Brady Parks is the lead singer/songwriter behind The National Parks, an indie-folk band that’s as outdoorsy as you may envision, offered the name. Parks matured simply beyond Denver, Colorado, where his household camped and hung out on the lake in their boat. Being outdoors in nature was a core part of Parks’ youth, and when his mommy chose him up a guitar at a garage sale at age 13, making music became another specifying factor in his young life.
Quick forward 20 years and Parks, now 34, and his four-piece band just came off a huge year. In 2023, The National Parks released their 5th album, 8th Wonder, along with 2 EPs– Campfire, Vol. 1, a collection of acoustic variations of their tunes, and Christmas Magic, a vacation EP. They also went on tour.
8th Marvel is packed full of tunes and lyrics that show The National Parks’connection to outside locations and experiences. In fact, listening to songs like” Great Sky,” “Let’s Go Outdoors,” “Angels, “and”Summer season of Memories “is enough to make you want to feel the earth under your feet. It makes you wish to splash in a river, then sit under the stars and experience the stillness that one can only discover in nature.
Parks states these outside themes and lyrics are not just a reflection of what’s important to him and atrioventricular bundle mates but likewise an invitation to their listeners to go and do these things– to make memories in nature with the people they love.
I sat down with Parks for a chat about how he got started, his nature-inspired lyrics, and how the outdoors has actually come to define The National Parks, their songs, and their general ambiance.
Image by Noah Tidmore Who Are The National Parks? After relocating to Utah in 2008, Brady Parks fulfilled Sydney Macfarlane, and they began jamming together– Parks on vocals and guitar and Macfarlane on backup vocals and keyboard. In 2013, the two formed The National Parks, which likewise now consists of Web cam Brannelly on drums and Megan Taylor Parks on violin and backup vocals.
The two Parks on the band’s lineup aren’t a coincidence. Brady and Megan are wed– which’s thanks to the band.
Explaining how the two came together, Brady Parks says: “We really had a different violinist that was having fun with [the band], and after that she was vacating the state. We understood Megan through a bunch of mutual buddies that were type of included with the band […] and we were able to satisfy Megan, and she concerned the first practice session and I resembled, boy, not only was she exceptionally stunning, however she was also an unbelievable violinist and had this incredible energy to her that just includes so much to the band and my life.”
Behind the Name
Besides the apparent connection in between Parks’ surname and the band name, he states the story behind The National Parks’ moniker depends on whom you ask.
“It’s sort of controversial; there are two various stories,” Parks says. “I remember me and Sydney got together one night just particularly to talk band names, and she was throwing out lots of names. My side of the story is that she was throwing away tons of names [and] they were not good band names. And so I was like, let’s put this aside in the meantime and come back to it later.”
“And after that the next day, I had a class in Provo at BYU, and it’s just an extremely lovely school and it was an evening class, and I went out of my class and I searched for at the mountains that are right there, and the sun was setting, and it just struck me: The National Parks. My last name is Parks, and, thematically, we write a lot about nature, and it simply seemed like a perfect fit, so I contacted Sydney.”
The second version of the story is Macfarlane’s, who would state that “The National Parks” was really her idea initially, that it was one of the concepts she threw away in the initial brainstorming session.
“However I do not believe it,” Parks laughs.
Image by Clark Clifford The Outdoors Connection National forest and other outside places make cameos in the bands ‘tunes, from the Vantaa River near
Helsinki, Finland to the Tetons of Wyoming. “A lot of [outside] locations have actually left a mark and have actually discovered their way into our tunes, “Parks says. “One that I can consider particularly is Zion National Park. I think if you asked us as a band what our preferred national park collectively is, it’s Zion. We like it, and we’ve existed a lot. Our tune ‘Angels’ is actually about going to Zion and hiking Angel’s Landing with Megan and [what] an unbelievable experience it was, and then how moments like that make you wish to live your life in a manner that your kids would be stoked to hear stories about.”
