Grid City Music Fest kicked off its third year in the heart of the Creative Industries Zone in celebration of the artistic commitment of South Salt Lake. Drew Reynolds and an apt crew assembled 57 bands, 54 of which were local, to perform over a three-day period, which began on Aug. 23 and ended Aug. 25. With it being the third year of the festival in question, there have been both slight and obvious changes since its inception. However, the message has stayed the same: bringing the community of South Salt Lake together. 

“The first one was very different—the first one was, like, touring bands. We were trying to activate the Commonwealth Room, trying to get people to come based on the bands, and then last year the experience became a more holistic whole scene of celebrating South Salt Lake and its art area, which is the Creative Industries Zone, which has 62 murals, five breweries, three distilleries—people don’t really know how much is popping down there. We just wanted to activate all of South Salt Lake,” said Reynolds, who is co-founder of Grid City.

Last year’s festival consisted of only Friday and Saturday with a total of 30 bands playing over seven stages, another facet to show that Grid City Music Fest is continuing to grow year by year and making strides in the process. 

“I bought more marketing for it this year.  My sponsors were super generous this year and kicked it up a little bit more, so we didn’t have to [solely] rely on South Salt Lake,” said Reynolds. “We got a fun bus which is a bus that the town paid for. We kind of piggybacked on that…You go from brewery to brewery and get on a bus, eat awesome food, and drink award-winning beers. Every one of these breweries has won an award.”

From the upper—partly sunlit, partly shaded—deck with a view of the mountains, SuperBubble opened the musical gamut of the festival with a funky, bassy, jazzy sound that created a rooftop ballroom. Terence Hansen started his set 30 minutes later at Pat’s Barbecue.  The excitement did not wane as the opening musicians finished off their sets so the crowd could eventually migrate to the main event at the Commonwealth Room. 

The night had only begun. 

Shifting the focus to the Commonwealth Room, where a carnival-like atmosphere of vendors ranging from Platinum Barber Shop to The Salted Roots sold their goods. Food and drink merchants resided on the outdoor patio as J. Rad Cooley and his band readied their set. With a folky, bluesy melody and an amicable stage presence and positive lyricism, singer and songwriter J. Rad Cooley played his guitar and harmonica in front of a gathering crowd. By the end of the band’s set, the congregation was left wanting more. 

“I know they kind of had, like, a different vibe. It was different the first year, but yeah, this is the second time that we’ve played [at Grid City Music Fest]. It was great!” said Sarah DeGraw, backing vocalist and musician of J. Rad Cooley’s band. “It definitely has grown a lot, but the music industry just has to catch up a little.”

“I’m looking forward to next year’s Grid City. I love the scene and [that more] bands are involved, and I hope to see it grow and keep progressing. I’d love to see bands coming up in Salt Lake and I’d hope to see them grow bigger and bigger. We’re just trying to be there and help grow the music scene along the way,” said J-Rad Cooley. 

As the night progressed and the music continued to grow and build upon itself, the fourth band of the festival and second performers of the night at the Commonwealth Room, The Plastic Cherries, commandeered the stage as attendees gathered back in from mingling and other festivities on the patio. The group, started by couple Shelby and Joe Maddock, brought a different tune for the audience with an alternative and retro euphony that echoed throughout the venue.

“This is our first time playing this festival. It seems like a really awesome, quaint, like, very homegrown festival,” said Shelby Maddock, singer of The Plastic Trees. “They take great care of the artists here, and it feels very community-driven. I’ve really enjoyed getting to meet a lot of the other musicians playing, and the people who put it on have been very, very sweet.  And, yeah, happy to be here.”

Further into the night, SaltFire Brewing, owned and founded by Ryan Miller, hosted a “Punk Rock Show” in which local bands took the stage, blasting through the amps wearing black leather and patch-covered studded jackets and defiantly energetic countenances.  

“I love [Ryan]. He’s got that energy. He was like ‘Can we do punk rock bands, please?’ and I was like ‘Yeah, no problem.’ So we actually have five punk bands,” Reynolds said. 

The punk rock show gave much intrigue to old punk fans, enthusiasts, and newcomers alike as well as those not completely familiar with the subculture, including Ashley Bohrer who also recently moved to Salt Lake City. 

“I grew up in North Dakota, but I lived in South Dakota, town of 22,000 people, so we didn’t have artists or bands really, like, we had a few small-town bands that would perform at the bars, but we did not have a lot of music. So this is, like, exponentially more music than what I’m used to,” said Bohrer, who attended Grid City Music Fest for her first time. 

“This whole festival—I think just seeing the different artists, seeing the different breweries, the different bands—just exposes you to different types of genres and people,” said Bohrer. 

Throughout the weekend, more bands flooded into Grid City Beer Works, Level Crossing Brewing, Pat’s BBQ, Commonwealth Room, Egg Break, Chappel Brewing, and SaltFire Brewing Co., all with the same message: to unite the community of South Salt Lake by strengthening the art and music scene. 

“We’re just trying to do our part. South Salt Lake has been making a strong effort to do better and be better…We hope that people will see it, love it, and actively support the scene.  We’re super excited to do our part in making the local scene that much better,” said Smith.

“Next year we want to grow it even more. We have more ideas for it next year. The only all-ages places are Pat’s Barbecue and the Egg Break on Saturday. Next year we really want to branch it out and make it more family-friendly and family-oriented and bring even more bands in,” said Reynolds. “We want something the bands can look forward to: a local music fest for the musicians. It’s more for them. Let’s go support them! That’s what it’s really about—celebrating Utah, South Salt Lake, and the musicians, you know? They work their butts off to be professionals.” λ