The National Parks • Elias Hix • Seaslak • September 14, 2024 • Sandy Amphitheater
Reviewed and Photographed by Amelia Weyerstall
The National Parks brought their Wild Spirit World Tour to Utah. The hometown album release celebration brought in a full house filled with fans of The National Parks. We have had the opportunity to cover past album releases with this band and they are always a good time. Saturday in Sandy was no exception. The National Parks were joined by fellow Utah-based band, Seaslak and Elias Hix out of Tennessee.
Seaslak
Seaslak is a 6-person band from Salt Lake City and started off the night saying “how grateful they were to be playing alongside The National Parks, especially as this was the largest crowd that they have ever played for times like 5.” Their genuine appreciation and excitement warmed up and won over the hearts of the crowd at the beginning of their folk rock-filled set. Back in August, Seaslak won the “Battle For Sandy Amphitheater”, a battle of the bands type competition that took place at Velour in Provo to see who would open for The National Parks.
The band played “Graceland” a song they released the day before and the audience loved it. Their harmonies filled the Sandy Amphitheater with warmth as the crowd filed into their seats. People were swaying along to the tempo of the songs in their seats as they eagerly awaited The National Parks.
Elias Hix
Elias Hix and his band are based out of Tennessee. After hitting a gorgeous high note in one of their songs, Elias remarked how the altitude made it harder to sing and he was only used to 600 feet of elevation back in Tennessee. They noted this was their first time playing in Salt Lake City, complemented the beautiful landscapes, and shared that the band got to explore the Salt Flats. Their folk-country acoustic feel was a great complement in between Seaslak and The National Parks. Elias said how the band all goes to school together and that funny enough their fiddle player is distantly related to Johnny Cash which made the audience applaud and shout from the back of the crowd.
The National Parks
Neon cacti and trees lit up the stage, and noises of the forest that ranged from birds chirping to water flowing, The National Parks took the stage and were met with thunderous applause and cheers. The sold-out show was the release party for their new album “Wild Spirit” and performed in front of their home crowd. The band was clearly excited to be at home, saying that “this was a dream to be able to play for the crowd, and that dreams do come true.”
The band’s love of nature can not only be heard in their songs but also with their visuals. The stage was set with the iconic red rocks of southern Utah, and Delicate Arch, a nod to the name of the band and their home state of Utah. The band gave their first performance as The National Parks 11 years ago in Provo, and they haven’t stopped since. In 2014 they released their song “As We Ran” which was written for the documentary “Love in the Tetons”. The National Parks band donated proceeds from that release to the National Parks Conservation Association.
When the song “Wildflower” came on during the beginning of the setlist the crowd was clapping along to the beat and screaming back the lyrics to the band. Right from the jump the energy was electric, this was the most excited crowd I have ever seen at a show. During every song, they were jumping along matching the energy of the band perfectly. The lead singer and creator of the band Brady Parks, said how “Ya’ll tonight, it just feels different, this is crazy.” It was met with yells of “We love you” from the audience. He also said, “The band got emotional before coming onto the stage that night because this is incredible and how incredible it was to see dreams coming true in real time”. This was met with huge applause from all around.
Their folk-pop band has grown their following for years and led them to selling out countless headlining shows. During the pandemic in 2020, The band decided to release the album “Wildflower” and host socially distanced shows called the “Campfire Tour”. During the Campfire Tour, they would bring a little campfire with them to backyard shows, a few of which were in Utah, and they would play acoustic versions of their songs with a summer camp feel. So, when the band was talking about how they were going to do a part of their current set like they did during the Campfire tour the crowd went wild. Especially the few in the crowd who were lucky enough to witness one of the shows back in 2020.
They encouraged the crowd to sing along to every word of the new song “Campfire Song”. Everyone joined in by stomping their feet and belting out “campfire song” over and over again Before finishing up the campfire section of the set, they decided to play a cover of “Lover” by Taylor Swift. Excited shouts came from all around as everyone turned on their flashlights. If their campfire section of the show wasn’t feeling homey and intimate enough, they moved over to the upper section of the crowd to their second stage, surrounded by all of their fans. The band said it was a sort of tradition to move to a second stage halfway through their set and that they’ve been doing it for years.
Megan Taylor Parks was brilliant with her fiddle and vocals, Sydney Macfarlane’s voice was angelic not to mention her incredible fingers on the keys, and finally Cam Brannelly on the drums that brought the beat storming through the crowd. Throughout the set they were throwing tambourines for the audience to play and toss back onto the stage, having drum solos from three of the band members at the same time, and at the end of the set Brady Parks even tossed his guitar across the stage, causing the audience to go wild. The energy during the whole performance was electric. It was definitely a show the fans will all remember fondly.