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Imagine Dragons, with its home base in Utah County, drew the sold-out crowd, but Atlas Genius was a sweet surprise.
The “Night Visions Tour” has been sold out for months. Tickets to its Salt Lake City show were particularly sought after because Imagine Dragons originated in Utah. Because of high demand, Atlas Genius will begin its own headlining tour. Both bands will return to Utah in May.
While Atlas Genius made its debut in Australia, Imagine Dragons started when a few friends won multiple music competitions in Utah County. The group won Brigham Young University’s Battle of the Bands in 2008 and went on to win competitions at Velour Live Music Gallery and Utah Valley University.
Keith Jeffery, Atlas Genius’ vocalist and guitarist, mentioned that it is a privilege to travel with and open for Imagine Dragons.
“I think you can’t help being influenced by the band that you tour with,” he said. “It’s been a really good combination. I struggle to think of another band that sounds like Imagine Dragons. They sound really unique, and that’s something that we strive to do as well.”
Jeffery also said he enjoys playing for the fans of Imagine Dragons.
“Because Imagine Dragons is also so new, their fans are obviously people who are receptive to new music and have gotten into this band in the last year or two,” he said. “We’re also a new band, so we are able to play for these early adopters of music before it goes into the top 40 mainstream. This crowd has been great for us because those are the type of people that come out to see Imagine Dragons.”
Jeffery first became interested in music during his early years when he began playing the guitar. He said he was fascinated by everything about the guitar and began to play regularly.
“Once I got really heavy into the technical side of things, I had to figure out how to put songs together,” Jeffery said. “It’s one thing to play scales, but that gets boring. No one connects with scales. They connect with songs when there is a good message coming through. Then I realized that I probably needed to sing because no one else was going to do it.”
Atlas Genius’ music has been described as chill, edgy and unique. Jeffery likes adding variety to his music and does not classify it into one genre.
“We try not to classify ourselves,” he said. “One thing we don’t want to do is paint ourselves into a corner. That’s the thing I think we’ve managed to do with our recent album. From what we’ve done there, I don’t really think that we’re locked into anything. Each song is its own thing.”
Ali Wheatley, a social work major at the University of Utah, attended Friday’s concert. She not only went to hear Imagine Dragons but was interested in seeing Atlas Genius as well.
Wheatley first became interested in Atlas Genius about three months ago when she heard the band’s song “Trojan” and looked it up on her Shazam application.
“I really like the beat of the song,” she said. “I just like their sound. They produce chill and relaxed music that I can listen to anytime.”
Justine Tregloan, a BYU graduate from Australia, agreed with Wheatley and said she loves their music and not just because they’re a bunch of Aussies.
“I love that their sound is chill as well as edgy,” she said. “It’s great driving music. It’s also nice to see a band from Down Under doing well in the States.”
Imagine Dragons will return to Utah on May 20 to perform at UVU’s UCCU Center, and Atlas Genius will be headlining its own tour starting in a few weeks. The band will play at Kilby Court in Salt Lake City on May 29.
