67 Best Performing Arts Venues in Utah, USA

For more than a week each year, Easter Jeep Safari draws thousands of 4x4 vehicles to Moab to tackle some of the toughest backcountry roads in America. For all other visitors (and some locals), this is a good time of year to avoid town.

Dance, theater, wide-ranging concerts, family shows, and other performances are on the bill in a state-of-the-art auditorium that also holds the biggest premieres during the Sundance Film Festival.

This historical building has been a Park City theater since its mining days in the 1880s. In 1922, the Egyptian Theatre was constructed on the site of the original Dewey Theatre that collapsed under record-breaking snow. Patrons enjoy an eclectic array of local and regional music, theater, and comedy in the 266-seat space.

Mingle with local artists and view their work at various art galleries throughout the city—but especially downtown and in Central City—on the third Friday of the month (or the first Friday of December). Participating galleries change monthly, so it's best to visit the website for each month's current roster. Artists and art lovers chat over wine and snacks at each stop.

A sizable number of Greek immigrants arrived in the area of Price to work in the mines throughout the early 1900s. This annual festival in mid-July celebrates that heritage with two days of traditional Greek food, dance, and music. You can even tour the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, which hosts the event.

From June through August, enjoy the free and family-friendly market and musical concerts. A farmers' market fills City Park with fresh produce and rock, reggae, or folk tunes every Thursday evening from 6:30 to 8:30.

The big event in town is this annual festival, spread over several days in mid-August, which celebrates Helper's local artists via street performances, concerts, outdoor galleries, and sculptures, plus a children's art yard to explore.

In southeast Utah there's nothing quite like the taste of the fresh cantaloupe, watermelon, honeydew, and canary melon grown along the Green River. For more than a century, locals have celebrated the harvest with Melon Days the third weekend of September. This small-town event features a parade (watch for the 25-foot watermelon slice to roll down the street), a car show, plenty of music and dancing, and thousands of pounds of Green River's famous melons. The parade winds down Main Street to OK Anderson City Park, where the festival is held. If you're lucky enough to be in the area for Melon Days, don't miss it.

Moab's red rocks resonate with world-class music—classical, jazz, and traditional—during this annual festival held at indoor and outdoor venues including the city park, local auditoriums, private homes, and a natural stone grotto along the Colorado River. Musicians from all over the globe perform, and it's one of the West's top music showcases. The festival starts the Thursday before Labor Day and runs about two weeks.

With one of the most majestic settings of any outdoor performance space in the country, this 1,500-seat amphitheater set against the towering red and tan monoliths of Zion National Park is operated by Dixie State University and presents a quirky mix of shows and concerts, from the popular Zion Canyon Music Festival in late September to Polynesian-theme dinner-and-dance shows.

Musicals and plays, with a focus on sketch comedy, parody, and improv, are the bill of fare from this company that moved from downtown Salt Lake to Draper Historic Theatre in 2021.

Throughout the summer, you can attend free concerts and movie screenings at this open-air venue off Historic 25th Street, with gorgeous mountain views.

Since 1980, the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah has hosted this event on the second weekend of June for two days of festivities, tribal dances, and contests.

Held in early July, this festival allows diners and wine-enthusiasts to sample from wineries, distilleries, and breweries from all over the world and to taste delicious fare from the region's best restaurants. Educational seminars are offered, and the festival culminates in a grand tasting at Montage Deer Valley.

It's increasingly popular, and many events now sell out in advance, so plan ahead.

In honor of the famous local crop, this popular event has been held the Wednesday to Saturday after Labor Day since 1904—the longest continually celebrated harvest festival in Utah. There's a Peach Queen pageant, two parades, a carnival, theater and concerts, classic car and motorcycle shows, art and crafts booths, and, of course, freshly baked peach cobbler.

A lively local favorite since 1977, this community playhouse—open from June through Labor Day weekend—features musical-comedy dinner theater most nights.

This professional company, in residence at the University of Utah, stages classic and contemporary musicals and plays to consistently positive critical acclaim.

Typically held at the end of July, this three-day festival uses music, dance, and food (plus a parade) to celebrate the many nationalities and cultures that make up the Price community. It's right on the heels of the statewide Pioneer Days festivities, which is always on July 24.

This unique event brings together the diverse Moab community on the last Saturday of October. This festival may not be like any other you've attended; here, people from all over the Southwest build contraptions—catapults, trebuchets, and slingshots—that send pumpkins across the sky. Live music, about 25 vendor booths, and typically beautiful weather make this a popular event. Proceeds go toward the Youth Garden Project.

This acclaimed company presents modern-dance performances at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center

This is Salt Lake City's premier modern dance troupe, recognized for its innovation and commitment to community education.

For a nostalgic dose of Americana, catch a show at the Echo Drive-In on summer weekends. For a year-round movie fix, the Roosevelt Twin Theatre and historic one-screen Uinta Theatre are both located right downtown.

Comprising the Leona Wagner Black Box Theatre, the Jeanne Wagner Theatre, and the Studio Theatre, the Center is home to the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company and the Repertory Dance Theatre and also provides performance space for many of the city's smaller theater companies, including Plan-B and Pygmalion Productions.

Recognized for its development of new regionally and locally written plays, this year-round company, which is based in a handsome old building, presents thought-provoking plays while promoting arts education for Utahns in kindergarten up through the university level.

Formerly known as the Neil Simon Theatre Festival, this showcase of Broadway-style comedies enjoys a three-week run from mid-July to early August. It continues to be a popular part of Cedar City's well-respected theater scene. Performances are held at downtown's 1,000-seat Heritage Theater Center, which hosts a variety of other performances and concerts throughout the year.

Held over Labor Day weekend, this is a four-day event that draws approximately 20,000 spectators for an extraordinary display of canine skill. There are also bagpipers, culinary treats, and entertainment for wee ones.

Artisan booths, food, children's activities, and entertainment (including cowboy poets) are all part of this Town Square festival held Friday and Saturday before Easter. Note that this is not a pet-friendly event.

The studio offers workshops in photography, jewelry making, wheel-thrown pottery, plein air acrylic and watercolor painting, and charcoal or pencil drawing. Mirroring the Sundance ethic, these classes blend the natural world with the artistic process. All workshops and classes are open to resort guests as well as day visitors, and you'll go away with a finished piece of art.

For more than 15 years, the Sundance Author Series has brought literary and political icons like Sue Monk Kidd and Jimmy Carter to the Tree Room for an intimate brunch and lecture. As an added bonus, you'll walk away with a signed copy of the author's book.

Each summer, Sundance brings a little Nashville to Utah with the Bluebird Café series. Singer-songwriters take the outdoor stage on select summer Fridays to share stories and music in the serene Utah mountains.