Five Arts Experiences in THE BLOCKS You Need to Know About

From skateboards to one-man/woman plays, here’s the off-the-radar exhibitions, theater productions and music performances on tap in THE BLOCKS this month

An Evening with YYNOT

Metro Music Hall (615 W. 100 South)
Thursday, September 19, 8pm 

If you love the band Rush—or if you’re simply a fan a progressive hard rock—you’ll want to check out YYNOT. This band was formed by Grammy-nominated guitarist Billy Alexander after he attended Rush’s last-ever R40 concert to “take the fans on a journey back in time as well as deliver a fresh new spark and bring back the power and majesty of hard rock that the fans have an undeniable hunger for.” Though YYNOT does perform many of its own Rush-inspired original songs, most of its classic cover songs will, as one reviewer expressed it, make you “swear you are listening to the original Rush.” Tickets are $25 in advance at metromusichall.com.

9th Annual Skate Deck Challenge

Urban Arts Gallery (116 S. Rio Grande St)
Through September 29 

The only rule of this annual, open-call show is that artists must use a skateboard deck—their own or a new one available for purchase through the gallery—to create a piece of visual art. Eighty-four artists submitted work as part of this year’s challenge, all of which (except those that have sold) will be on display at Urban Arts Gallery through September 29. Gallery admission is free and open to the public, including a reception for the show during the Salt Lake Gallery Stroll on September 20 from 6 to 9 p.m., urbanartsgallery.org.  

Traces, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company

Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center (138 W. Broadway)
September 26 & 27, 7:30pm and September 28, 1pm & 7:30pm

Two lovely piece encompass Traces, including Everybody Knows, a world-premiere duet choreographed by Ririe-Woodbury Artistic Director Daniel Charon, which opens the performance. And then the full company takes to the stage to perform Ann Carlson’s Elizabeth, the dance, which will also include a very special surprise guest dancer. Tickets are $35 for general admission, and $15 for students and seniors (except the abbreviated matinee performance of Traces on Saturday, September 28 and 1 p.m., which is $8 per person), for tickets visit artssaltlake.org

Solo: One Actor, One Hour

Wasatch Theatre Company (124 S. 400 West)
September 26 – 28

Here’s a rare opportunity to binge on one-man/woman theater right here in THE BLOCKS. The Wasatch Theatre Company will host seven one-hour-long performances—most of which were performed last month as part of The Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival—all are all original work performed by local artists. Think of this as the “best of the fest” plays. Tickets for each performance are $10, wasatchtheatre.org.

Live Jazz at the Rabbit Hole

Lake Effect lower level (155 W. 200 South)
Wednesdays, 7:30 – 10:30pm 

Below the Lake Effect bar’s vintage-mod interiors is the Rabbit Hole, adorned with similar classic thumb-tacked upholstered furnishings you’ll find in the bar’s street-level space, but within a definitively cozier, speakeasy-like atmosphere. In other words, the perfect backdrop for live jazz. Here you can have a very adult evening while listening to local and regional acts that have included the Halliday/Christiansen Project, Kyra Karine & Co and Isiah Smith. No cover charge, visit lakeeffectslc.com for details.    

Photo credit Stuart Ruckman and Urban Arts Gallery