UTAH SAINTS + GRACE GARCIA – PATTERNS, BRIGHTON 21.11.25
The last time Utah Saints were in Brighton they “decided to drive the whole f*cking van on to the beach” which took them “five and a half f*cking hours” to eventually get off the stones after supporting DJ Andrew Weatherall. The time before that, their decks literally set fire in Zap Club- now familiar to younger Brightonians as The Arch, which has now recently been relaunched as Quarters. No wonder these dance music giants were “scared sh*tless” to play Brighton again. Yet, despite their self-effacing ‘horror stories’, the Utah Saints headlined Patterns on the 21st of November with vigour, shedding unparalleled levels of joy within the small seaside club.
Grace Garcia was the support for the night. Bred in Leeds, Garcia has been on the circuit since 2022, building her reputation in Northern venues and earning regular spots at Beat Harder festival. Her university years in London saw her take on prestigious rooms like the 100 Club, but this marks her debut on Brighton turf.
Despite her somewhat newcomer status, she handles the stage with ease. The crowd is still sparse at this point and on average 30 years her senior, but they’re dialed in, feeding off Garcia’s seamless transitions. From pounding, bass-heavy samples from ‘Melon Bomb’ to the jazz laced numbers of ‘Take A Beat’ by Foo Funkers, Garcia’s range is eclectic and boasts a literacy of dance music that spans decades. While she elevates underground gems throughout her performance, Garcia doesn’t shy from unleashing iconic dance cuts from beasts like The Prodigy. Her sound is old-school yet steeped in a vitality- the ideal opening act for her storied counterparts.
Garcia drives bass-heavy tech house forward with bursts of uplifting synths and vocals, the crowd reaching fever pitch as her set draws to a close. For her last gesture, she lets the iconic Stone Rose’s ‘Fools Gold’ flood the dance floor- a joyful testament to the legendary Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield who had died the day before. Grace Garcia has delivered a striking and euphoric opening.
“It’s been a long f*cking time!” Jez of Utah Saints shouts into the crowd- The feeling is clearly mutual for the audience at Patterns as they cheer back wildly. There is no hesitation as the duo set out by playing ‘What Can You Do For Me’- an eminent number from their iconic 1991 album ‘Something Good’. Jez explains that they never plan their sets, instead tuning into the crowd and its energy. He jokes that he might even unleash Jazz onto the audience.
For underground dance music gurus, the Utah Saints sampling of tracks from the likes of Florence and the Machine and the Depeche Mode may trespass too far into the borders of the mainstream. But this crowd is unpretentious and are unphased by pomp, choosing only to reciprocate the joy that the Utah Saints are pumping out. The fervour that the duo employ into their tracks is a reminder that the dance music now decking out mainstream shelves has joyful, revolutionary roots- and those roots were pioneered by these giants. Here, the vitality that the saints inject into their set makes it seem as if their high octane samples and energetic beats have only just been released.
Unsurprisingly, their set reaches its highest when ‘Something Good’ plays- The eponymous track that has since been the subject of countless remixes. However, the momentum doesn’t cease as Jez asks the crowd “Do you want to go f*cking faster?”. They end with a victory lap- Sampling ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ and splicing it with their characteristic uptempo beats. When they finish, their message is clear “Keep supporting independent stuff, keep community and above all keep the f*cking joy!”
Utah Saints have sold over 2 million records worldwide, the equivalent of 800 million+ streams, yet their set at Patterns, organised by Mute Elephant Music, felt like one massive party- all friends, all family. The duo continue their weekend tour in Birmingham before they set out for a wider UK circuit starting in January and ending in May.
Utah Saints:
Jez Willis
Tim Garbutt
