3/16/24 - BEEHIVE - SALT LAKE CITY, UT
photo by gavin white
Beep. beep. beep. Utah trips always start with a 6AM alarm. The drive from here to there is about 10 hours and I like to start it out early. The car was packed by 6:30, Nate met up with me at the house, and we were on the road by 7.
The weather was a complete mess and it actually made the drive more interesting and made the time go by faster. It was one of those days where I had to use my windshield wipers on full blast which always makes me laugh.
We got into Salt Lake City around 7 or 8 and met up with some old friends Noah and Natalee who were kind enough to let us stay with them. It was really fun to catch up and we ended up talking about all the good Nashville Hot Chicken places in Salt Lake and all the good (terrible) reality dating shows which was a hoot. After a lot of laughing, we went to bed and I slept like an absolute rock. Something about driving 10 hours in a day that makes your brain and body completely shut down.
The next day we started it off with some really solid organic coffee and then headed over to 10 Cent Studios to record a live session with Rugs Unplugged. The set was amazing and the lighting and the people were just spectacular vibes to be around. We started the set with “Try” then played “What If You Don’t” and wrapped it up with “Never Could’ve Broke It.” Shoutout to everyone involved with the session and special shoutout to Thomas for subbing in on bass on super short notice.
Nate and I grabbed some Dave’s Hot Chicken and then made our way over to the venue. I was definitely completely exhausted by the time soundcheck rolled around but it was a really fun one. Ivy was running sound at the show and they made the whole process way more fun than it usually is. Had a ton of great laughs and got everything dialed in super nicely. It’s so refreshing to have sound people who really care about the artist and the experience.
This show was in a venue that is attached to the back of a vegan restaurant and the vibes were off the charts. The venue had the option to either play on the stage or set up at the ground level and I made the executive decision to play on the floor. I thought it would feel more like a house show and it definitely did. Super glad we made that choice. Rally opened the show up with a super awesome set and then Candid blew the roof off the place.
Nate and I locked in before the set and felt awesome going into the show. We decided to open this show with “New Ways To Miss You” and “Ok on My Own” as an ode to all the Utah fans who have been there since the beginning. We then went to our classic “Two Kids In A Trench Coat” “Sleep Fine” and “Old Friends (Pinegrove) regimen. This was a longer set so we had the ability to introduce some other songs back into the set like “Try” and “20s.” We closed the set out again with “If You’re Not Next To Me” and a riveting version of “(love) a reason to hate you” where I genuinely said “open up the pit” and actually meant it. It’s super fun to rock out with the crowd on that song and the Salt Lake City crowd always seems to be down to go on that ride with me which I so greatly appreciate.
We capped the night off with some good hangs with the OG SLC pals and then went to Taco Bell for a Crunchwrap Supreme and an interview with my good friend Mia. We made our way back to the house and had a scare because Noah and Natalee had accidentally locked the door out of habit and went to bed so Nate and I panicked and thought we were going to have to grab a hotel or something but luckily they heard us trying to get in and were able to let us in. Phew.
Nate and I dipped the next morning at like 7am and drove the 10 hours back with barely any stop other than one lame gas station that was like $6 a gallon and super crowded so it added 30 minutes to what would’ve been a record-breaking speed.
Shoutout to everyone who came out to the Salt Lake City show and has made us feel so welcome in a city that’s so far from home. Can’t wait to get back out there soon.
For now, I’m taking a couple weeks in California to get organized and prepare for the Midwest leg of the tour. Can’t wait to see all my Midwest pals soon!