Happy Monday, everybody!  See any good shows this weekend?  

I'm always amazed by the big names Utah reels in, whether it's music, Broadway shows, comedians ... you name it.  For instance, in our local entertainment report this morning on Good Morning Utah, we discussed how this week alone you can see Harry Connick, Junior live in concert at Abravanel Hall on Wednesday night at 7:30 (despite the expensive tickets -- 90 bucks apiece) and on Saturday you can see Cyndi Lauper at the Usana Amphitheater in Salt Lake starting at 6:30 (even pricier -- 130-200 bucks apiece!)  She's performing with Erasure, Deborah Harry, the Dresden Dolls and comedian Margaret Cho.

Granted, Harry and Cyndi aren't the hottest and newest acts around, but they're pretty big names nonetheless.  Harry especially got a lot of attention when he did special concerts and fundraisers for the victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.  And Cyndi ... well, if you grew up in the 80s, I don't need to explain that one.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir recently welcomed opera star Bryn Terfel, one of the premier singers on the world stage.  For you country fans, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are coming a week from today.  Ricky Skaggs is coming in early July for all those who can't get enough of him (Mike McKay) and Monty Python's Spamalot is making a stop here (Mike McKay's also getting tickets to that).  Poison, Def Leppard, Josh Groban, Keith Urban ... they're all coming this summer.   I could go on and on...

Maybe this strikes me because I grew up in a little town and have lived in fairly small cities ever since.   We usually had to travel to see big names because the small towns weren't worth their time.  Some people consider Salt Lake City a smallish city, but all it takes is one look at a list of the upcoming concerts to realize what an entity we've become. A stop in Utah is not JUST a convenient stopover on the way from Denver to California.  It's a place where artists know they will fill seats and sell out concerts to appreciative audiences.  And that's something to be proud of. 

Let's all keep buying those tickets and supporting the arts, so we can keep growing on the national stage.