These are the kinds of moments that leave a lasting impression on Parks, and lasting impressions often develop into music.
“There have actually certainly been times when I’ll be doing something out in nature and seem like I know I’m gon na write about this,” he states. “I do not understand what the lyric is yet, but I understand that this experience is going to belong to a lyric.”
‘We Were Simply Sleeping Under the Stars’
Living in Utah, home to Mighty Five– Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon National Forest, Canyonlands National Forest, Capitol Reef National Forest, and Zion National Forest, has likewise fueled the band’s connection to the great outdoors.
“While I was residing in Provo … I invested a lot of time just driving up the canyon, hiking, simply being a part of it, and I believe it absolutely played a part in my music, specifically early on,” Parks states.
Going back even farther, possibly even before his mother brought home the second-hand guitar from a yard sale, Parks keeps in mind a camping trip with his daddy that ended up inspiring a tune on the 8th Wonder album called “Excellent Sky.”
“I remember I was on a father-son campout when I was young, and we were simply sleeping out under the stars, and I remember speaking with my papa in the evening about how it just goes on permanently, which particular minute because forest shaped that song [‘ Fantastic Sky’] all these years later,” Parks states.
Life Beyond Music Parks’favorite outside leisure activities consist of not just camping, boating, and treking but likewise snowboarding.”When it’s winter season, I’m in the mountains,” he states. “I enjoy skiing. If I could, I ‘d ski every day. I love it a lot.”
His band mates Sydney, Web cam, and Megan are all Utah natives and avid outdoors-people themselves.
“Everybody in the band is very outdoorsy,” Parks says. “Web cam is actually into snowboarding. It resembles his favorite activity. Sydney– her family has kind of constantly been a Lake Powell household. So they go once or twice a year and go camp at Lake Powell, which’s like their huge thing as a family, which is incredible. And Megan, she likes treking and path running. Something she constantly states is when she’s going through a bumpy ride, the something that gets her out of her head is being outside and going on a walk or going on a hike.”
‘You Feel Part of Something Larger’
While listening to The National Parks, you can’t assist but feel linked to nature too, as if the beautiful consistencies, the catchy beats, and the poignant lyrics are all calling you to get outside and explore.
“I believe it’s a big part of who we are as a band to assist individuals feel motivated by nature and to go make those memories,” Parks states. “One of our songs off of 8th Wonder is called ‘Let’s Go Outdoors,’ and it’s about those times in life when you’re stuck in your head and the something that makes you feel grounded and fine is being outside, and there’s just such a healing power with remaining in nature and getting in touch with nature, and I think you feel part of something bigger when you’re doing it.”
Life beyond the music for the band consists of parenting. Brady and Megan Parks have a young son, Jagger, who is nearly 3. In reality, all The National Parks band members are parents of young children, and their experiences as part of a band and outside of it are ending up being treasured household memories for their own kids.
Possibly one day, Parks will compose another tune about a father-son camping trip– other than this time, he’ll be the daddy gazing up at the night sky with his son.
Image by Clark Clifford What’s Next for The National Parks? Parks states the band has actually been working on a brand-new album, and he’s stoked about it.
“We believe it’s our best work ever, and it’s an album about being lost in a forest and how there are minutes that you go through that are difficult and scary, and after that there are breathtaking views and it’s exciting, and it’s certainly about how life can be like that,” he states. “We’re gon na begin releasing tunes quite quickly, and then the album will come out [at] some point down the road.”
There are likewise new tour dates for 2024, with more on the way later on this summer season and fall.
The National Parks also puts on a summer music festival called Superbloom. In the past, the event occurred in southern Utah by Zion and up near Salt Lake City. The place of this year’s festival isn’t set yet, but Parks says the goal with Superbloom resembles the band’s general goal– to get individuals outdoors, surrounded by beautiful nature, experiencing music together.
We chatted with Brady Parks, the lead singer/songwriter of The National Parks about how the outdoors has actually assisted define the band.