SLUG Contributor Limelight
February 5, 2025
Contributor Limelight: Asha Pruitt
To call Junior Editor Asha Pruitt “invaluable” to SLUG is a big understatement. Having joined the SLUG team back in June 2023, she coordinates countless stories, manages Editorial Interns and plays a substantial role in putting each month’s magazine together.
Articles by contributor
Review: Japanese Breakfast — For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)
For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women) is a slow burn meditation on the consequences of desire, reconnecting with an estranged father and reconciling with disloyalty from a lover. … read more
Poppy Injects Optimism Into Negative Spaces
Negative Spaces is one of Poppy’s heaviest projects to date, but there’s a thread of optimism running through the album: “You don’t know how bright the light is without the darkness,” she says. … read more
Play Review: The Antipodes
Both playwright Annie Baker and director Jack Cobabe excel at finding the extraordinary in the mundane, and isn’t that what stories are all about, anyway? … read more
Scriver Brothers Balance Surrealism and Authenticity in Documentary Endless Cookie
A combination of Peter’s storytelling and Seth’s animation, Endless Cookie is a series of witty, wandering vignettes about Indigenous life in Canada and a rollicking family portrait. … read more
Cover Your Ears, Not Your Eyes for Welsh Folk Horror...
Rabbit Trap’s captivating, eerie atmosphere and thematic emphasis on sound mask a frustratingly vague narrative and distant characters. … read more
A Journalist’s Nightmare: Opus Is a Punchy but Predictable Cult...
It’s Midsommar (murderous cult in the countryside) meets Ingrid Goes West (the dark side of celebrity worship) meets Get Out (I wanted to scream “Get out!” the whole time). … read more
Top Five Albums of 2024 To Speed Run the Stages...
Spanning from ‘90s synth pop to retro psych-punk, each of these albums ushered in a new emotion—listed here in the sequence of the traditional therapeutic model. … read more
Shannon & The Clams Don’t Own Beauty, but They See...
Shannon Shaw and Cody Blanchard discuss their emotional creative process, what it’s like to publicly grieve on stage and their love for their fans through it all. … read more
Our First Local Show: Utah Bands Who Made It Big...
SLUG reached out to the biggest musical groups who originally came out of Utah with a simple request: Tell us about the first local show you ever played. … read more
Building Extraordinary Looks With Four SLC Fashion Designers
From patchwork pants to coffin jewelry and crochet bonnets to metallic bralettes, each designer brings something unique to the table. … read more
Review: Destroy Boys – Funeral Soundtrack #4
The album is, in many ways, a funeral for old identities and relationships, but it’s also a celebration of new ways of living. … read more
Kid News: DIY Festival Kid Row
Local reporters Mei, age 9, and Ren, age 6, are running a business to amplify the voices of kids like them. … read more
Four Ways to Celebrate Juneteenth in Utah this Year
Learn more about three celebrations happening in Utah this year, from the 35th Annual Juneteenth Freedom and Heritage Festival in Ogden to a brand-new Juneteenth Freedom 5K Run/Walk in Woods Cross! … read more
The Rise, Fall and Revival of Lesbian Spaces in SLC
There are somewhere between 20 and 40 lesbian bars in the United States, compared to upwards of 800 gay bars. But there has always been a demand for women-centered spaces within the queer community. … read more
17 Stand-Out Performances from Kilby Block Party 5
With a disco ball-glistening atmosphere and a star-studded lineup that could rival Coachella in sheer talent, Kilby Block Party was an absolute fever dream. … read more
“Joyful Catharsis”: Mannequin Pussy Wants You to Scream
It’s clear that Mannequin Pussy isn’t afraid to cause a stink. Lead vocalist and guitarist Marisa “Missy” Dabice chatted with SLUG ahead of their upcoming Salt Lake City show. … read more
How Ecosystems Feed Each Other: Wild Foraging for Invasive Plants
As a lead horticulturist at Red Butte Garden, Nielson designs and maintains about five acres of land, including the herb, medicinal and fragrance gardens. … read more
Local Music Singles Roundup: May 2024
The sun is out (occasionally) and SLUG is back at it again with May’s Local Music Singles Roundup! … read more
Play Review: Bitter Lemon
Bitter Lemon leaves the audience with the same lingering, acrid taste in their mouth that will continue to haunt both Finlay and Helen in perpetuity. … read more
Hankerings for the Hangover: Top 8 Local Cure-Alls
Your head is ten sizes too big, as you projectile-vomit multicolored regret. How will this ever go away? With the help of SLUG Magazine, of course! … read more
Local Music Singles Roundup: April 2024
The SLUG team is back to deliver the musical medicine that offers relief as you’re being edged by the broken promises of spring’s coming. … read more
Local Review: Whisperhawk – Keepers of the Earth Vol. 2
Keepers of the Earth Vol. 2 proves Whisperhawk is a masterful storyteller as well as musician— the kind of soulful street performer that stops you in your tracks. … read more
Skull Preservation and Sustainable Cremation: Alternative Pet Memorials
These two Utah animal lovers are in the business of providing alternative ways to keep the memory of your furry (and scaly) friends alive. … read more
Local Music Singles Roundup: March 2024
The weather is upside down and it’s not letting up anytime soon, but SLUG is here to supply dreamy alt-rock and pure raging punk. … read more
Sundance Film Review: Kidnapping Inc.
