The National Parks Ready to Rock Provo

_{By Mike Romero}

The National Parks are yet to play a live performance but they already have people talking. The Indie-Americana band first made some noise two weeks ago by posting (a lot of) flyers around Provo that offered little information other than the mysterious line, “Who are The National Parks?” along with a link to a Facebook page and website that both featured a video containing brief commentary from popular local bands (Polytype and Book on Tape Worm, among others) and popular local music venues (Velour and Muse) that explained that The National Parks are a band to be excited about, but offered little else.

After two weeks of mystery (and a slight change of plans, according to their Twitter feed) the band has made it clear this week that they are ready to step into the spotlight. The National Parks have announced, via the video below, that they are hosting a “Spring Break Staycation” this Friday at the Gazebo at The Riverwoods in Provo. The band has teamed up with CityGro and The Riverwoods best in dining and entertainment to offer a fun weekend for all those that are ready for Spring Break but aren’t able to get out of town (all Spring-Break-deprived BYU students know what we’re talking about.)

The “Staycation” kicks off at 6:00 on Friday night with a free concert at the Gazebo at The Riverwoods. Garret Williams of Lady & Gent will open with an acoustic set and then The National Parks will formally introduce themselves to Provo with their first ever live performance. All those in attendance will be able to grab a free wristband during the concert (6:00 – 7:30) that gives them access to a handful of special offers at restaurants and entertainment venues, such as Provo Beach Resort and La Jolla Groves, for the remainder of the weekend. Even without the great deals and beautiful spring weather, however, the band alone should be worth checking out on Friday night.

The National Parks’ debut album is currently in the works but their website (whoarethenationalparks.com) offers (tantalizingly) brief previews of rough edits of three of their new tracks and the previews make it clear that we can expect something pretty special. The site itself is also impressive and their newest video explains a unique Twitter giveaway contest—all of which makes it seem that the band has either hired Harry Potter or can somehow afford to employ a full team capable of producing this high level web design, videography, graphic design and marketing. Needless to say, this is a band you won’t want to miss.

[Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on ProvoBuzz.com before they changed to their new discussion-based format. All articles from Provo Buzz have been reposted here with permission.]