Meet the bands of the Big Agg Show

USU’s Weeks of Welcome ended with a bang. The Big Agg Show, an annual outdoor concert featuring four bands from the Utah music scene, was surrounded by the HURD members camping on the Quad in preparation for the first home football game of the season. Organized by Aggie Radio 92.3 FM, the show highlighted unique sounds from Ivy Avenue, Drusky, Over Under and Wilbere. Here is an inside look at these four bands.  

Ivy Avenue

Ivy Avenue is an alt/indie rock band from Salt Lake City. Kassidy McKean, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, spoke to the band’s founding, discussing how each member joined.  

“The funny thing is none of these members are original band members except for me,” McKean said. “We found Meg, and then we found Gibby, and then we found Trevor.”  

“She collected us like treasures,” said Trevor Blair, the band’s bass player.  

McKean said the band community played a part in the founding story of Ivy Avenue.  

The Big Agg Show was the band’s first performance on a college campus together, and the members said their campus performance felt different from others at local venues.  

“It feels like the purpose of the college campus performance is for the culture and for the students,” Blair said. “We’re playing music. We’re connected to audio people. We’re connected to event management people, stage management people. We’re connected to journalism. You see a lot of departments and a lot of fields in work. There’s a lot more going on at a college campus.”  

Gibby Holiday, lead guitarist, added his own feelings about playing at Utah State.  

“Here feels a lot more sentimental and important, and we’re getting taken care of,” Holiday said. 

McKean said the band’s inspiration is rooted in having differences in their personal music taste and the way they learn music.  

“We all have very different — not different music tastes but ways that we learn music and things that we like,” McKean said.

Ivy Avenue opens The Big Agg Show hosted by Aggie Radio on The Quad on Aug. 29.

Blair said each band member’s different taste adds strength when making their music.  

“Every single song we’ve made since it’s been us has sounded very different,” Blair said. “It’s very distinct — you can remember it, and I really like that because when everything sounds the same, you kind of just get bored of it.” 

Drusky

Drusky, a band named after a combination of the words drunk and husky with an Instagram bio that reads “SLC angst,” discussed the way their band formed and how each of the four band members in attendance came together. The story begins with a previous band that drummer Scott Knutson, guitarist Casey Ball and bass player Eli Pratt were all a part of. 

“Us three were part of a different band, rocking out in Provo, and we were aware of Mia killing it as a solo kind of singer, songwriter, musician. Our band kind of exploded in a bad way. It imploded, and it was not a fun implosion. And then shortly thereafter, Mia was like, ‘Hey, I’m looking to start a band. Who wants in?’” Knutson said. 

Mia Hicken, Drusky’s singer and rhythm guitar player, said a tour experience they had in the Pacific Northwest contrasted with the experiences they have in the Utah music scene.  

“There’s no shortage of bands to choose from in Utah that are really good, versus when we were trying to find bands to play with going through other places, it was a little more slim pickings,” Hicken said. “Here, there’s so many just really good bands that I want to listen to in my free time and not just because they’re local and I’m supporting a friend.”  

Hicken said that as a vocalist and guitarist, she writes most of the music for the band and brings it to them.  

“I’ll kind of write maybe the bones of the song, like general song structure. I’ll come up with lyrics. Usually those just happen, kind of singing nonsense, until something makes sense,” Hicken said.  

Knutson added his own thoughts about how the rest of the band members contributed to the songwriting process. 

“It’s very democratic,” Knutson said. “If any one of us wants to try anything, we always give it a whirl, and we all trust each other’s musical prowess and judgment, so it’s pretty fun.”  

Over Under

Over Under consits of Max Moffat, guitarist and vocalist, and two sets of brothers: the Gwynns and the McNallys. Moffat, the only band member without a brother in membership, discussed the band’s beginning.  

“It was right after Tay and I graduated high school, and we started playing music together. We had been in a high school band together, and then right after we graduated, it just so happened that Tay’s little brother Jaden was a really, really cool, good drummer, and so we started playing with him,” Moffat said. “Just recently, earlier this year, we picked up the McNally’s for a Kilby Block Party and have been playing a lot together, and it’s been super fun.”  

Taylor added to the founding story with a memory. 

“I just wanted to share a memory of seeing Jaden set up his first drum kit in our kitchen, and it lived there for, like, a year, and it was really cool and loud,” Taylor said.  

“It was really loud. I remember my mom — she was crying the day she got it because of how annoying it was. She was like, ‘Actually, we can’t do this,’” Jaden said. 

Taylor and Moffat detailed their songwriting process, discussing how they work together as a band to create the music that they want to be making.

Max Moffat, Over Under vocal and guitarist, smiles in between songs on Aug. 29.

 “It’s kind of like catching a glimpse of an idea and then just throwing things at the wall until they stick,” Taylor said. “It’s kind of like making a sandwich.” 

Moffat added to that idea, saying, “Tay and I will usually come with some sort of structure and, like, some lyrics or something. And then, everyone else writes their own parts, and it turns into something completely different, so it’s super collaborative. Everyone has a say in it and has a part in it.” 

Wilbere

Wilbere started with members Davis McBride, lead singer, and bassist Ethan Powell as a band called “Raining, Pouring.” McBride wrote songs he wanted to record but lacked a band with the skills to assist him. 

According to McBride, playing at the show felt nostalgic since he came to the show when he was a student at USU. McBride said he was excited to return and play at USU after forming a band. 

Ethan Powell said he enjoys playing at shows like the Big Agg Show because of the feelings and energy that come with it.   

“You definitely feel more energetic on stage,” Powell said. “Davis always comes with really good ideas. You never really know what he’s going to bring you, so it’s always a surprise.” 

McBride said he writes around 90% of the songs and when he’s ready to finish the song, he brings it to the band to complete and flush out the last 10%. 

 “I think that there’s no process,” McBride said. “As soon as I find a process, then that process, as soon as I realize it, is dead. I have to continually find ways to change it.”