Spurred by the irony of the film’s subject matter, director Bruno Mourral persevered through unique challenges of filming in Haiti in order to finish the movie. … read more
Emerald Project Co-Founder Nora Abu-Dan is Proud to be Palestinian
Abu-Dan and Tashnizi founded Emerald Project to fight Islamophobia in Salt Lake City. … read more
Local Music Singles Roundup: February 2024
Ah, February. Spring is nowhere in sight, and there’s even an extra day this year to drag it on that much longer. Luckily, SLUG’s Local Music Singles Roundup is here to keep you warm. … read more
Sundance Film Review: Freaky Tales
Freaky Tales follows four stories that gradually intersect and entangle, though the end product feels more like a mixtape than an anthology. … read more
Sundance Film Review: Sasquatch Sunset
Sasquatch Sunset is somewhere in between a low-brow, gross-out physical comedy and a touching survival documentary. … read more
Sundance Film Review: How to Have Sex
How to Have Sex is a shockingly realistic portrayal of how young girls are first introduced to the trap of sexual hedonism and the relationship between social pressure and blurry consent. … read more
“On Behalf of Non-Speakers”: Makayla’s Voice Premieres at Slamdance 2024
Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World is part of Slamdance’s Unstoppable program, a showcase of films made by filmmakers with both visible and non-visible disabilities. … read more
Interactive AI Storyteller “Being” Leads Decolonization Workshop at Sundance 2024
Being (the Digital Griot) is one of just two selections for the 2024 Sundance Film Festival’s New Frontier, the most experimental category of programming which showcases innovative works at the intersection of film, art and technology … read more
Local Music Singles Roundup: January 2024
January’s Local Music Singles Roundup is the perfect selection to hammer out those New Year’s resolutions or curl up on the couch and mourn your youth—whatever you’re in the mood for. … read more
Local Music Singles Roundup: December 2023
This month’s hand-picked blend of dream pop, shoegaze and psychedelic rock from local artists pairs perfectly with the changing seasons. … read more
Local Review: Casio Ghost – Postmodern Blues
Postmodern Blues is all the vocal reverb and twangy guitar of modern surf rock combined with the lo-fi vocal distortion and barely intelligible lyrics of Julian Casablancas. … read more
The First Annual Daq Off: Creative Cocktails by SLC Bartenders
On August 21, bartenders of all experience levels gathered at Bar Nohm to compete in the Daq Off hosted by the United States Bartender’s Guild. … read more
Local Music and Spirits Roundup: November 2023
This month, SLUG is shaking things up by pairing craft local spirits with the best new music from the Salt Lake Valley and beyond! … read more
Moon Gear’s Down-to-Earth Approach to Outdoor Product Design
Moon Gear, the one-woman operation launched in April of this year, is a small, eco-friendly business that makes durable outdoor gear for nature enthusiasts. … read more
Local Music Singles Roundup: October 2023
All Hollow’s Eve is creeping in on us foolish mortals once again. SLUG is ditching the tricks and dishing out some raving treats in the October edition of our Local Music Singles Roundup! … read more
Sowing Seeds of Stability with New Roots SLC
New Roots SLC steps in to help refugees after their resettlement journey to foster long-term economic stability and community involvement through farming. … read more
Local Music Singles Roundup: September 2023
Whether you’re into funk, indie rock or anything in between, SLUG Mag has got you covered with September’s roundup. … read more
Mind the Gap Festival 2023: A Conversation with Boyish and...
In a joint interview with SLUG, the two indie-rock acts chat about the wild energy of Utah crowds and fending off disparaging comments from sound guys. … read more
CLUB MUNGO: DIY Festival Performer
CLUB MUNGO embraces the “do-it-yourself” idea in all aspects of music production, from graphic design and sound engineering to cinematography and music videos. … read more
Halau Ku Pono I Kamalani: DIY Festival Performer
Halau Ku Pomo I Kamalani, a Hawaiian hula school and performance group, will be performing at the 15th Annual Craft Lake City DIY Festival. … read more