Summer is here. We hope. It’s time to get your summer calendar locked down, with summer concerts and events. Choose from this list of 11 of the coolest events for fun in the sun (or inside a concert venue or whatever). We’ve got Men at Work (or man at work), giant game of whodunnit in downtown SLC and more. (But not Bonanza campout which was canceled by Utah’s fun police.)
May 15 – Collin Hay (of Men At Work) Who can it be now? Well it’s Collin Hay (of Men At Work). The front man of what might have been Australia’s biggest band (sorry Midnight Oil, you didn’t write “Down Under”) will rock The Commonwealth Room. Hay’s acoustic and mournful versions of the Men at Work song-list are honestly often better than the originals. And if you haven’t heard of Men at Work, shame. Get thee to Spotify and then to the show.
The Commonwealth Room, 195 West Commonwealth Ave. SLC, thecommonwealthroom.ticketfly.com
May 17-19 – Living Traditions Festival The Salt Lake City Arts Council will be having their annual Living Traditions festival—a free three-day cultural celebration that presents traditional music, dance, food and crafts of cultural communities that have made Salt Lake City their own. It’s also basically the official kick-off of festival season in SLC. So. There’s that.
Liberty Square, 200 E. 400 South, SLC, livingtraditionsfestival.com
May 28-June 4 – School of Rock The Musical Dewey Finn, a wannabe rock-star posing as a substitute teacher, inspires his class of straight-A students to become a mind-blowing rock band. This Broadway musical based on the film will be premiering at the Eccles Theatre. Eccles Theatre, 111 E. Broadway, SLC, broadway-at-the-eccles.com
June 7-9 – Utah Scottish Festival & Highland Games The Utah Scottish Festival & Highland Games bring a mix of history, culinary and musical culture of Scotland. The festival will also feature a pipe band (of course), a drum major competition, strong man competition and champion dancers. What you choose to wear under your kilt is up to you. Utah State Fair Park, 155 N. 1000 West, SLC, utahscots.org
June 11 – Rob Thomas at Red Butte Remember the ’90s? Yeah. We’re old, so we do. Anyway, Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty will bring us back to our college days with important power ballads of the era like “3AM” and “Push.” He was awarded the Hal David Starlight Award which recognizes young songwriters that have already had an amazing influence on the industry. So that’s pretty cool. Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre, 2155 Red Butte Canyon, SLC, redbuttegarden.ticketfly.com
June 13 – Brad Paisley The man, the myth, the Brad will be out here in Utah with his arsenal of country hits like “Whiskey Lullaby” and “Remind Me” over at USANA Amphitheatre. Paisley has sold over 11 million albums and has won three Grammy awards. He also managed to write some songs for the popular movie, Cars. Get ready for some boot-scootin’ in Kearns. USANA Amphitheatre, 5150 Upper Ridge Rd., Kearns, livenation.com
June 14-15 – Utah Blues Festival The 5th Annual Utah Blues Festival returns to downtown SLC to the delight of blues music fans from all over the west. The UBF is Utah’s only festival that focuses on the musical/cultural art of blues music, which sounds a little lofty if you ask us. We just dig the blues, man. Gallivan Center, 239 Main St., SLC, utahbluesfest.org
June 14 – Daddy Daughter Dance Calling all dads. DF Dance Studio is putting on a Daddy-Daughter dance. Kids grow up fast and sometimes parents don’t get to spend as much time with their kids as they would like. Feeling the guilt yet? Get out on the dance floor with your little girl before some gross boy steals her away from you FOREVER. DF Dance Studio, 2978 State St., SLC, dfdancestudio.com
June 16 – Sunday Morning Bartoons Quarters Arcade, the Temple to Immature Nostalgia for 40-Somethings, naturally offers something called Sunday Morning Bartoons. Which is pretty much what you figure it is. Cartoons, in a bar with all you can eat Captain Crunch for $3. Don’t bother getting out of those sweat pants. Just head to Quarters and let sugared cereal and booze help you forget that you are a married man with a mortgage and stuff. Quarters Arcade Bar, 5 E 400 S, SLC, quartersslc.com
June 29 – Sneaky Finders: The SLC Detective Game The game is afoot! CluedUpp is bringing its popular British detective game (that’s basically a giant, outdoor version of Clue) to Salt Lake City. The SLC version will be called “Sneaky Finders” and is set in the fictitious town of Millingham. Your team of detectives will track down virtual witnesses and eliminate suspects to crack the case. Downtown SLC, cluedupp.com
June 30 – Michael Franti and Spearhead The annual Deer Valley Concert Series has become a summer mainstay and this year’s series will feature another mainstay, Michael Franti and Spearhead. Michael Franti’s most recent album, Stay Human Vol. II is a great reminder that there is still good in the world and that it is worth fighting for. Believe it. Deer Valley Resort, 2250 Deer Valley Dr., Park City, deervalley.com
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