Logan calling: little Barefoot wants YOU!
When it comes to the music scene, it’s fair to say that what happens in Logan stays in Logan.
The local music setting is a culture within itself. If you’ve never been on Federal Ave., you’d never know it existed.
Among the most important local acts is Little Barefoot.
Little Barefoot is a collaborative project led by singer-songwriter Taylor Wilson. Wilson and his accompanying full-time band member Benton Wood are also authorities for Utah State University’s Independent Music Club.
Their band’s Facebook page has twice as many likes as the number of students at my old high school. If anybody’s helping expand the audience for Logan music, it’s these guys.
Little Barefoot will be officially releasing their album “Never Always” on Nov. 14, but they will be playing an exclusive early physical release show tomorrow night at Kilby Court in Salt Lake City. “Never Always” is their first release in two years, and much has changed since then.
“It’s an album about indecision,” Wilson said. “It’s a lot more unified in sound. It’s pretty concise, yet pretty diverse; the songs flow a little better than our previous work.”
Wilson said the band has progressed a lot due to collaboration from members and his direction.
“Your role in supporting somebody’s songwriting is to help them find the product that they’re trying to pull out of themselves,” said Wood, a songwriter himself under the pseudonym Panthermilk.
While few physical copies will be sold Saturday, the official release party will be at November’s PoBev.
In addition to being able to download the songs online, Wilson is working on a video game app for an optional digital format for the album.
Little Barefoot will also launch a Kickstarter page Saturday for financial support that will help with the distribution of “Never Always.”
“Go to shows; it’s not about any one band,” Wood said. “The bigger the scene is, the more people will be compelled to perform and make it what it is.”
Don’t get me wrong, Little Barefoot is a great band who puts a lot of work both in the studio and onstage. But they are simply one piece in the local music collage. They’re throwing album release parties, they’re requesting donations online, they’re making a crazy video game — all for you. Little Barefoot, like most all Logan artists, is reaching out to us. They’re giving us an open invitation — not only to listen to their music, but be part of the experience.
“There are a lot of shows going on, and they’re only better with more people there,” Wilson said.
If you never take a peek into the Logan scene, you’re missing out on a tight-knit community of people who keep will probably never get their big break. Even in this politically and artistically conservative part of America, artists like Little Barefoot will never stop refining their art for their audience.
— scottehall3@gmail.com
Check out the gallery here. Photos by Matthew Halton.