Palak JayswalOn Sunday, the last day of this year’s Utah Pride Festival, homegrown favorite David Archuleta took to stage for his first ever performance at the festival.
Archuleta told The Salt Lake Tribune that a decade prior, he never would have “fathomed” that all his friends and family would be attending a performance of his at Utah Pride.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Sunday, June 8, 2025.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) David Archuleta performs on stage with some dancers, at the Pride Festival, on Sunday, June 8, 2025.
Archuleta is a former member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But after coming out in 2022, he has embraced a new side of himself — and it shows in his music. Though this is his first time performing at Utah Pride, he’s previously performed at several iterations of the LoveLoud Festival.
On Sunday, he performed 10 songs at the festival, according to setlist.fm, a website that gathers information on musicians’ setlists.
He performed a mix of older classics from his discography, like “A Little Too Not Over You” and the iconic “Crush.”
He also performed two covers — “Pink Pony Club” by Chappell Roan and the George Michael’s classic “Freedom! ’90.”
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Sunday, June 8, 2025.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Sunday, June 8, 2025.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Sunday, June 8, 2025.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Sunday, June 8, 2025.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) David Archuleta performs at the Pride Festival, on Sunday, June 8, 2025.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) David Archuleta performs at the Pride Festival, on Sunday, June 8, 2025.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) David Archuleta performs at the Pride Festival, on Sunday, June 8, 2025.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) David Archuleta performs at the Pride Festival, on Sunday, June 8, 2025.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) David Archuleta performs at the Pride Festival, on Sunday, June 8, 2025.
Palak Jayswal is an award-winning journalist who covers culture/music at The Tribune. She graduated from the University of Utah and has lived in Utah her entire life. Her work spans areas of coverage in the cultural world. She loves writing about how culture —and the people who create it— shape life in Utah. She aspires to write for Rolling Stone.