Interview: Austin artist Shakey Graves is coming to Utah Arts Festival with a great new record

When The Cosmic Clash got to Salt Lake City one of the first annual events we heard about was the Utah Arts Festival. We were duly impressed that a city SLC’s size, invested so heavily in visual art, music and literature. There were panels, live music and tons of visual artists represented. It seemed like the story of Salt Lake’s Mormon monoculture was exaggerated fiction. In town, at least culturally it kind of is. The city founded by Mormons has more similarities to Austin, Texas than it does to the Vatican; Blue dot in a red sea, state capitol, big public university north of downtown? Sounds like ATX. We learned the UAF is celebrating its 50th Anniversary, doubling down on quality musical headliners including Austin’s own Shakey Graves. The singer and songwriter performs Saturday, June 20 early on in his recently launched tour supporting new record, Fondness, Inc.

Aside from all the programming we mentioned, UAF has another returning slate of performances by BANDALOOP who will once again transform the striking 240-foot-high curving glass façade of the Salt Lake City Main Library into a breathtaking stage for aerial choreography—a site-specific spectacle that has become one of the Festival’s most beloved and talked-about experiences. BANDALOOP performs nightly, Thursday, June 18 to Saturday, June 20 according the festival press release.

Tickets for Shakey Graves’ performance are available via the festival website. The remaining three spotlighted artists are; Digable Planets, Yola and Rubblebucket who wrap up the festivities on Sunday, June 21, concluding four days of programing at the festival grounds at City Hall and Library Square.

Since we’ve known Alejandro “Shakey Graves” Rose-Garcia, he’s always been a source of light. The man oozes good vibes in a way only a native Austinite can. Ale as his friends call him, grew up in Austin, the son of locals involved in community theater and arts in a sleepy college town that grew into a tech megalopolis. Graves has always remained true to his roots amid the rapid change, doubling down on Austin by marrying another native, Stephanie Hunt, a talented actor and songwriter in her own right. They now have a child who both dote on while trying to maintain careers in entertainment making the kind of art they can be justifiably proud of amid celebrity cash grabs. We love them for that. There’s nothing more authentically Austin than their type of artistic intent.

Ahead of yet another tour cycle, Graves agreed to answer a few interview questions so Utah Arts Festival goers and fans can get to know him better ahead of the performance later this month. If you’re a fan, please go purchase his record, buy merch or just send the guy money. He and his wife are busy trying to make our lives a little bit better in a meaningful way. We hope y’all see value in that. We sure do.

Shakey: I usually approach songwriting from a fictional point of view.  I write from personal experience but I rarely write specifically about my life, so I feel like there is a through line of playing a character on stage and singing from a fictional POV [point of view].

TCC: A lot has happened in your personal life in the last few years. You’ve gotten married and started a family. How have you dealt with fatherhood and marriage while maintaining a touring career? That must present some challenges.

Shakey: Oh yeah, its gut wrenching to leave my family to go on tour. I enjoy the adventure and adore playing music but the fomo is off the charts and I know my daughter is going to be fully grown when I come home after a couple weeks.  poof!

TCC: Many folks we know have moved from Austin in the last several years. Can you talk about wny you and Stephanie have stayed while so many others have moved out of state? What makes Austin home for you besides the fact that you grew up there?

Shakey: I mean everything does, we are both born and raised here and though we fantasize about leaving (and both have in the past) our family and friends are truly irreplaceable.

TCC: Tomorrow (May 15) your new album drops. We love the new single, “Time Flies” Please talk about how Fondness, Etc fits into the canon of Shakey Graves. Is it your best work yet? What can fans expect?

Shakey: Yeah I think in a lot of ways it is the culmination of all my work so far, its intimate, tells a story and was made in a crucial turning point in my life.

That hits the mark for me.

TCC: You’re coming to Salt Lake to perform at the Utah Arts Fest. It’s a long running event beloved by the SLC community. I feel like in challenging times these kinds of events are magnified in importance. People need this kind of input to cope I believe. Can you talk about why art, music and culture are significant in difficult times like this?

Shakey: I hope its not just coping.  Music, art, creativity in general are some of the true joys of life and sharing them together can be an all time great experience.

 

TCC: What music are you listening to now? Are there new or up and coming acts you’re following? What makes Shakey Graves sit up and take notice?

Shakey: Nirvana the band, the show, the movie, chinese oldies, and a playlist of the best first songs on the best first albums. These are the pillars of my life.

Featured photo by Robert Kipness courtesy of Shakey Graves 

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