By Molly McCoy
The Backseat Lovers returned to Utah for a two night performance for their hometown fans. With both nights selling out almost as soon as tickets went on sale, it was definitely a night no one wanted to miss. Taking a short break over the holiday season, they will be starting up again in the new year hitting out of country locations like Australia and New Zealand as well as a tour across Canada and the U.S. Be sure to get tickets for this tour as it is one you won’t want to miss.
This night is definitely one to remember, the venue they played at was not a normal concert venue, rather it was the Capitol Theater in Salt Lake City. As soon as I walked through the doors I understood instantly why they chose it, the atmosphere of the theater fit the aesthetic of their album perfectly. I walked into the theater and noticed that there wasn’t a photo pit so that meant I would be taking pictures around the venue, that’s a little different from what I normally do but it was a fun challenge.
The openers for this night was another local Utah band, “Little Moon Music”. I’ve never seen a life performance of theirs before and I hope that I can see more in the future. The lead singer’s vocals were haunting and beautiful as she sang insane high notes and melodically sang through her songs. During their set they did have a few sound problems, something that impressed me throughout those problems is how interactive the band members were with the crowd as they waited to fix things. Their keyboardist would ask the crowd various questions and the crowd answered back enthusiastically. Despite the sound issues fans seemed to really like them as I saw a few crowd members follow her on Spotify during their set and they received a standing ovation at the end.
The house lights went up and you could feel the excitement surge as more people found their seats. I saw the Backseat Lovers for the first time years ago when they were first starting out as a band. It was so cool to see this sold out theater swelling with people, and to see the growth from then to now. Soon the lights went down and the band made their way on stage. They started with their song, “Silhouette” and played their way through their album.
One of my favorites that they played was “Words To Know” . This song had incredible harmonies and was really fun to watch as they played on stage. The lead singer, Joshua Harmon thanked the crowd for being there and the continuous support they have received from their home state over the years. He also mentioned how this is their first time playing at a seated venue and how quiet it was because of that. Something that was cool about it being a seated venue is that you could hear the crowd sing along to all the songs so much better. During their final song of the album “Viciously Lonely” the crowd snapped and sang along with the band.
After they finished playing through the album they ended their set and the night with some of their most popular hits. My favorite was of course, “Kilby Girl”. The crowd sang so loud during this one and you could see all the band members smile as the song progressed. Joshua did a great job of harmonizing with the crowd throughout that song which I thought was cool. As the house lights went up and the show came to an end it was obvious to see how overjoyed fans were to see one of their favorite bands come back.
The Backseat Lovers made an exceptional return to Utah after releasing their 3rd album and this tour is definitely one that you don’t want to miss. With great harmonies, guitar solos and truly amazing vocals there is something for every music lover at their show.
