Big Thief @ SLC Twilight 09.22.2025

Adrianne Lenker of Big Thief sings while playing guitar on stage at Library Square for SLC Twilight on Sept. 22. Photo: Nathan Gentry.

Image: Nathan Gentry

Concert

Library Square is, in all honesty, a terrible venue whose layout continually changes to accommodate increasingly massive crowds that line 200 East. For what it’s worth, you didn’t have to pay a dime if you wanted to stand just ten feet off the west fence in Washington Square Park, and those who did likely got a better view. Despite that, Big Thief and their opening bands put on an incredible show, one that felt as tender as it was joyous.

Little Moon was the last-minute local opener for this show and, like the other openers at Library Square, played for a very short time. I could sing Emma and Nathan Hardyman’s praises for thousands of words, but I will spare you. All I will say is in terms of raw talent and artistry, Little Moon is perhaps the best Utah has ever seen or had.

Second opener Kiki Cavazos put on an intimate acoustic set that paired well with the setting sun. Cavazos is a fascinating Southern artist who recorded her newest record Early Mountain Songs direct to tape on the Mississippi River, and her talent of channeling eclectic instruments with genuine and cutting lyricism are fully unique in and of themselves. At times, her words reminded me of Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You.

Big Thief still feels relatively new for me, despite the group’s six full-length albums released over ten years. It’s hard to describe that passage of time, but as a lifelong fan I could feel it with each passing song. It’s hard, too, to know how close you hold the songs of your youth until they are played before you. This happened many times during the set with tracks like “Masterpiece” and “Shark Smile.” Perhaps it’s Adrianne Lenker and her bandmates’ skill at translating the unyielding heartbreak and intimacy of their recorded albums right to the stage. Though I will have to say, it’s some version of magic that can’t be repeated.