THE PAPER KITES - LIVE AT THE DEPOT
February 27th was a month long awaited day for me. I was approached by The Paper Kites PR team to do coverage of their sold out Salt Lake City show at The Depot, and I was more than ecstatic. I have no words for how grateful I was for the opportunity to photograph them and The Road house Band that accompanied them. The Paper Kites was started by Sam Bentley (vocals/guitar) and Christina Lacy (keyboard/guitar) in 2009, with their long time friends, Sam Rasmussen (bass), David Powys (guitar, banjo) and Josh Bentley (drums). The band gained traction for their music with their release of ‘Bloom’ in 2010. They went on to record their first album ‘Woodlands’ and tour throughout Australia and New Zealand.
Come 2024, the band has released 5 studio albums and toured a number of times. In 2022, they trekked out to Campbells Creek, an old mining town in Australia and set up The Roadhouse. They’d put on a show for any and everyone who came by on Friday’s and Saturdays, accompanied by ‘The Roadhouse Band’, consisting of Hannah Cameron (keyboards, percussion, backing vocals), Chris Panousakis (guitars, percussion, backing vocals) and Matt Dixon (pedal steel). At their sold out show in Salt Lake City, they told us that because of the overwhelming love from those who came by to see their smaller performanes, The Paper Kites decided to bring The Roadhouse Band along with them on the ‘At The Roadhouse Tour’!
The show started with beautiful vocalist Bella White, from Calgary, Canada, for the opener. Her soft and sweet folk melodies were met with an equally soft, yet powerful voice. I was absolutely in love with the overall vibe of her music and her voice, and decided to add a multitude of her releases to my music library after the show. I’d say she was a perfect addition for the upcoming set of The Paper Kites.
When the band, whom I’ve loved for many years now, finally took the stage, I was near starstruck. I will never get used to seeing the bands I love mere feet in front of me as I photograph them for the night. They started off with ‘Between The Houses’ from their 2018 release, ‘On The Train Ride Home’. With the addition of The Roadhouse Band, the stage was packed with 8 musicians, each of whom are multitalented, they were able to create such a wonderfully blended sound for the set.
They then transitioned to ‘Til The Flames Turns Blue’ and ‘Hurts So Good’ off their latest release ‘At The Roadhouse’, the album that got this tour started. After a few more songs, the song I’ve waited to hear live was played. They all gathered around one microphone, the lights above them a soft yellow glow, Sam began to play the unforgettable guitar tune of ‘Bloom’. In that moment, I stood, recording the song to listen back to, utterly in love with the night. They played music from a few of their earlier albums, but kept the focus on their latest release, and included a cover of ‘Anything’ by Adrianne Lenker. The Paper Kites, as soft as their folk music is, put on a magnificent show, and gave myself and everyone else in attendance a night we’d never forget.
The Australian born band has come so far, literally traveling all over the planet, as they create some of the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard. They continue their ‘At The Roadhouse’ American Tour until Mach 17th in Chicago, IL before returning back to Australia for a show and venturing onto the European leg. I love a loud, energetic show as much as anyone else, but I urge everyone to see these guys live, as their set will be just as unforgettable.
