THE ESSENTIAL A&E PICKS FOR JUN 19 - JUN 25 

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Juneteenth Events
With Juneteenth now a state holiday, there's a chance to use that day to truly acknowledge its historical significance in marking the end of slavery in America, and recognize how much work there is still to do. Here are just a few ways you can commemorate the date.

West Valley City's 2025 Juneteenth Celebration "Fighting for Freedom" takes place Thursday, June 19 at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center (1355 W. 3100 South), featuring a discussion with PBS Utah Roots, Race & Culture hosts Danor Gerald and Lonzo Liggins in conversation with Robert Burch of Sema Hadithi African American Heritage & Culture Foundation, Dr. Richard Ferguson and Dr. Sidni Shorter at 7 p.m. about what it means to be "free and equal." A pre-discussion reception at 6 p.m. will allow a chance to view the two Smithsonian poster exhibits A Place for All People and City of Hope. culturalcelebration.org

At The Gateway (400 West & 200 South), the Salt Lake City Juneteenth Celebration hosted by Beloved Community is an all-day experience beginning with a celebration walk from the Utah State Capitol at 10 a.m., and including live entertainment, kids' activities, Black Art Gallery and Black-Owned Business Expo. saltlakejuneteenth.org

On Friday, June 20, the Marriott Library at the University of Utah (295 S. 1500 East) hosts the And Still We Rise panel discussion at noon, with panelists including Project Success Coalition executive director Betty Sawyer; Dr. William A. Smith, Strategic Initiatives & Mental Health Justice Chief Executive Administrator; Robert Burch; and mezzo-soprano Cynthia M. Harris. Online participation is available with registration at culture.utah.edu/events. (Scott Renshaw)

• Mary Ellen Matthews/NBC

James Austin Johnson
When someone has been a public figure for as long as Donald Trump has, it would seem like there would be nothing new under the sun in terms of creating a comedic impression. Yet almost immediately upon joining the cast of Saturday Night Live in 2021, James Austin Johnson made it clear that he had a different angle on the blowhard-turned-president-turned-felon-turned-president. He described discovering his approach in an interview on Late Night with Seth Meyers: "He's been around for like 100 years, we've been listening to him. So you have all these different impressions of him. When he came back in the 2010s, ready to be President, his voice had deteriorated, a lot. It was very gurgly ... So, accessing sort of the dark dungeons of my throat was necessary, because he's not the smooth '80s guy."

It's definitely a different career path from a guy who started his show-biz career acting in independent Christian films before making his way into stand-up comedy. And he has proved that his Donald Trump is only one arrow in his quiver of great impressions. He's been known to pull out a Joe Biden, a Bob Dylan, even a Kamala Harris.

James Austin Johnson is taking advantage of the summer SNL hiatus by getting back to his live comedy roots, and his tour takes him to the Cabaret Room at Wiseguys Gateway (190 S. 400 West) on Friday, June 20 and Saturday, June 21. Showtimes are 6:30 p.m., and tickets are $30. Visit wiseguyscomedy.com for tickets and additional event information. (SR)

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Truth in Comedy @ Urban Arts Gallery
It has been a long tradition in stand-up comedy for performers to use some of the hardest events from their own lives as a source for laughs. Dallas-based comedian Byron Stamps considered a twist on that idea: What if storytellers shared from their heartfelt experiences, and other comedians used that as a creative prompt? "There's a lot of tragedy in comedy," Stamps shares by phone. "But can we take a story from someone else's life, and find the funny in that?"

Born in 2017 out of Stamps' own need to process the feelings arising from the death of his mother, Truth in Comedy finds individuals developing stories based on their own experiences and turning them over to Stamps' troupe of comedians, who choose a story that resonates with them to be a source for material. Visual artists are similarly brought in, often from the local communities in which they perform, to create work similarly inspired by those stories.

"I never give anybody a prompt, 'You have to talk about this or that subject,'" Stamps notes, "just to be open, honest and vulnerable. I've been blown away by what people want to share, and by the understanding people have for each other. ... The comedians know to respect the stories. If you're pouring your heart out, then somebody's coming behind you roasting you, there could be furniture flying."

Truth in Comedy comes to Urban Arts Gallery (116 Rio Grande St., The Gateway) on Sunday, June 22, 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. Tickets are $20 - $25; visit truthincomedy.com for tickets and additional event information. (SR)