Saturday, June 24, 2017 | 12:51 p.m.
SALT LAKE CITY — The life of a Utah man who ran a recording studio at his home before he was killed in a high-profile London attack was celebrated Saturday with the local music he loved.
The concert was held in lieu of a traditional funeral for Kurt W. Cochran, 54, his brother-in-law Clint Payne said. It was an easy decision on how to honor the man who also helped with music festivals and high school productions.
"He's done so much for the music scene," Payne said. Cochran's wife, Melissa, suffered a broken leg in the March 22 attack and arrived at the concert using crutches.
Members of Cochran's family, including his son, are among the musicians who played at the show in a park in Bountiful, north of Salt Lake City, Payne said. The acts had all worked with the Cochrans at their basement recording studio.
Kurt Cochran was thrown from London's Westminster Bridge when he and his wife were struck by a sport utility vehicle that plowed into a group of pedestrians.
The West Bountiful couple was on the last day of a European trip celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. The two were visiting Melissa Cochran's parents, who were serving a church mission in London.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack that killed four people and injured scores more.
Besides a broken leg, Melissa Cochran suffered a broken rib and cuts and bruises.
She and her husband were described as inseparable. They ran a recording studio in their basement, and Kurt Cochran helped young bands get started by charging them only a small fee to use it.
The London attack came exactly one year after four Mormon missionaries — three from Utah — were seriously injured in a Brussels airport bombing.
