By Zach Collier
Provo folk rock band Grizzly Goat will bring their unique brand of gritty backwoods Americana to Kilby Court tonight in Salt Lake City. They’ll be playing alongside Scott Rogers and Timmy the Teeth – a well known contemporary of Joshua James and Isaac Russell.
Grizzly Goat formed in Las Vegas, Nevada. The band has dubbed themselves “The best folk band in Las Vegas,” largely due to their experience with the sparse population of folk musicians there. “They have perhaps the world’s worst folk music community down in Vegas,” lead singer Nate Waggoner told KSL. [1] They played a few shows there before relocating to Provo, where they’ve made a name for themselves in the Utah Valley folk community.
“This show is another round of us trying to break into the Salt Lake music scene,” says Waggoner in correspondence with Provo Music Magazine. “We’ve been pretty durn established here in Provo but we’ve only played a handful of shows up there.”
Grizzly Goat will be playing a handful of new songs – trying them out in preparation for recording a new album in March. “We’re locking ourselves in my in-laws’ cabin in Duck Creek for a few days and recording it there. Specifically, we’ll be playing a new song called ‘Idaho.’ It’s about living a greedy lifestyle where you rob from the earth and you rob people’s emotional energy in pursuit of your own selfish desires. The song is sort of a resolution to stop that sort of living.” A perfect song for the new year.
For those of you who love good folk music, this show at Kilby Court is one you won’t want to miss. Opener Scott Rogers’ brand of folk has a distinctly country feel to it – the lyrics are narrative heavy, and that’s not a bad thing. His song “Midnight Louise” is wonderful. Grizzly Goat’s music is reminiscent of the O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack, with twangy vocals and manic banjo. Timmy the Teeth blends disarming between-songs humor with a powerful musical performance that will move you emotionally.
“We love Timmy the Teeth,” says Waggoner. “We met him when we played with him at the Cowboys and Indies show at Velour last November. […] I was impressed by the honesty of his songwriting. He comes across as a blue collar cowboy family man. I really respect that because his [music] is very genuine and personal. Like his music is what country used to be, or still is in obscure corners of the genre. It’s personal, it’s true, and doesn’t mention girls in short shorts dancing on the tailgate of a lifted Chevy. So you naturally like him.”
Catch the show tonight at Kilby Court at 7 PM. $6 admission. This is an all ages event. Make sure to check out Grizzly Goat’s Boring Conversation Anyway EP on Spotify here. The harmonies on “Nevada” are fantastic.
Provo Music Magazine 