Park City isn’t just known for its world-class skiing, snowboarding, and access to trails, we also have an abundance of cultural activities as well that bring people to town from all over the world. One of these is the abundance of music that permeates through our mountain air - from music festivals to free concerts, Mountain Town Music is the heart and soul of what makes Park City ROCK!
How it got Started
Mountain Town Music started in 2002 as an offshoot of the Park City Arts Council and was originally called Mountain Town Stages to help create stages around Park City for live music. The organization didn’t last long in that iteration, and when now Executive Director Brian Richards took over the organization in 2009 he was on a mission to explore opportunities to expand live music opportunities in Park City. He started small and in grassroots fashion by reaching out to local developments, adding free community live music programs, and working with local music venues to cultivate the now vibrant music scene. Brian has always been involved in the music world. He moved here in 1997 and opened an independent record store. He believes he was put on Earth to provide people joy through music. Brian is as passionate as they get about music and he’s all about helping people discover all different types of music out there, where it used to be by CD, now it's by putting bands on stage.
What they Do
Mountain Town Music does a lot for our community which includes, and is not exclusive to producing over 275 concerts and creating musical outreach programming and concerts for students K-12. Brian believes that music is a key part of any wellness routine that includes eating healthy and movement, especially in the way that Mountain Town Music presents it to the community by bringing people together through music. When you go to a Mountain Town Music concert you are with friends and family, you are outside in a beautiful setting soaking in vitamin D, dancing, and listening to foot pumping beats, and it just so happens that all of these things when they happen separately are good for your soul, but when they all come together in conjunction it can be life-altering. These concerts provide wellness for our community and Mountain Town Music essentially uses music as a community connector which truly brings joy to all of us.
Highlights
This summer Mountain Town Music is excited that the community can once again gather and enjoy some sweet melodies while connecting with one another in a beautiful setting. Brian in particular is looking forward to the entirety of the musical summer, as that’s something we all really missed last year with the pandemic. He says “what we realized last summer is how important seeing our friends, family, and meeting up for music really was, maybe we took it for granted that free music was just going to happen. So now this year we have a greater appreciation for free music, so the vibes being sent out will be much stronger, and we are looking forward to creating that energy”.
During the summer months, you can find Mountain Town Music shows all over town. From Miners Park on Main Street, the Park Silly Sunday Market, Grand Valley Bank Community Concert Series at Deer Valley’s Snow Park Outdoor Amphitheater, the Noches de Verano Latino Series in City Park, to the Park City Beethoven Festival in City Park, the Great Lawn at the DeJoria Center in Kamas, Woodenshoe Concert Series in Peoa and the Park City Library.
By coming out to the concerts you're supporting Mountain Town Music’s productions and their musicians. If you enjoy what you hear, make sure to drop a dollar in their Chuck-A-Buck donation bucket as these are true community concerts supported by the community and they can't produce these shows without your help whether it's big or small.
One program that will remain from last year’s pandemic is the Door 2 Door Tour which provides private performances for communities where musicians perform in cul-de-sacs, streets, backyards, garages, and driveways — or anywhere people want to experience live music. Mountain Town Music makes this all possible as they are their own production company, with their own crew of professional sound engineers, using their own gear and are in a position to produce anything from a simple solo acoustic performance in the park to a full-on music festival. One main difference with Door 2 Door this year will be the price. The Door 2 Door Tour was created because they felt the community needed music to experience some sort of normalcy during the pandemic, and they also needed to help their musicians, sound engineers, and gig-workers with work opportunities. So to do that, Mountain Town Music kept the requested donation low so the performances could be accessible for everybody, but this year, the performances will cost closer to the normal price of a regular private concert pre-COVID so that musicians can go back to making the money they deserve.
Another musical event on the horizon in late summer is The Park City Song Summit, a community partner of Mountain Town Music that is working to redefine the live music experience. By design, it creates an environment for musicians to share, learn and recharge their passion for music through community and the power of song. Unlike any other music gathering, The Song Summit is also a place to examine the struggles and breakthroughs that artists face on their creative journey. Taking place over September 8-12, the Song Summit combines the singer-songwriter format of an Unplugged platform with a MasterClass style of information exchange through Labs. This atmosphere for connection between musician and fan reimagines the idea of playing to a crowd and focuses on sharing and exploring the full spectrum of songwriting and creating music. Check out our Park City Song Summit event page to learn more.
As previously mentioned, but to reiterate, these concerts are community connectors, fun, and family-friendly, offering a diverse range of music from different genres and the people they put on stage - POC, LGBTQ, Latino, and more creating an inclusive atmosphere that they take pride in. And remember just because these shows are free, does not mean that sound quality and production are going to be lacking - you will be blown away by these shows and the amount of talent Mountain Town Music brings together to create a fantastic musical experience in Park City.
Mountain Town Music is all about bringing the fun and high energy vibes, creating a vibrant family-friendly atmosphere for all to enjoy
Visit mountaintownmusic.org to see their full lineup of shows and the roster of over 100 artists that you can book for their Door 2 Door Tour.
Check out our My Town video featuring Mountain Town Music
