By Zach Collier
Brady Parks is standing alone on stage, talking to a crowded house at Utah State University. “So, being in a band we get to travel around a lot and play lots of music for a lot of people,” he says. “But it’s pretty rare that I get to stand up with my guitar by myself – kind of how it all started. So I’m going to take this opportunity to play songs that I never get to play by myself, and songs that I never have played before.”
Parks, the lead singer of Provo based folk band The National Parks, played for nearly 20 minutes at TEDx USU’s 2015 event, “Duality.” Included in his set were “Bird’s Eye” and “Hot Air Balloon,” two tracks from their debut album Young; and “Ba Ba Ra,” a single from their second album Until I Live. Parks also played two unreleased tracks: “Sweet Water” and “Beautiful Night.”
A self-taught songwriter, Parks began playing solo shows in Provo in 2011. Music by The National Parks has been streamed over 2 million times on Spotify. The band has played shows in over 40 cities around the country, and has seen their music chart nationally on Billboard and iTunes.[1]
Watch the full performance below. You can listen to The National Parks on Spotify here. Click here to see more TED talks from TEDxUSU.
Provo Music Magazine 