Whenever KRCL and The State Room join forces, the end result is usually an unforgettable Salt Lake City concert. We had such a memorable evening on Friday, March 8, 2024 when Margo Cilker and her band delivered an amazing 16-song set. Touring in support of her flawless new album, Valley of Heart’s Delight, Cilker opened with the record’s first track “Lowland Trail,” a catchy country-folk tune with a fresh West Coast vibe.
Cilker delighted the crowd with a generous portion of new material from her latest critically- acclaimed record. “Keep It On A Burner” and “Beggar For Your Love,” and many other tunes, stayed in my head all week. A master songwriter, she took us on an emotional road trip to a diner in “Santa Rosa” New Mexico, and on to “Tehachapi,” then to “That River,” a song inspired by a long journey across the Great Basin.
Despite only two full-length albums to her credit, Cilker’s built a significant catalog. She’s filled both records with so many great tunes that you forget she’s a relative newcomer. I really enjoyed “Mother Told Her Mother Told Me,” “Crazy or Died,” “Sound and Fury,” and “Steelhead Trout.” Her style is country-folk with a western edge. It’s outdoorsy, pack-the-Subaru-and-head to-the-hills kind of music.
As a bonus, she went old-school with “Delta Dawn,” a song famously recorded by some of the great artists of the 70s, including Bette Midler, Tanya Tucker, and Helen Ready. Cilker’s version was certainly a hit with me. To close out her set she reached further back with a cover of Ian Tyson’s obscure country waltz, “Road To Las Cruces,” a place my wife and I know well.
As a West Coast incarnation of Lucinda Williams, Cilker and her band create a big sound with just four instruments (I’m sure it would be hard to fit more players in their van). I would love to see her with a full orchestra, especially keyboards, fiddle and banjo.
Jeremy Ferrara opened the evening (and did double duty as guitarist in Cilker’s band) with mellow, somewhat psychedelic folk. He started off with “Come and Go,” a song from his soon-to-be released album Darkness is A Bright Sound. The Salt Lake City audience got a preview of his new material, “Reason,” “Morning Light,” and the album’s title track. He entertained the audience with his upbeat fingerpicking in “Sing Until I Die,” played his most popular song “Fictional,” and ended his quick, nine-song set with the catchy “Paint Me Blue,” a great new single he released in January.
Thank you KRCL and The State Room for bringing great new artists like Margo Cilker to Salt Lake City’s concert community. You make our city a cool place to live.
Who: Margo Cilker with Jeremy Ferrara
What: Valley of the Heart’s Delight 24 Tour
Where: The State Room
When: Friday, March 8, 2024
Artist Info: https://www.margocilkermusic.com/, https://jeremyferraramusic.com/
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