By Michael Luce
The last time I judged at Velour in the Summer, it was a hot, rainy day. A day so humid and muggy, Corey struggled to decide whether flipping on the swamp cooler would make the experience better or worse. By contrast, last night was one of the coolest evenings in recent memory, with my walk home after even giving me a slight shiver. That laid-back energy permeated the first night of Velour’s Summer 2025 Battle of the Bands, as it definitely felt like everyone was there for a good time (as opposed to a cutthroat competition). And let me tell you, it certainly was a good time!
Atta Girl
The night kicked off with the words “swing your partner!” as Atta Girl brought a classic hoedown stomp-and-clap swing sound to the Velour stage. They didn’t stay there long though, as the group ended up switching styles from song to song, covering ground from Western to indie blues to harder blues rock. Now matter the style, the group’s music was clever, well-written, and unconventional in a generally accessible way. (I had to laugh at the lyric, “If one more person tells me to lighten up, I’m going to scream.” It’s a good thing this band wasn’t named Francis, because otherwise they were about to be told to lighten up a whole lot more that night.)
The crowd didn’t seem to mind the switchups, as Atta Girl commanded a strong hold over the audience throughout their set (a theme of the night, you’ll notice). A not insignificant part of this command of attention should be absolutely credited to frontwoman Emmaline Cobia, who is a natural entertainer. Her onstage charisma, endearing authenticity, and incredible vocals combined to be a genuinely enjoyable performance. There’s something so enthralling about seeing someone who is just loving their time performing, and she definitely has that ‘it’ factor.
Atta Girl are composed of five very talented musicians, and it’s clear that the more time they spend together, the better they’re going to get. Their set had moments where one instrument would pull out of sync from the rest of the band, the arrangement of the keys meant they occasionally drowned out other, more delicate layers of sound. and most of the members besides Emmaline seemed a bit uncomfortable onstage. But these (along with the extreme genre diversity) are the kinds of things that get settled, sorted, and straightened out as a band spends more time together. I’d be shocked if this is the last we hear from Atta Girl, as they have an incredibly bright future ahead of them.
Lighten Up, Francis
Full transparency: I am a huge fan of Lighten Up, Francis. Their [store]brand of alt-rock energy and often unconventional stage antics make them a treat to see live each and every time. The group took to the stage with their slow-build anthem (and my personal favorite) “Starting to Fade,” then gradually enveloped Velour with their signature early aughts-influenced rock sound. Before long, there was a full row of headbanging attendees across the front row, and singer/bassist Whit had jumped into the crowd for the final chorus of “Whatever.”
Part of what makes Lighten Up, Francis so compelling is the arrangement of their tracks; they’re the classic four-piece rock group, two guitars, bass, and drums. Even with shared lead vocal duties, their music is all at once simple and full. Each member has their lane, and they come together very effectively. Also, when they rock out, they rock hard. Tracks like “Rich Kid Americana” were just loud, raucous fun, and they too found the audience responding with genuine enthusiasm.
I think there may have been some nerves playing a part in Lighten Up, Francis’ set last night, as it took a few songs for the group to really take over the stage like they usually do. Both Whit and Matt’s vocals were a bit shaky for the first few numbers, and the pacing between songs wasn’t as snappy as I’m used to seeing from the group. They eventually hit their flow, as their finale was explosive, loud, and fun as all get out — proving talent is talent, store-brand or not.
The Last Wild Buffalo
The Last Wild Buffalo is a group whose name I’ve heard floating around a lot, but never had the opportunity to see live until last night. Their rootsy bluegrass stylings were another hard pivot for the night, and I began to wonder if the night was Americana-themed, with Lighten, Up Francis making it in on their track “Rich Kid Americana” alone (a theory that would soon prove entirely and utterly baseless).
The best way to describe The Last Wild Buffalo’s set is that it carried the same hard-hitting fun of the previous group but in a different font. Their set had great flow, there were effective emotional beats, the energy consistency was excellent — overall, the group put on a super solid performance. The audience was also incredibly into it, which how can you blame them? It’s hard not to have fun when a banjo is involved.
The group was definitely the tightest of the night, and their set contained a fair amount of variety while still remaining cohesive throughout. The excellent four-part harmonies proved they certainly aren’t doing anything wrong, and it feels like they’re right on the edge of finding that je ne sais quoi to set them apart from other groups in similar sonic spaces. If they can pair all these technical proficiencies with a unique sound, they’ll be unstoppable.
My only other suggestion for the group is to really be aware of their momentum of their set and its influence on the audience. The Last Wild Buffalo is very good at building hype and excitement in the crowd, but it didn’t always feel like the group knew how to best capitalize on that energy, leading to a few spots where the audience was left in a spot of uncertainty. Finding ways to fully harness that electricity and guide it to where they want will make their live shows a must-see experience.
Bleu Grave
Completely shattering my Americana theory, Bleu Grave took the stage with a sound reminiscent of The Cure but with a more modern grave-wave or shoegaze styling. Turns out the night was just a good ol’ variety bag, and Bleu Grave brought something not just unlike the other bands, but also unlike what the rest of the Utah scene is doing. It was simultaneously grooving — borderline reminiscent of 2010s indie dance pop — while also sitting in a soup of swirling guitars and deeply textural drum work.
At the risk of sounding too repetitive in my comparisons, Bleu Grave was what you’d get if you took The Cure and made them dancey. One track in particular (the as-of-yet unreleased “PASSAGE”), carried an intricate rhythm that would make a math rock guitarist grin overtop a groovy dance beat and bassline. The whole crowd was jumping, and it certainly caught the ears of a few attendees who had erroneously decided they weren’t interested in what Bleu Grave had to offer. And with tom fills that intricate and interesting, how could you not be entranced?
The biggest thing their set needed was a bit more movement. Despite the layers of sound coming and going, the group maintained a pretty consistent dynamic level and visual appearance throughout their set. Their set was at its best when the members loosened up, moved around a bit, and gave the music some breathing space. These guys clearly enjoy the sort of sound they’re creating, and I think a few small tweaks to the performance (extra movement on stage, greater dynamic contrast, making space) could help them absolutely enrapture audiences. It’s a shame so much of what they played last night is still unreleased, because once again, there’s no one else in the scene doing quite what they are, and I wanted to relisten over and over again.
Results
After the judges’ and audience members’ votes had all been counted, host John Schultz took to the stage, complementing the crowd for having been so engaged for the whole night. I definitely agreed there were some members of the crowd where it was nearly impossible to tell who they were there for, as they were engaged and partying the whole time. Kudos to you, awesome strangers!
Our host then proceeded to open the note containing the name of Night 1’s winner: The Last Wild Buffalo!
You can catch The Last Wild Buffalo at finals this Saturday! Velour’s Summer 2025 Battle of the Bands Night 2 is tonight, featuring Love, Kenna; Spencer Sanders; The Penny Candies; and Clean Freak. Doors open at 7:30 PM.
While you’re waiting for the show to start, check out “I Hate That I Don’t Hate You” by Lighten Up, Francis below and be sure to follow Night 1 winners The Last Wild Buffalo on Instagram!