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Utah Arts Festival announces some music headliners for 2023 event

A Bay Area rapper, country/folk, soul-funk and more scheduled to play June 23-25 in Salt Lake City.

(Mark Chua | Mobile Home Recordings) Rapper Lyrics Born is scheduled to perform Friday, June 23, 2023, at the Utah Arts Festival, which runs June 23-25, 2023.

  | May 6, 2023, 12:00 p.m.

The Utah Arts Festival has pulled back the curtain, just a bit, to reveal some of the headliners and featured artists for its 2023 edition, set for June 23-25 in Salt Lake City’s Washington Square and Library Square.

The headliners include a popular Bay Area rapper, a nonbinary country-folk performer, and a soul-funk band. The featured artists range from Chicano-funk to bluesy soul, along with one of Utah’s longest-running dance companies.

The first batch of headliners and featured artists were announced Friday. More are expected to be announced soon.

The festival also will feature food vendors, visual art in the artist’s marketplace, a short-film festival, a literary program and urban arts demonstrations.

Tickets and passes for the festival are available at uaf.org.

The three headlining acts announced Friday are:

Adeem the Artist • At the crossroads of country and alt-folk, and of being a “blue-collar boy” and a “complicated dame,” Adeem Maria makes their Utah debut just before heading to the Grand Ole Opry. Sunday, June 25, 6:15 p.m., Festival Stage.

Lyrics Born • The Tokyo-born, Bay Area-based MC, making his return to the Utah Arts Festival, has exploded the stereotypes of what a hip-hop artist is supposed to be — and is the first Asian American rapper to perform at Coachella and Lollapalooza. Friday, June 23, 9:30 p.m., Amphitheater Stage.

Joslyn & the Sweet Compression • Funk-soul singer Joslyn Hampton and her five-member band released their first album in 2019, and were on the rise before the pandemic interrupted live touring — and they are ready to play to large audiences in 2023. Saturday, June 24, 9:45 p.m., Festival Stage.

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Three more acts are listed as featured artists:

Los Mocochetes • A Chicano-funk band from Denver known for socially and politically charged lyrics melded with groovy melodies and a high-energy stage show. Friday, June 23, 7:45 p.m., Amphitheater Stage (before Lyrics Born).

Tony Holiday • Originally from Salt Lake City, Holiday is part of a soul-blues revival in Memphis that mixes multiple genres. Friday, June 23, 10 p.m., Festival Stage.

Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company • Marking its 60th season, R-W calls itself “Utah’s most established institution for contemporary dance.” Friday, June 23, 4:30 p.m., Festival Stage.