Jon Batiste performed in Salt Lake City on Monday, Sept. 8, at Red Butte Garden, as part of its 2025 Outdoor Concert Series. Photos by Justin Hackworth of Justin Hackworth Photography.
Jon Batiste played to an appreciative, sold-out crowd at Salt Lake City’s Red Butte Garden last Monday (9/8/2025), and it was filled with the exact kind of energy everyone wanted.
Batiste played his heart out. With at least 10 musicians backing him onstage at any given moment, he was sometimes singing, sometimes piano playing, sometimes leading the collective with the waving of his arms or simply blowing the hell out of his trusted melodica. He had the time of his life and took us all along for the ride. He exudes a barely bridled joy in his playing, and that transfers to the players and the people enjoying the band. It allows for an energy that hums and sustains. (True story, I had a hard time falling asleep long after the concert had ended.)
There was a looseness afforded to the night, where not everything that transpired seemed wholly planned. By the time the musician invited vocalist Andra Day out to sing songs, there was a shift in the direction of the evening; it felt like he’d invited us into a candlelit lounge. Their combined take on “God Bless The Child” was one of the most beautiful, yet playful versions I’ve heard, period. His playing riffed off her singing (and vice versa) and the duet was a long, welcome moment of beauty. They even dabbled in a little Erykah Badu at one point (“Bag Lady”) and the crowd ate it up.
By the time Batiste led a long line of still-playing musicians straight into the crowd—and again playing his melodica like a dreadlocked Pied Piper of Hamelin—it felt like an expected moment, another way of connecting with a peak-level excited crowd. The band stopped in the middle of everyone as Batiste clambered to the highest point he could manage, then offered a medley of songs that included leading the audience in a sing-along of “You Are My Sunshine.” That felt like a needed hug. And, for my money, it was one of the best concerts Red Butte has hosted this season.
Honorable mention: The occasional resident fireflies that joined the party, adding a touch of sparkle to festivities (and the crickets can always be counted on to add to the music).
Photo gallery by Justin Hackworth. Instagram: @justinhackworth
Jon Batiste performed in Salt Lake City on Monday, Sept. 8, at Red Butte Garden, as part of its 2025 Outdoor Concert Series. Photos by Justin Hackworth of Justin Hackworth Photography.
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