Localized: Bly Wallentine
Localized
Scott Lippitt will be headlining April’s Localized showcase, debuting tracks from his newest album alongside co-collaborators and local indie favorites Sean Mena and Bly Wallentine. It will be a pop-rock-experimental-indie-psychedelia extravaganza at Kilby Court on April 14; a variety show hosted and performed by everybody cool in Utah for just $5. This event his sponsored by Riso Geist. Doors open at 7 p.m. and music starts at 8. Buy tickets online here!
“I have, like, a billion records,” says Bly Wallentine, who aptly describes themself online as making “big-hearted music for freaks groovin’ kindly through this world of sorrow.” They’ve created both solo and collaborative projects, and forecast an “experimental dance and music ensemble” to be held in Wallentine’s garden. “All those records I produced myself, mostly in my house,” they say. Wallentine’s sound is an experimental, futuristic, multi-colored, cross-genre charcuterie board of what music is; their oeuvre includes soundscapes akin to Bowie’s eponymous 1967 album with dashes of sweet Fleet Foxes acoustics and Electric Light Orchestra energy.
Wallentine has the musical prowess of any psychedelic prog rock talent—they play anything from piano and electric guitar to clarinets and flutes, just to name a few—and they’ve got the accoutrements to go with it. They wear leopard-print, mob-wife faux fur and a beaded glasses chain, and they say things like, “Our ego incarnations are an avenue for different kinds of creative expression.” They’re delightful!
About their collaborative work on the track “Avocado,” from Scott Lippitt’s forthcoming album Me, You and the Avenues, Wallentine says, “More communal creativity, more play and collaboration—that’s an ethos of engaging with art that’s really important to me. It’s like coming together in community and play. To me, that’s what heals. That’s what reduces violence and harm and brings us together.” This ethos is evident in the work Wallentine does; their upcoming projects include work with Little Moon and a record to support people living in Gaza.
This charity album, organized by Wallentine and musician Colin Foy as part of their production studio The Toaster Oven, will feature a series of cover songs from local artists. Watch them perform with a backing band at April’s Localized and follow them on Instagram at @blywallentine.
Read more about past Localized performers here:
Localized: The Medicine Company
Localized: Scott Lippitt