For The National Parks, the Utah-based folk-pop band, planning the Superbloom festival is another way to pay homage to their home state.
“We’ve always had a strong connection to Utah,” said Brady Parks, frontman of the four-member group, speaking for the group. “We love exploring different parts of Utah and when we were recording our album ‘Wildflower’ a few years ago, we felt this desire to do a destination festival in southern Utah.”
The band members — Parks and his wife, violinist Megan Parks; keyboardist/vocalist Sydney Macfarlane; and drummer Cam Brannelly — call different parts of Utah home, from Ogden to Lehi, but creating the festival at Sand Hollow Resort in Hurricane has been a dream for them.
The Superbloom festival, set for Sept. 10, will be the second such event the band has mounted. The first festival originally was set to take place in Springdale, near Zion National Park. First it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, then flooding at the O.C. Tanner Amphitheater there forced the move to Hurricane. Now, they love the venue.
“I remember when we toured [Sand Hollow] for the first time,” Parks said. “It was the perfect setting for it. We do it on the green grass of the golf course, it’s wide open and surrounded by natural beauty. It offers a lot to people to have a really great festival experience.”
The resort also touts recreational activities, including biking, hiking and motor sports. It also features the “Rock Bowl,” a cove surrounded by red sandstone rocks, that is used for seated concerts.
Since attending Superbloom requires a road trip, Parks said, “it’s kind of this festival that brings people together in a unique way. You have to plan out a trip to come. … In a way it’s more of an overall experience, not just a music festival.”
This year, The National Parks have given the headlining spot over to another band, Judah & The Lion, an alt-folk band from Nashville. The National Parks will take second billing, on a schedule that also includes Jamestown Revival, Smallpools, Mipso, Birdtalker, The Strike, The Moss, Garon Brett, Lantern By Sea and Beeson.
The daylong festival is a family-friendly all-ages event, Parks said. “We want people to bring their kids out, make memories as a family together,” he said. “All of us band members get to bring our kids out there, and having that experience with them is really exciting for us.”
There’s a touch of nostalgia intertwined with the process. “I think back to when I first started this band,” Parks said. “I was playing open mics by myself with songs I had written, and then little by little, this band formed. I never would have dreamed that we’d be putting on a music festival in the state that helped build us.”
Parks said he hopes the festival can be a way the band gives back to its fans.
“It feels like this is our place, our home,” he said. “It’s where it all began.”
The Superbloom Music Festival will take place on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022, at Sand Hollow Resort (5662 West Clubhouse Drive, Hurricane). Tickets are on sale now at 24tix.com, with prices ranging from $85 to $149.
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