Dancers from Southern Utah’s Ballet Folkórico Herencia Hispana perform in traditional clothing for Cedar City’s Day of the Dead festival on Nov. 1, 2025. (Brooklyn Beard)
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By Brooklyn Beard | Southern Utah University
This story is jointly published as part of the Utah College Media Collaborative, a cross-campus project bringing together emerging journalists from Southern Utah University, the University of Utah, Utah State University and Utah Tech University. The collaborative is an Amplify Utah project with support from PBS Utah and POV.
Cedar City, also known as Festival City, is home to a diverse and lively art scene. From the Shakespeare Festival to hardcore heavy metal garage shows to improv comedy, nearly every niche can be found here. The town’s small size has cultivated a strong arts community.
For Cedar City artists, the community fosters support, ambition, creativity and connection. The range of creative outlets provides room for experimentation and self-discovery. Cedar City has become a launch pad for new artists, and audiences often see their evolution in real time.
This photo essay takes a tour through Festival City.
The band Horizontally Blessed, based in Cedar City, moshes with a crowd member at the Neon Duck’s Heavy Hitters Show in a garage on Jan. 31, 2026, (Brooklyn Beard)Fans cheer for the Las Vegas-based band Split Persona at Cedar City’s weekly concert event, SokHop on Feb. 10, 2026. (Brooklyn Beard) Museum-goers enjoy artwork at the Southern Utah Museum of Art during their Fall Filmmaking, Art and Design Fête on Nov. 17, 2025. (Brooklyn Beard)Southern Utah University’s dance majors perform for their Warp and Weft showcase on Nov. 1, 2025. The concert was a reflection of how art and life intertwine through shared experience. (Brooklyn Beard)Performers thank the audience at the Faculty Dance Concert on Nov. 3, 2025. (Brooklyn Beard)Off the Cuff Comedy members, TJ Penrod, Wendy Penrod and “Bald” Nate Maclee, act out a scene for their improv comedy show on Oct. 10, 2025. (Brooklyn Beard)Renowned cellist Daniel Gaisford performs classical music in SUU’s Thorley Recital Hall on Sept. 15, 2025. (Brooklyn Beard)Lorah Bodie belts Aerosmith’s “Dream On” while accompanied by the Southern Utah Orchestra at the sold-out Rock Gold: Volume Three show on Nov. 20, 2025. (Brooklyn Beard)Shawn Owens drums for the Jazz Alliance of Cedar City during their monthly performance at Off the Cuff Comedy on Jan. 13, 2025. (Brooklyn Beard)
Brooklyn Beard reported and produced this story as a communication student at Southern Utah University.
