Music Monday 8/13: Father John Misty, Diplo, Gipsy Kings and more

With just a couple weeks of summer left, a final round of festivals found its way to Utah over the weekend. The Women’s Redrock Music Festival in Torrey brought feminist icon Cris Williamson, all-female mariachi band Flor de Toloache, India’s Shubhangi Joshi, and a who’s who of locals (Sister Wives, Sarah DeGraw, Robyn Cage) together for two days of solidarity, activism and artistic uplift.

Here in Utah’s capital, Craft Lake City featured two stages with entertainment on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, bringing well-known performers like Will Baxter, Jay Warren and The Poppees together with diverse acts like Ballet Folklorico Newara, Bhutanese Community Dancers, Rumba Libre Band and Flamenco del Lago. In addition to the awesome DIY arts and crafts, a festival like Craft Lake City will do wonders in introducing you to our city’s thriving music scene.

Looking ahead, this week is jam-packed with headlining performances and intimate events alike. Father John Misty and Lucy Dacus bring seasoned star power to The Union Event Center tonight (Monday, Aug. 13), while Nashville singer-songwriters Katie Herzig and William Wild combine earnest indie-folk forces at The Urban Lounge on Tuesday, Aug. 14.

Avant-garde funk is the order of business on Wednesday, Aug. 15, when virtuoso bass player Victor Wooten brings his trio featuring Dennis Chambers + Bob Franceschini to The Commonwealth Room. Lovely male-female harmonies alight at Rye Diner & Drinks when upstate New York four-piece The Sea The Sea touch down the same night, bringing danceable, Lucius-inspired folk-pop across the country.


Meanwhile, Thursday, Aug. 16, features two huge shows: opening night of the Salt Lake Community College Twilight Concert Series’ return to Gallivan Center, with supreme DJ overlord Diplo spinning the crowd into a frenzy while City Weekly Battle of the DJs winner Bo York hypes everyone up in the opening slot.

Up the hill, Andalusian legends Gipsy Kings will surely have hips a-sway on Thursday night when they bring their irresistible blend of Spanish flamenco, salsa funk and gypsy pop to Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre. Celebrating the 40th anniversary of their family band—it was originally founded by five Reyes brothers and three Baliardo cousins—frontman Nicolas Reyes still leads the traveling troupe around the globe on a perpetual celebration of 2013’s Grammy-winning album Savor Flamenco. I know I will do just that under the stars on Thursday—will you?