• Joey Harward

Dogma Society
After their single "Headrush" found acclaim on SoundCloud, and on the podcast Link & Build, local and new-ish group Dogma Society are leaning heavily into their potential on Dogma World, Vol. 1. The 10-track album kicks off with "Bottom Of The Pit" which tracks along the same lines as "Headrush"—both go hard, produced slickly with urgent yet noir-subtle back beats that Dogma Society go off around in turns between the four members. But they know how to create songs outside this hard-hitting style. "Home/Doesn't Feel Right" is an upbeat, jangly 180 that nonetheless narrates trying to see light in dark times, sun rays vs "doing coke every night to feel right"—a nod to Tyler, The Creator—type pop. The good continues: "Neverending" is a hazier version of that same catchy pop; "Take My Hand" employs bass guitar to a spare and unique punk effect (one of the most surprising and wicked turns on a surprising and wicked album); "Velvet" sounds like it was pulled from 2000s pop ether; and "Same Shit" indicates that Dogma Society is at least aware of the emo rap so popular among others their age, but channels the early millennium iteration instead. "Interlude" is the only outlier on the album, an honest mile marker of sorts that features clips of praise from presumed fans. It would come off braggy if it didn't just seem like an honest thank-you to those fans, as Dogma clearly works on doing all they can to blow up with songs like these. I'm inclined to agree with one of the voices: "Legends in the making, hopefully the whole world gets to catch up." Check out Dogma World, Vol. 1 on Spotify and follow them on Instagram at @dogmasociety9.

Garth Brooks Shakes Things Up at Rice-Eccles
Governor Cox's inbox must be filled to the brim with all sorts of important emails, but it also must be full of PR messages like the ones I get all the time, because right after I found out Garth Brooks was coming to the Rice-Eccles Stadium, he tweeted about it (he will be going, I gather). Even if he is a fan, there's more reasons for a governor to go to this momentous event, like how it's not only one of the first big concerts coming back to SLC after a year of this aggressive pandemic, but also the first concert at Rice-Eccles in 10 years! For those not savvy with college football, or who didn't go to The U., or who just live under a rock, that's because Rice-Eccles is home to U of U football games, primarily. Brooks will be stopping in for this momentous show on July 16, and tickets are fairly affordable if you can find them ($94.95 after fees for in-the-round seating) for what a big show this big artist will surely bring to the stadium. The seats come with some caveats, mainly that the show will go on "rain or shine," and that all attendees assume COVID risk and understand that all COVID rules will apply while at the stadium show. Tickets went on sale May 6 and reportedly sold out within hours, so any remaining seats would theoretically be gotten through official channels like ticketmaster.com/garthbrooks, The Garth Brooks Line at Ticketmaster (1-877-654-2784) or by using the Ticketmaster app on your phone. Get your tickets quick and who knows, maybe you'll find yourself sitting next to the governor.

Don't Trip Fest Returns to Eagle Point Resort
The Organizers of Don't Trip don't want you to trip out any longer over this awful year, but to get out there with them—whether "out there" means visiting Southern Utah's Tushar Mountains, or getting out of your usual headspace. Slated for June 11-14, and located at Eagle Point Resort, the mountain retreat and festival hybrid centers adventure, wellness and of course, music over the weekend that it passes. Everything about the fest is spiritually organized—they describe their musical program as having "a definitive flow ... starting with binaural frequencies to assist in meditation and yoga." The evenings will focus on House, techno and other electronic music, including acts like Dirtwire, Ardalan, Marques Wyatt and dozens more. Centered around a private lake and handy with a restaurant and full bar, daytime activities will include everything from wellness workshops, yoga classes and sound healing to group hiking, mountain biking and 9-hole disc golf. And while all lodging tickets are sold out, many camping options remain. Presale GA tickets are required in addition to any camping passes and are currently $150, plus a $35 environmental impact fee per car. Camping options include: Car camping passes for $80, which includes the environmental fee; RV spots for $250; and early arrival add-ons for $50, which includes first pick of any spot, a new moon ceremony and light musical entertainment. If this sounds like your kind of weekend, don't sleep on Don't Trip, and visit them at pleasedonttrip.com for more info and tickets.

• SLAM Youth Band

SLC Arts Council Grants SLAM Sliding Scale Funds
In February 2020, Salt Lake Academy of Music launched their Musical Instrument Exchange program in collaboration with KRCL Radio, and since then have been able to give instruments to students who need 'em, whether their instrument of choice lies in rock 'n' roll guitars and drums or classical instruments like horns, violins and acoustic pianos. These efforts have been compounded by their free-to-fee sliding scale program, funded by grant money from the Salt Lake City Arts Council Arts Learning Grant and other donations. With this funding, SLAM has been able to broaden its reach, expanding the sliding scales that make the high-quality classes they offer more accessible to more students. That scale ranges from 1,200 lessons at 25% scholarship, 600 at 50%, 400 at 75% or 300 private lessons at 100% scholarship (free). These classes also apply to SLAM's Performance, Production and Recording Programs. SLAM has a 100% COVID-free rate among their students, and so they're carrying on into 2021 with confidence. In addition to encouraging and seeking out a diverse student body, SLAM's faculty of educated and experienced musicians also consists of a diverse cast of musicians of many genders, races, ages and skill levels. With ways around financial barriers, the music-loving kid you know has every reason to step into one of these courses after a sleepy school year spent on Zoom. If you'd like to donate to SLAM's efforts to make music more accessible to kids across the valley, vist slamslc.org/slamex for instrument donation and slamslc.org/donate to match funds from the grant.

Koshe Releases EP
The self-titled debut EP by SLC band Koshe is a dual force of both delicacy and good old nasty garage. They aptly describe themselves as "'90s alternative revival," and while the moments where that is on display are solid, the real interest lies in their equal ability for crafting delicate songs, like the opener of their EP "Green Bean." It has all the mumbled yearning of influential modern indie acts like Alex G (ditto the instrumental track "Baseball Theme") which makes the way Koshe hops into the following song "I Was a 13 Yr Old Dinosaur Junior Fan'' a pretty stark shift. It's jammier and altogether looser than anything put out recently by the famous band it references, hopping with jumpy drums and charming distortion reminiscent of '90s rock, a garage track thru and thru that would really come to life played live. On later track "Marmalade," singer Parviz Faiz's voice does transform into a rather gnarly impression of J Mascis's disgruntled growl, the snarling, snagging guitars and spare-but-heavy basslines also squaring up. But just as quickly, it's back to the delicate with "Ballad of a Walmart Greeter," which has all the energy of one of Elliott Smith's low-down songs, Faiz croaking that his "heart's got a big old hole." The final track is a spoken word that sounds like it was recorded on a voice note, while it returns instrumentally to the now-familiar gummy, emotive guitar whose inspiration I can't pin down—Sebadoh? Jason Molina? Nothing really fits right. Despite their '90s revivalism, more apt modern comparisons might be Fog Lake, Grandaddy or Momma. While the slightly blue guitar-led tracks feel the most satisfying on repeat listens, the whole album's got the stuff—and if they stick with it, this would be a sound worth hearing more of in SLC. Stream Koshe when it comes out May 18 on Spotify, and follow the band on instagram at @koshe.slc.