Inside Festival City’s art scene

By Brooklyn Beard | Southern Utah University

This story is jointly published as part of the Utah College Media Collaborative, a cross-campus project bringing together emerging journalists from Southern Utah University, the University of Utah, Utah State University and Utah Tech University. The collaborative is an Amplify Utah project with support from PBS Utah and POV.

Cedar City, also known as Festival City, is home to a diverse and lively art scene. From the Shakespeare Festival to hardcore heavy metal garage shows to improv comedy, nearly every niche can be found here. The town’s small size has cultivated a strong arts community. 

For Cedar City artists, the community fosters support, ambition, creativity and connection. The range of creative outlets provides room for experimentation and self-discovery. Cedar City has become a launch pad for new artists, and audiences often see their evolution in real time.