By Michael Luce
Photo by Nicholas Ioan Lazaroae
For as much changes year to year, two things always stay the same: 1. the endless amount of incredible musical talent coming out of Utah and 2. the equally endless amount of appreciation and love we have for you, our loyal readers. We wouldn’t be here, doing what we are, without all of you.
2025 held a mix of new discoveries and old favorites for readers, making for a very fun end-of-year most-read list. But enough preamble from me – let’s check out the 10 articles you all couldn’t get enough of in 2025.
10. Through Hell and Back: How LaFrantz’s Big Bet Paid Off
The cover story for our Spring 2025 print edition, this interview with husband-and-wife duo LaFrantz recounts their journey from Provo all-stars to LA rock bottom and back up top again. Everyone loves a feel-good comeback story, and this one has it all: success, hard work, loving support, and impossible dreams. Readers clearly loved discovering how the Larsens found success chasing their dreams by trusting themselves and each other. Full story here.
9. Album Review: When We Were Friends by The Backseat Lovers
Three years running now, the 2019 review has held its spot in the year-end top 10. We try to stay humble here at PMM, but we totally called that these guys were going to be a big deal well before it happened. Six years later, the album holds up incredibly well, as does Jordan Ottesen’s review (though we may be a bit biased if we’re being honest).
8. Zitkala-Sa and The Sun Dance Opera: A Forgotten Legacy
Last year, writer Mitch Tousley wrote a piece on Zitkala-Sa, an influential Native American composer and advocate in the early 1900s. Tousley observed that while many of her contributions were well-noted, others, such as her contributions to The Sun Dance Opera, were at risk of fading into obscurity. In an effort to raise better awareness of her legacy and impact, he submitted this piece to us for Women’s History Month 2024, and it’s been a slow-burn rise ever since. Kudos to you Mitch; seems safe to say that goal of bringing more awareness to this story has been a success.
7. Make the World Dance: Full Circle Boys and Redefining the Modern Boy Band
From Backstreet Boys to BTS, the world loves a good boy band, and Full Circle Boys are clearly no exception. Part California and part Utah, this group takes their blend of inspirations and fanbases and brings fun to the masses through song and dance. Abi Falin Horspool shares the full story of the group’s formation, philosophy, and fun-loving attitude, and you can check it out here if you haven’t had the chance to do so yet.
6. Donnie Bonelli, An Influential Figure in Utah Hip Hop, Has Passed Away
Utah lost a legend in 2025. After a years-long public battle with cancer, hip hop artist Donnie Bonelli passed away in October. Bonelli was a part of House of Lewis in addition to a number of other projects and creative endeavors, as well as being massively influential to the scene as a whole. The outpouring of love following his passing was immense, and it’s very clear he made a difference to a large number of music fans here in Utah and beyond.
5. Just Getting Started: An Interview with Paige Fish
Another ‘told-ya-so’ moment for PMM, we’re so excited to see Paige Fish getting the attention she so deserves. This 2024 interview from Andy McFerren shares the story of how Paige got into songwriting and her journey from musicals to music and beyond. This Utah native is making waves, and you’re going to want to join us on the bandwagon. Check it out.
4. Building The Band: Making Utah Proud
Utah musicians are no strangers to TV competitions, and 2025 brought the latest in a long line of successful competitors with Aaliyah Rose and Landon Boyce on Netflix’s Building The Band. Fans were curious to know more. This musical battle also brought a unique twist to the usual formula, enough to cause writer Joe Metro to recommend putting it on “as soon as humanly possible.” Read more about it here.
3. The Infinite Beauty of Oneness: An Interview with Eidola’s Andrew Wells
Few things are cooler than genuine connection between musicians and their fans, and Eidola is paving the way for connection and growth in multiple areas. Frontman Andrew Wells shares with Darcie Roy in our Summer 2025 print edition cover story a whole lot about the group’s work to develop deeper fan interaction experiences, the distilling of lifetime of lessons into a new album, and even a look back at the scene where he started. Eidola is seriously cool, and you should check the interview out if you haven’t had the chance yet.
2. Beyond Wrapped: 7 Cooler Ways to Analyze your Spotify Listening
We’re always eager to check out our Spotify (and other streaming service) wraps at the end of the year, and clearly, we aren’t the only ones! From sassy robots to meme formats to more data that you could possibly ever need, editor Michael Luce shows you don’t need to wait until the first week of December to analyze your Spotify listening data. If you’ve ever wondered how obscure your tastes are or just what your favorite artists would look like on a hypothetical festival lineup together, we’ve got you covered.
1. Let It Burn: The Story of Citizen Soldier
Sometimes you just can’t beat the classics. Zach Collier’s emotional 2023 interview with Citizen Soldier was last year’s top-read story, and it makes a triumphant return atop the leaderboard for 2025. As noted last year, the group was unstoppable in 2024, and the Citizen Soldier train has just kept on chugging. The band released another new album this year, performed for the first time in new locations, and showed off what’s made them an enduring presence in music. But seriously, you all ate this one up this year. It had more views than our homepage and the About page. Combined. In case you’ve been living under a rock, check it out here.
Another great year for music
Once again, there’s never a dull year in Utah music, as there’s more talent here than can even be contained within the state. Whether you’ve been with us since the very beginning of the year or joined us just for a post or two, thank you. Thank you from all of us here at Provo Music Magazine for supporting our vision of bringing the killer local music we hear every day to the masses.