Gee, Bob. I didn't know Salt Lake City was on the West Coast! 8-)

Reno could be good. Where the Walker runs down to the Carson Valley plain....

Or Carson City. Or even Virginia City (either MT or NV).

How about Flagstaff, AZ? Or Window Rock, NM? Or Tuba City (a town with a musical connotation!!)?

The problem with big cities is that they are generally expensive. And SLC wouldn't do for this bunch. But there are other places, close to major cities, that might work:

Salem or Eugene, OR
Logan, UT
Evanston, WY
Bozeman, MT
Pocatello, ID
Redding, CA
Spokane, WA
Grand Junction, CO
Cortez, CO

and many more.

Any town with a university will most likely have decent transportation to it. And you could most likely get a bunch of deals from the local Convention & Visitors Bureau, too.