_{By Mike Romero}

It just might be the ultimate Provo indie collab. Five of Provo’s longest-running mid-tier indie bands – all consistently between 20K and 40K monthly listeners for as long as I can remember – have joined forces for three minutes of Provo pop/rock bliss. The song, entitled “Hold On Til You Let Go,” was led and written by folk/rock band Michael Barrow & the Tourists.

“Hold on til you let go // If you’re here, then I’m not the only one // Set back from the get go // We’ll slow down when there’s no more road to run” croons Michael Barrow with his signature soulful lead vocal. From first listen, it was clear that this is an anthem for underdogs – passionate people who have been dealt a bad hand – that refuse to stop even when it looks like they’re running out of road.

When Roseburg’s Zach Knell came in with “Holding onto an echo // I’ll free fall into something I’ll regret,” something started to dawn on me. He was soon followed by friend, fellow Roseburg bandmate, and solo artist YesterKid (Sam Sheppard) with an equally poignant line about anxiety and uncertainty: “Still learning to let go // Of the things that haven’t happened yet.”

From this second stanza, a new pattern emerged to me that just might tie all of these seemingly disparate bands together. It’s something far beyond a “ra ra, you can do this!” positive thinking anthem. For those familiar with Provo music history, you may recall that Michael Barrow & the Tourists, Roseburg, and Cinders (who command attention throughout the second verse) all had major tours planned for 2020 before having their hopes dashed due to the COVID 19 Pandemic.

“Being in a band in 2020, like most things in 2020, felt a little broken,” says Michael Barrow. “We had a bit of momentum coming out of 2019, and to have that all come to a screeching halt in a matter of days was pretty jarring. It was a time of uncertainty and confusion, and that kind of atmosphere certainly bled into MB&T.”

“Provo shut down on Friday the 13th, 2020,” explains keys player Zach Collier. “The band likes to joke that everything is our fault for playing Velour on Friday the 13th.” Michael Barrow & the Tourists technically played a sold out show, but under 100 people actually arrived. Their opener, LA’s Dylan Dunlap, also failed to arrive due to coming down sick with the virus that morning before his flight to Utah. Luckily, Dunlap chose not to hop on his flight and responsibly stayed home. The Provo band narrowly avoided accidentally being the first super-spreader event in the state.

What followed was a scrapped national tour that wouldn’t resume for Michael Barrow & the Tourists until 2022. While they made it through mostly intact, Roseburg was very candid in a previous Provo Music Magazine interview about how the pandemic nearly killed the band. Cinders also experienced major lineup changes during those years.

Add Drusky into the bridge (one of Provo’s rave-review indie rock darlings that’s a regular staple at major Utah shows and is composed of veteran musicians who have been around just as long if not longer than Roseburg, Cinders, and Michael Barrow & the Tourists), and it’s clear this song is about musicians continuing to live the dream despite all odds. The song becomes all the more powerful when you realize that the song’s call and response format represents the bands encouraging each other not to give up. This is especially poignant when you realize that all five of these acts came up in the scene together and have gigged and toured together repeatedly over the last decade.

It’s kind of heartbreaking and deeply personal when read this way, while still being incredibly relatable outside of this interpretation. “Hold On Til You Let Go” deserves a special place in the Provo music pantheon simply for chronicling these weird years in Provo music history and embodying what makes this scene truly great: friendship, collaboration, and good ol’ fashioned Provo gusto and grit.

I don’t know who needs to hear this today, but: “If you’re still fighting, then I’m still fighting too. If you’re still trying, then I’m right there with you.” That’s what Provo’s all about, folks.

The song was written by Michael Barrow and produced by Tourists Zach Collier and Mac Wright. “Hold On Til You Let Go” was mixed and mastered by Scott Wiley of June Audio. The song serves as a followup to their 2024 single “Over It.”

Make sure to follow Michael Barrow & the Tourists, Roseburg, YesterKid, Cinders, and Drusky on Instagram. You can stream the song on Spotify below!