What started out as an off-the-wall idea for the local band Mother Lights came to fruition last week after completing a week long tour at different venues around Ogden.
Mother Lights teamed up with local bands Black Labrador and Maggie of Salduro, as well as several local poets to bring the Polyphonic Shrines Tour to Ogden.
Some of the poets who participated in the tour included faculty and alumni from Weber State University.
“One of our main goals for this tour was to help others set aside their differences and be able to come together and enjoy some local art,” said Jake Rogers, the lead singer of Mother Lights. “To me, that is one of the highest achievements of art.”
Rogers said in the beginning he wasn’t quite sure how the tour would come together. The band planned on playing seven nights in a row, at seven different venues throughout Ogden.
Rogers said the band was blown away by the support and generosity of the local businesses who opened their doors to something new and different, which gave them an opportunity to bring their ideas to reality.
The venues included a yoga studio, a barbershop, a coffee shop and a local book store.
Each show was an hour long and opened with one of the local bands. Following their performance, a local poet read poetry for 10 to 15 minutes. Mother Lights then closed out the show.
Rogers said incorporating poetry into the show was important to the band.
The poets “made the tour more than just music and added another element of art,” Rogers said.
Laura Stott, a Weber State Professor, attended four of the seven shows and read poetry on the opening night of the tour.
“There is so much overlap in the arts, and this tour helped create a new interpretation of art,” Stott said.
Along with Professor Stott, Weber State faculty members Abraham Smith, William Pollett and Sunni Wilkinson read poetry on different nights of the tour.
WSU alumni Megan Alyse and Alex Alfaro also made guest appearances to read poetry during the tour.
Mother Lights consists of four Ogden residents. Both the drummer, Joe Lucius, and the pianist, Brent Sorensen, are students at WSU.
“We have a feeling of cohesiveness and everything has just snapped into place,” Rogers said.
Mother Lights is wrapping up the recording of their new album titled “Night Magic,” which will be released in the coming months.
Mother Lights’ music can be found on all music platforms, including Spotify, Soundcloud, iTunes and Apple Music.
The band can be found on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date with their latest singles and upcoming concert dates.
