Red Butte concerts a whole new game

To compliment a brand-new ampitheater, the Red Butte Garden concerts have scheduled an almost entirely new musical line-up.

Instead of acts skewed heavily towards singer-songwriters and acoustic instruments, especially guitars, this year's shows will be louder, funkier and even a bit stranger than in previous years. Of the 12 acts announced Friday for the series, only two of them played last year, and one of those was an opening act.

In fact, not even half of the shows are acts that have ever played the Garden during its decade-plus of concerts. Even most of the returning artists have not played there in years.

This year the Garden will have a brand-new ampitheater, which is still under construction but expected to be done mid-May. Because of the construction, however, the concert series is starting about a month late, with the first show June 11. Additionally, ticket sales start later, with members allowed to purchase starting May 19 and the general public on June 2nd.

The major concert coup — for at least this highly-biased writer — is bringing Wilco to the Garden. The Chicago-based band led by Jeff Tweedy has only played Salt Lake twice since forming almost 15 years ago, and only once since the turn of the century.

While they once fell comfortably into the alt-country/Americana genre, their last three albums have increased the experimentation, both musically and lyrically. They have made feedback and dissonance art forms, and their shows often are much louder and more challenging, inn a good way, than anybody only familiar with early albums "A.M." or "Being There" would expect.

The not-alt-country tag also applies to another surprising show, a pairing of Alejandro Escovedo and Greg Brown. Escovedo, if his opening set for Son Volt last year is any indication, brings a musical fire and charisma that can have the crowd, even those unfamiliar with him, worshipping him by the end of the show. Brown, on the other hand, flys solo with an acoustic guitar, but his often hilarious, poignant songs generally grab the crowd's attention.

The middle of the summer, in fact, could prove to be a energetic time for Garden concerts. A double-billing of Los Lobos and Los Lonely Boys practically guarantees that the crowd will not be able to sit for three-plus hours.

Just before that show, the return of Soul Stew Revival promises little chance to relax. A creation of Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, who are married and tour with their children, the show is a Bayou-blend of funk, blues, soul, Southern rock, and Cajun.