Doors at 7:00 pm

Show at 8:00 pm

FREE GENERAL ADMISSION TO CELEBRATE UTE THEATER’S 70th ANNIVERSARY

DRINK SPECIALS!

Buckstein – Colorado grown – Born and raised at 5280.

“I don’t like country music but I like you.” He gets that a lot. Randomly. He can’t really tell you why. Maybe it’s that “no-fear-of-the-edge” mentality that hooks the non-country-lovin’ folk while he manages to maintain a balance of traditional vibes that will remind you of a modern day John Wayne. He’s a 6’4” bass-baritone powerhouse who once hit 200 million television sets worldwide as a contestant on “American Idol.” With each performance he fights to create something electric, something that grabs you and makes you look up. Maybe that’s it. Maybe that’s why some people don’t like country and yet… they like him.

His love of country music is thanks to his father who played it all the time when he was young even though he hated the genre. “It takes one good country song to hook ya.” Buckstein warns. “Mine was probably ‘Thunder Rolls’ by Garth Brooks or ‘This Ain’t No Thinking Thing’ by Trace Adkins. I heard those tunes when I was about 11 or 12 and something just clicked—I was hooked.” He continued to grow up a country boy at heart often retreating to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. However, since he always lived in the city, the rest of his musical tastes fall outside of the expected box, running a gamut that includes blues, rock, rap, classics from the ’50s, and whatever was on Top 40 radio at any given time.

Buckstein’s goal is to bring soul to everything he does. “What people seem to respond most to in my live performances is my passion, so I worked hard to bring that passion to the record. My sound gets compared a lot to the great bass-baritones of my time: Trace Adkins, Toby Keith, Josh Turner, and Chris Young. But I personally hate comparisons. I don’t think Josh Turner wants to hear he sounds like Don Williams,” he laughs. “I just wanna sound like me. If my sound were a drink, I’d like to think it would come in a bottle with a cork instead of a twist cap. And I’d like to say it’s got a crisp bite with a smooth finish.”

He gives all the thanks in the world to his fans and his crew: “Without the people who support me, on stage and off, this would all be for nothing. I try to always surround myself with good people who want to make good music for other good people.” And if you’re still wondering, it’s pronounced “Buck-steen.”