimmy Collins, a composer who writes the Broadway musical Hit List). Next came a really cool arrangement of "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" from Oklahoma and one of the best renditions of "Soliloquy" from Carousel that I have ever heard. After this Jordan took the first of two breaks while the orchestra played a beautiful medley from Les Miserables. My first introduction to Jordan was in the movie The Last Five Years (which I love) so I was absolutely thrilled that he sang "Moving Too Fast" when he came back to the stage. One of my favorite moments of the concert came next when he sang "She Used to Be Mine" from Waitress (he played Jim on Broadway but he said Jenna had all of the best songs so he wanted to sing one of hers). I love this song so much and I've heard Jessie Mueller, who originated the role of Jenna on Broadway, and Sara Bareilles, who wrote the musical, sing it but I have to say that Jordan's rendition gave me goosebumps! He told the crowd that he was required to include a Disney song so he gave a stirring performance of "Out There" from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Next came a medley of songs originally arranged by Oscar-winning composer Johnny Mandel for Andy Williams which included "Love is a Many-Splendored Thing," "Mona Lisa," "On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe," "All the Way," and "Moon River." He told the crowd that he included this medley because he wanted to take advantage of having an orchestra backing him and it was incredibly lush and romantic. Jordan took another short break while the orchestra performed a medley from The Phantom of the Opera and when he returned he brought me to tears with "Bring Him Home" from Les Miserables and "Why God, Why?" from Miss Saigon. When I first found out about this concert, I really hoped that he would sing "Santa Fe" from Newsies. He originated the role of Jack Kelly on Broadway and I listen to the soundtrack all of the time so I was incredibly excited to hear a live version of this song and he did not disappoint! He ended his main set with an amazing version, another favorite moment of the concert, that brought the crowd to their feet! For the encore, he performed "Being Alive" from Company which, once again, received an enthusiastic standing ovation! Not only does Jordan have a beautiful voice, he is so charismatic and he had lots of funny and spontaneous interactions with the crowd. His setlist was everything I could have ever wanted as a Broadway fan and I loved every minute! It was definitely worth waiting all summer for!
Saturday, August 19, 2023
Foreigner at USANA
Wednesday, August 2, 2023
The Smashing Pumpkins at USANA
Monday, July 31, 2023
Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real at Sandy Amphitheater
I am a huge fan of Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real! I have seen them at USANA (backing Neil Young), at the Commonwealth Room, at Red Butte Garden, and at Sandy Amphitheater. Last night I went back to Sandy Amphitheater to see them again and I absolutely loved the show! They were in town promoting their latest release Sticks and Stones (it is so good) and the majority of the songs in their main set came from this album. They started the show with "Alcohallelujah" and continued with the title track, "Every Time I Drink," "If I Didn't Love You," "Overpass," "Icarus,""All Four Winds" (my favorite from the new album), "The View," "Lying," "Wrong House," and "Ladder of Love." I really enjoyed hearing these new songs performed live because Nelson and the band looked like they were having such a great time playing them and they sounded really tight despite the fact that they haven't played them as much as the older songs. However, I was thrilled to hear so many of my favorites, including "Fool Me Once," "Four Letter Word," "Just Outside of Austin" (with a really cool piano intro), "Carolina," "(Forget About) Georgia," "Die Alone," and "Find Yourself" (with lots of participation from the crowd during the chorus). They also sang a cover of Willie Nelson's "Bloody Mary Morning" which was awesome! I was really hoping that they would play "Set Me Down on a Cloud," which is my favorite Promise of the Real song, so I was absolutely thrilled when I heard the opening notes! It was the perfect song to end their main set with! For the encore, they performed a rousing rendition of "Something Real" with an extended intro featuring the drums. I am not a big fan of country music but I absolutely love this band (they do have more of a rock-country sound) and I love Nelson's voice (he sounds like his dad Willie Nelson but a bit edgier). Nelson wasn't as talkative as I have seen him be but he and the band gave a really energetic performance with very little down time between the songs. They had a stripped down stage filled with lots of instruments and, since I was sitting on the fifth row (he definitely made eye contact with me), it was fascinating to watch Nelson playing the guitar. There was a major thunderstorm near the end of the show but even the rain couldn't dampen my enthusiasm (the rain stopped just before "Set Me Down on a Cloud" which made me very happy). I had so much fun and I hope they come back again next year!
Note: I have loved every Promise of the Real concert but if I had to pick a favorite it would be the show at the Commonwealth Room. This was right after the movie A Star Is Born came out (Promise of the Real portrayed Jackson Maine's band) and they played "Shallow." It was sans Lady Gaga but it was epic!