• Megan Beck

Utahns, in some ways, get two big holidays in July, and one of them is so unique to us that it's spawned a third, countercultural response in recent years. Pie and Beer Day has joined Pioneer Day as a means of celebrating on July 24, and we love to have both options. And whether you celebrate the long trek of Mormon settlers across the West to "the right place," or you reject that checkered past by getting buzzed on local beers and locally-made pies instead, we've got musical functions to accentuate your celebrations. This round-up comes a little early, to give you room to decide once and for all—pioneers, or pie and beer?

Pie & Beer Day Eve at Uinta Brewery. While it seems cool and hip new breweries pop up by the handful with each passing year, Uinta remains one of the OG best-around. Their beers are reliable favorites, from their party-pleasing 801 and Cutthroat multi-packs to their Lime Pilsner tall boys. If you're already a tried-and-true fan, make a special trek of your own out to their brew pub on 1722 S. Fremont Drive and try some of their more limited brews on tap and also enjoy some music all at once. Uinta's nabbed some valley favorites in Vincent Draper & the Culls plus their musical friends, Folk Hogan, for a Pie & Beer Day Eve celebration on Friday, July 23. The event is free, starts at 6:30 p.m. and finishes up by 9:30 p.m., so you can get home early enough to have enough vim and vigor to drink more beers and eat more pie on the real deal Pie and Beer Day, Saturday, June 24. Visit facebook.com/FOLKHOGAN for more details, and look below for the events you should be planning on for your Saturday.

Pie and Beer Day Fest presented by Cory Mon. Though it's unclear whether the wood-fired pies promised at this event will be of the pizza pie or buttery, flaky, crispy pie varieties, this Pie and Beer Day Festival will most certainly serve up a lot of great local music. This all-day event is perfect for droppers-in making the rounds on parties and pies, starting at 2 p.m. with music from SLC's psychedelic jam band Gorgeous Gourds. They'll be followed by a whole day and night of tunes, with River Arrow at 3:10 p.m., Donnie Bonelli at 3:50 p.m., Kenzie Leigh at 4:30 p.m., Jeff Stone at 5:40 p.m., Keith Callister at 6:20 p.m., SwayDancer at 7 p.m., Mark Smith at 8 p.m. and the party's host Cory Mon at 8:50 p.m. Mon and his band are known for their party-band ways, so come prepared to have your night rightly capped with their set. The event is free, but considering the number of bands playing, there's a recommended donation of $25. The event concludes at 10:30 p.m. Visit bit.ly/36fjdpY for more information on getting there.

Pie and Beer, but Make it Goth at Club Area 51. For fans of Club Area 51's fetish nights, or goth, New Wave and post-punk nights like Plastic Passion or Goth Prom, here's perhaps the most counter-cultural event at one of our most enduringly classic counter-cultural venues. Celebrate Pie and Beer Day at Club Area 51's "Pie N Beer" two-night event, kicking off Friday, July 23 and going through Saturday, July 24. Both events are free before 10 p.m., a usual factor at the venue. The multi-room space will offer all-request dance music upstairs, their signature cocktail of goth, industrial, post punk and dark '80s dance music in the downstairs bar area, and karaoke in the third space. Free pie will be present, but only for a limited time, and drink specials include the pie of spirits in $3 Fireball shots and $3 Coronas. Doors are at 9 p.m. and the event concludes at 2 a.m. Visit facebook.com/ClubArea51SLC for more info.

Five Wives Pioneer Day Party at The Westerner. You thought we were going to leave off regular old Pioneer Day events, didn't you? The fact of the matter is, they're not as much fun to write about, unless we're talking about this upcoming Pioneer Day Party at The Westerner. SLC's premier country music venue is teaming up with Five Wives Vodka for a locally-infused night of Pioneer-themed revelry. Featuring the tunes of SLC outlaw country act Bulletproof, the night costs only $10, with free table reservations available on westernerslc.com/reservations. And while there's no pie at this event, the drink specials certainly have the scent of it—in addition to Green Jell-O Shots spiked with Five Wives Vodka, there'll be themed cocktails and Five Wives' flavors like their Heavenly Vanilla and Sinful Cinnamon Vodkas, plus Porter's Fire, Porter's Peach and Porter's Apple. Sounds a bit like pie in a shot glass to me. Festivities start at 6 p.m., and more info can be found at westernerslc.com.