The National Parks lit up the stage at Scoot Inn, blending their signature folk-pop sound with the intimate charm of this beloved venue.
The National Parks are an American indie folk band. The group is made up of Brady Parks (vocals/guitar), Sydney Macfarlane (keys/vocals), Cam Brannelly (drums), and Megan Taylor Parks (fiddle/vocals). The band was formed in 2013 and they have been making music since. Their most recent album, Wild Spirit, was released in late August. This project is their seventh full-length album. They draw early influences from artists like Fleet Foxes and Bon Iver but still have upbeat pop elements including electronic instruments. They have played with huge acts such as Andy Grammar, Peter Bjorn and John, and LeAnn Rimes. Recently, the band had a few videos go viral on their social media pages.
Opening for the band is singer-songwriter Jon Muq. Jon was originally born in Uganda but now calls Austin, TX, home. He has toured with the likes of Billy Joel, Norah Jones, Corinne Bailey Rae, and many other amazing artists. Jon Muq’s story of his start as a musician is incredible and so inspiring, something everyone should look into. During his performance, naturally, you could hear the unique influences from his African origins, mixed with the Western style of today’s music. He recently released an album titled Flying Away, which came out in May. He opened his set with his love song “Always As One.” He then played a few more songs, such as “Bend” and “Hello Sunshine.” Not only was Jon an amazing singer but he was also very charismatic and kept the crowd laughing.
At around 9 PM, The National Parks took to the stage. The cool autumn air made the outdoor venue a lovely place to be for a show. They opened their set with their song “Thunder Wolf.” Notedly, the tour had a sign language interpreter next to the stage, which was surprising since this was a small tour, but amazing nonetheless. After a few more songs, the band asked if they could strip down the next few songs and sing acoustic. They sang “Campfire Song,” and then performed a cover of Taylor Swift’s “Lover.” Brady joked that the rest of the set would now be four hours of Taylor Swift covers, considering the response the song got.Mid-show, the four-member band came down into the middle of the pit and performed a few more songs while in the crowd. While they were down there, they mentioned that it was Megan’s birthday so they brought out a cake as the whole venue sang “Happy Birthday.” As the set came to a close, their guitar tech joined them on stage for “Rodeo” and he completely shredded the guitar. Afterward, they asked if they could make a TikTok with the crowd and everyone did the “Harlem Shake.” For their encore, they sang “Wild Spirit” and “As We Ran” to close the show.
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