4 July: Summertime Blues, The Songs of Woodstock and Bat Manors
1 August: Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, House of Lewis and Mimi Knowles
5 September: The Moth & the Flame, The Brocks and Coral Bones
3 October: Fictionist and The Blues Aces (Special 5-year anniversary rooftop concert and Downtown Provo Fall Festival)
Provo band the National Parks kicked off the Provo rooftops concerts Friday for a crowd of a more than 3,000 people.
Brady Parks, front man of the band and an advertising major at BYU, said, “It was unreal. It was the biggest crowd we’ve played for; it was the perfect night.”
Their performance was the first of six free shows put on by the Provo Rooftop Concert series this summer. Located in downtown Provo off Center Street, the series will feature local artists such as Fictionist, The Moth & the Flame, The Strike, Mimi Knowles, The Brocks, Coral Bones and many more. The concerts take place each first Friday of the month, May–October, on top of the Provo Towne Square parking terrace located at the corner of 100 W and 100 N.
The series began in 2010 when four Provo residents, Sarah Wiley, C. Jane Kendrick, Mindy Gledhill and Justin Hackworth, set off to involve more people in the city, beginning with the music scene. When someone suggested playing concerts on the roof, the Rooftop Concert Series was born.
“We have a very diverse group of bands that spans multiple genres set to perform,” said Justin Hackworth, co-founder of the series. “It’s not just rock and roll; we have bands like The Strike, who bring a big-band feel, and Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, who are a hip-hop group, and everything in between.”
The Rooftop Concert Series coordinators want the shows to bring together different music styles and scenes, creating an atmosphere enjoyable for everyone.
“They bring people together from every corner of our community,” said local music Vlogger and BYU grad Nicolle Okoren. “Nothing like this happens on this level with this amount of talent for free.”
Her YouTube channel, “The Couch Series” features some of the artists who will play at the series and says they are all talented musicians, passionate about what they do.
Rooftop performers and band members come from across the U.S., but all connect in Provo.
“Most of the band has met through BYU musical groups, classes and performing through BYU connections,” said Myles Lawenence, saxophonist of local band The Strike. “The band comes from all over the U.S., and BYU is what brought us together in Provo.”
The rooftop opens at 6 p.m., and the first performance begins at 7:30 p.m.
“The rooftop concerts are the best part of summer. The chance to be outside and listen to some of the best bands around for free is incredible,” Parks said.
