By Michael Luce
It’s been another incredible year for Utah music, and we’ve been there to give you an inside look at it all. 2024 truly had everything: tours, comebacks, national news coverage, and more. Here’s the top 10 most-read articles on Provo Music Magazine this year.
10. How Do You Teach Music Lessons to Teenagers?
If it was true upon publication in 2022, it’s just as true now. Figuring out how to connect to teens as an educator is no small task. Fortunately, Holli Archer was willing to share some trade secrets with the rest of us, including letting them lead, pivoting often, and giving students an identity beyond “student.” Read more here.
9. Album Review: When We Were Friends by The Backseat Lovers
The only story on this list to have also been featured on last year’s top 10 most read, this review’s enduring popularity is clear evidence that The Backseat Lovers are more than just a flash-in-the-pan fad; they’re the real deal. (Not to brag, but we totally called it.) Give the 2019 review a read if you haven’t yet.
8. Kaibrienne Richins Heads to Hollywood
She said she was from the middle of nowhere, then she wowed the judges of American Idol and became a national sensation. Her amazing voice and incredible story battling Hashimoto’s disease cemented her as one to watch, and it’s clear Utahns were eager to cheer for the Henefer singer. Check it out.
7. How to Build Major, Minor, Augmented, and Diminished Chords
Music theory can be hard. Here at Provo Music Magazine, we hope to be not just a spot for news and reviews, but also a resource for musicians as they work to develop their talents and market themselves to the world. Fortunately, it looks like at least a few people found Kadee Henderson’s writeup on chord building to be helpful. Study it yourself here.
6. Kilby Block Party Announces Major Changes for 2025
Kilby Block Party is Utah’s largest music festival, and after KBP5, the festival announced that some big changes were coming for 2025. With an extra night of music, date changes, and more, clearly fans were eager to read up on the updates while they waited for the lineup to drop (which you can check out here). Read up on the changes.
5. Falling in Love with the Process: An Interview with Ashley Hess
Our cover feature for the April print edition, this interview dives into the history and musical processes of the former American Idol contestant. Growth, collaborations, moments of raw faith, and reflection — Zach Collier helps paint the full picture of Ashley Hess’ journey to this point. Give it a read here.
4. The Real Concern with the Abravanel Hall Demolition Proposal
In addition to all the great music, 2025 also brought the addition of a hockey team to Utah. As part of these changes, a beloved Utah music landmark, Abravanel Hall, was proposed for demolition, prompting pushback and outcry from the music community at large (including famed composer John Williams). Editor Michael Luce added his own perspective to the discussion, commenting that the loss of the building itself was far less concerning than the attitude displayed by the proposal. Check it out.
3. February Print Edition Out Now
We were so excited to release the first of six print editions for 2024, and apparently all of you were as well! February’s issue featured rockers Citizen Solider (who, spoiler alert, we’ll see again on this list) as well as a number of fan-favorite articles from the tail end of 2023. The announcement also unveiled our popular Work for Music program, where local bands can help us deliver the magazine in return for studio time. Read all about it.
2. James the Mormon Stages a Comeback
After years dominating the Latter-day Saint online music space, James Curran, best known as James the Mormon, found himself face to face with the changing landscape of church culture, updated social media legislation, and fallout from a global pandemic. After a few years away from the spotlight, he found himself returning to performance in 2024. Evidently there were more than a few fans excited for his return, as this interview quickly jumped up to one of our most-viewed articles of all-time. Read it here.
1. Let It Burn: The Story of Citizen Soldier
This emotional interview was quietly released last November and performed better than average for the first few months of its existence until Citizen Soldier took a few boxes of our February print edition with them on tour. Then, the floodgates opened. The group spent a significant amount of time on tour this year, spreading the interview with them everywhere they went. Then they hit the top of the iTunes Rock charts. Then they released their newest album, Icarus. The group was unstoppable in 2024, and their massive popularity made this interview our most-read article not just of 2024, but of all-time (and it’s not even close). Check it out here.
Honorable mentions
A few other popular highlights published this year include coverage of the week-long NPR series on Utah music (that even won an award!); a retrospective on Indigenous opera composer Zitkala-Sa; as well as interviews with Provo’s poster prince, Utah’s family of bands, musicians ranging from young to even younger, and a couple of cool guys who like acoustic carpets or something like that.
Of course, there’s much more to explore, as the Utah music industry has become bigger and better every year. Check out our archives for news, reviews, and interviews aplenty, and stick with us as we look forward to bringing you another year of awesome music coverage!